South Coast derby

The South Coast Derby is a term used to describe football matches played between Portsmouth Football Club and Southampton Football Club. The term is popular in broadcast media and newspapers.

South Coast derby

Location	Hampshire
Teams	Portsmouth Southampton
First meeting	Portsmouth 2–0 Southampton (6 September 1899 (Friendly))
Latest meeting	Portsmouth 0–4 Southampton (24 September 2019)
Statistics
Meetings total	71
Most wins	Southampton (35)
Largest victory	Southampton 5–1 Portsmouth (FA Cup, 13 January 1906) Portsmouth 5–1 Southampton (18 October 1919) Southampton 5–1 Portsmouth (11 September 1920) Southampton 5–1 Portsmouth (27 August 1960) Southampton 4–0 Portsmouth (17 April 1975) Portsmouth 0–4 Southampton (League Cup, 24 September 2019)

Portsmouth play their home games at Fratton Park, while Southampton play theirs at St. Mary's Stadium. Portsmouth and Southampton are historically the most successful clubs on the southern coast of England and lie only 19 miles (31 km) apart in Hampshire. However, because the two clubs have often been in different divisions, the derby game has only been played 71 times in "First Class" competition since the first one in 1899.

Portsmouth have won the most titles of the pair, being champions of England twice (1948–49 and 1949–50) and twice FA Cup winners (1939 and 2008), whilst Southampton have won a single FA Cup (1976). In "first class" matches between the two teams, Southampton have the most wins, and have been more regularly in a higher league than Portsmouth, including their 27 consecutive years in the top flight of English football. However, Portsmouth were southern England's first club outside of London to reach the First Division, in 1927, and stayed for 34 consecutive years until relegation in 1961, five years before Southampton reached the First Division.

In the 2024–25 season, Southampton will play in the top tier of English football, the Premier League and Portsmouth will play in the second tier of English football, the EFL Championship.

Changing fortunes

Side-by-side comparison of Southampton and Portsmouth final league positions 1921 to the present. The two sides have rarely shared a division, hence the relatively low number of derbies played.

Southampton were originally formed in 1885 as St. Mary's Young Men's Association FC, before adopting the name Southampton St. Mary's when the club joined the Southern League in 1894. After they won the Southern League title in 1896–97, the club became a limited company and changed their name to Southampton FC. Portsmouth was founded in April 1898 and joined the Southern League in 1899.

The first match between the two clubs came in a friendly at Portsmouth's Fratton Park ground on 6 September 1899. The match was won "on their merits" 2–0 by Portsmouth, with goals from Dan Cunliffe (formerly with Liverpool) and Harry Clarke (formerly with Everton).

Southampton and Portsmouth first played each other in the Southern League in April 1900, with Portsmouth winning 2–0 twice in three days. The teams met regularly in the Southern League, and in the early years of the 20th century were rivals for the league title, with Southampton taking the title in 1901, 1903 and 1904 (having also been champions in three consecutive seasons from 1896–97 to 1898–99, before Portsmouth were formed) and Portsmouth taking the title in 1902 (and again in 1920).

The first of four South Coast derbies in the FA Cup took place on 13 January 1906. Because of the large crowd expected for the first FA Cup meeting between the two rivals, the local registrars in both towns postponed voting in the 1906 general election until the following week. The match at The Dell was attended by a capacity crowd of 14,000 and the Portsmouth fans, together with their players, did their best to unsettle the inexperienced Southampton goalkeeper, Bill Stead, who was making only his second first team appearance. Stead, however, showed few signs of nerves and produced a "phlegmatic performance", restricting Portsmouth to a single goal from Dan Cunliffe, while the Saints scored five and eventually progressed to the last eight, where they lost 3–0 at Liverpool.

For the 1920–21 season, both teams were admitted to the Football League (together with the majority of the Southern League First Division sides). The first Football League game between the two clubs was on 11 September 1920, with Southampton winning 2–0. After two seasons in the Third Division, Saints were promoted as champions in 1922. Pompey joined them in the Second Division in 1924 and were promoted to the First Division in 1927, becoming the first southern club outside of London to reach the top tier of English football. Up to this time the teams had met ten times in the Football League, with Saints winning four, Pompey three and three draws.

From 1927 until 1960 Portsmouth enjoyed a much-superior league position to their neighbours, winning the FA Cup in 1939 and back-to-back League titles in 1948–49 and 1949–50, until 1960, when Southampton gained promotion back to the Second Division, Portsmouth having been relegated from the First Division the previous season. From the 1960s onwards, Southampton found themselves in the ascendancy, being in a higher division nearly every season while defeating their rivals whenever the two sides met in cup clashes.

With Southampton being in a higher division for most of the period from the 1960s through to the early 2000s, the two clubs rarely met. Events such as the death of Portsmouth goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan, a Southampton-born footballer whose brother Darryl had played for Southampton, occasionally brought the fans together.

