SAINTS Women forward Emma Thompson hopes she showed the best version of herself by scoring a hat-trick against Portsmouth on Sunday.

Thompson, 20, hit her first senior hat-trick as Remi Allen's Saints thumped Pompey 4-0 in the Women's League Cup at Westleigh Park.

Saints had the game wrapped up in the first half before Thompson grabbed her third of the afternoon in additional time.

The former Chelsea youngster admitted she did not see the hat-trick coming having spent the majority of the season as a backup option.

Thompson was keen to "do the basics right" during a rare start but was left "over the moon" with her performance.

She told Southampton's media team: "I thought it was another good performance. We scored lots of goals but we still have lots to work on.

“We slowed down a bit in the second half but we have to take the positives. Three points, four goals - personally to score my first hat-trick was great.

“We always want to beat Pompey, it’s a derby, getting the win gives us momentum. We want to kick on until Christmas and keep that going.

“I didn’t see the hat-trick coming, to be honest, I just wanted to go out there, get minutes, do the basics well and get back into a stride.

“To add three goals to that is good. I hope that has shown what I’m about a bit. I like scoring goals. I want to continue that and continue being on the pitch.

“It’s a good start for me. As players, we are all competing and we want to play. But we are also supportive of each other as well.

“To go out there and put on a performance was great. I’m going to keep my head down and work hard. Decisions around my game time aren’t mine to be made.

“I have to keep working hard. We have built a bit of momentum and have an unbeaten run, that is really important.

“We had a lot of the ball and we tried new things. The most important thing is that we keep this momentum going forward.”

Thompson arrived at St Mary's last season having departed childhood club Chelsea following a brief spell at Lewes in the Championship.

She has been limited to 42 minutes in the league this season, with all six of her appearances coming off the bench.

The England youth international hit three goals in her first campaign at Saints, with those goals coming at the tail end of the season.

With top goalscorer Rianna Dean currently out injured, Thompson's minutes could increase when Saints return from the international break.

Allen's side are next in action when they host Bristol City in the Women's FA Cup on Sunday, December 8.

The fixture will be played at Silverlake Stadium (1pm Kick-off). Tickets are now on general sale for all fans.