Southampton dominated the South Coast derby games in the post-war era, with fourteen wins to Portsmouth's six. Portsmouth's promotion to the Premiership in 2003 evened matters and reignited the clubs' rivalry – the first time the two teams had met in regular league competition since the 1987–88 First Division season. Southampton held the upper hand, winning two of the three matches played between the two sides in the 2003–04 season to Portsmouth's one.

The rivalry was galvanised with the appointment of Harry Redknapp as Southampton manager in December 2004, just days after he had resigned as manager of Portsmouth, and less than a month after the Saints had beaten Portsmouth at St Mary's Stadium. The following month, the Saints were drawn against and defeated their rivals in a fiery FA Cup match, with former Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch (who would go on to rejoin Portsmouth in 2008) scoring the decisive penalty in the last minute of the match.

However, Portsmouth struck back in the next league encounter between the rivals, with Southampton beaten 4–1 at Fratton Park by their relegation rivals in Redknapp's only return to the ground with the club. Southampton were subsequently relegated from the Premiership a few games later on the final day of the 2004–05 season, ending their 27-year run in the top flight of English Football. Redknapp caused more controversy when he left Southampton and returned to Portsmouth and enjoyed success.

Portsmouth won the FA Cup again in 2008 under Redknapp whilst, in 2009, Southampton were again relegated, this time to League One. The two sides met in a fierce FA Cup match at St Mary's in 2010 which Portsmouth came out 4–1 victors again and went on to reach the FA Cup final that season but did not perform too well in the league. Portsmouth were in turn relegated to the Championship for the 2010–11 season after having been deducted nine points as a penalty for entering administration.

The matches played during the 2011–12 season both ended as draws, but the club's fortunes differed considerably, with Southampton gaining promotion to the Premier League and Portsmouth once again going into administration and being relegated to League One.

In Portsmouth's absence, AFC Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion – based about 30 miles (48 km) and 60 miles (97 km) from Southampton respectively – gained promotion to the Premier League, with some media outlets marketing fixtures against them as a 'South Coast derby'; however, there is very little shared history or animosity between the clubs and supporters have never acknowledged these as significant rivalries, something which was emphasised in September 2019 when Southampton were drawn against Portsmouth in the EFL Cup for their first meeting in seven years, with the event being discussed with much more anticipation than Saints' league matches against both Bournemouth and Brighton a few weeks earlier.

Harry Redknapp

The acrimonious departure of Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth to Southampton brought the bitter rivalry between the two clubs to a new level. When Redknapp returned to Portsmouth in November 2005 following Southampton's relegation, it only served to further sour relations between the two clubs, which arguably remain at an all-time low. The two clubs' chairmen at the time, Rupert Lowe (Southampton) and Milan Mandarić (Portsmouth), publicly criticised one another on a number of occasions, with Lowe calling for an inquest into irregular betting patterns in the run-up to Redknapp's re-appointment. Mandarić had even sent a boxed duck as a Christmas "gift" to Lowe (as Lowe had been on a hunting trip when the "ordeal" began), but the gesture only furthered the animosity between the two.

Inter-fan rivalry

Exactly when the fierce rivalry between the supporters of the two clubs began is not entirely clear. Until as recently as the early 1970s, many fans would go and watch the other team when their side was playing away, indicating anything but hatred. Some ascribe the growing rivalry since then to the cities' diverging economic fortunes.

In 1976, there were changes in fortune for both cities and their football clubs. Portsmouth International Port was built next to the new M275 motorway spur, both opening in 1976. This was seen as a threat to the Port of Southampton by its dockers. Portsmouth FC, on a decline, lost a fifth consecutive derby match against Southampton in a period from 1966 to 1976. Southampton FC, then in the Second Division, were on the rise and won a shock victory in the 1976 FA Cup Final against First Division Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. The goal was scored by Portsmouth-born Bobby Stokes.

Southampton were promoted to the First Division in 1978. Meanwhile, Portsmouth plummeted to the Fourth Division in the same period. Jealously, bragging, changing fortunes between the opposing fans, and the rise of football hooliganism in 1970s England are most likely the cause of the bitter rivalry that now exists between both sets of supporters.

In the early 1980s, cross-channel ferry services then moved from Southampton to Portsmouth International Port. Portsmouth's closer proximity to the European continent saved fuel, journey time and made more economic sense to ferry operators. Portsmouth's closer distance to London by road and rail was also seen as a positive by European visitors.

In the 1987-88 First Division season, Portsmouth and Southampton both met in the top division of English football for the first time in their shared histories. This was the first season that Southampton fans began using the derogatory "Skate" nickname for Portsmouth's supporters, which had been chosen from a fanzine poll. Despite a 2-2 home draw at Fratton Park and a 2-0 away win at The Dell, Portsmouth were relegated back to the Second Division after only one season.

In the early 2000s, Southampton based ship builder Vosper Thornycroft moved from its Woolston yard to new facilities at Portchester (near Portsmouth), and also into a newly built ship hall within HMNB Portsmouth. West Quay shopping mall in Southampton city centre was also opened, which attracted many Portsmouth residents away from Portsmouth's traditional shopping areas, favouring the new West Quay mall which offered more variety than Portsmouth's declining Commercial Road and Palmerston Road shopping areas.

On 15 May 2005, Portsmouth - now in the Premier League - lost 2-0 away to relegation threatened West Bromwich Albion. Portsmouth's loss earned West Bromwich Albion three points and survival to end one place above the relegation zone. However, this result also affected and confirmed bottom-placed Southampton's relegation to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1978. Portsmouth supporters ironically celebrated their 2-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion as a victory, which had relegated Southampton to a division lower than that of Portsmouth. The last occasion this had happened was in the 1960-61 season, where Portsmouth had been in the Second Division and Southampton were in the Third Division.

In 2015, 10,000 Portsmouth people signed a petition against Portsmouth City Council's decision to allow airline Emirates to use its red and white livery (Southampton colours) for its sponsorship of the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. The city council subsequently came to an agreement with sponsors Emirates to use blue and gold (Portsmouth colours) instead.

In 2019, the two teams met at for the first time in over 7 years, an EFL Cup tie at Fratton Park. Tensions at the game ran high, and as such police presence was high; hundreds of police officers were bought in from multiple police forces across Hampshire in order to prevent violence between the two sets of fans in what has been described as the biggest football policing operation conducted in Hampshire. The police worked for over an hour, pushing fans away from one another in order to prevent a brawl as Southampton fans made their way from Fratton railway station to Fratton Park. Despite the best efforts of the police, violence and anti-social behaviour ensued; before the game, red and blue flares were set off near Fratton Train Station and the Shepherd's Crook pub respectively. Following the 0-4 result, tensions increased as items were thrown towards police and a police horse was punched.

Nicknames

Portsmouth supporters refer to Southampton supporters as "Scum" or "Scummers". According to some Portsmouth fans, the term "scum" developed out of a fictitious acronym standing for Southampton City (or Corporation) Union Men, with the term allegedly originating from when Southampton dockyard workers supposedly crossed the picket lines in the 1930s when Portsmouth dockyard workers were on strike. However, this story is unlikely, as the two cities rely on entirely different types of ports — Southampton being a merchant port and Portsmouth a naval one. There is also no known record of any strike occurring during the aforementioned time period. Rather, this seems to be a modern attempt to incorrectly describe the origins of the rivalry.

Southampton supporters have taken to referring to their local rivals as "Skates", after a Southampton fanzine, The Ugly Inside, asked its readers in 1988 to suggest an abusive term most likely to cause offence to Portsmouth supporters. This date coincides with Portsmouth's return to the First Division in its 1987–88 season, when both clubs occupied the same division for the first time since 1976. Skates was chosen as the derisive alternative to "matelot" to describe naval sailors, Portsmouth being the home of the Royal Navy. The name "Skate" originates from the civilian population of Portsmouth, and was originally an insult directed towards sailors working on ships in HMNB Portsmouth, or who were otherwise associated with the Royal Navy. Sailors on long voyages would go long periods without female company, so would use skate to relieve themselves sexually; this led to sailors who attempted to approach prostitutes in Portsmouth being refused and told "I ain't no skate bait, mate".

Derby results in summary

"First class" competitions only

Competition	Played	Results			Goals
		Southampton	Portsmouth	Draw	Southampton	Portsmouth
Southern League	32	15	12	5	43	43
Football League	28	12	6	10	50	36
Premier League	4	2	2	0	6	6
FA Cup	5	4	1	0	12	6
League Cup	2	2	0	0	6	0
TOTAL	71	35	21	15	117	91

All-time results

League

Southampton vs Portsmouth Date Venue Score Competition 11 September 1920 The Dell 5–1 Third Division 25 March 1922 The Dell 1–1 Third Division South 27 September 1924 The Dell 0–0 Second Division 5 September 1925 The Dell 1–3 Second Division 15 January 1927 The Dell 0–2 Second Division 27 August 1960 The Dell 5–1 Second Division 2 March 1963 The Dell 4–2 Second Division 8 February 1963 The Dell 2–3 Second Division 16 January 1965 The Dell 2–2 Second Division 28 August 1964 The Dell 2–2 Second Division 14 September 1974 The Dell 2–1 Second Division 17 April 1975 The Dell 4–0 Second Division 3 January 1988 The Dell 0–2 First Division 21 December 2003 St Mary's 3–0 Premier League 13 November 2004 St Mary's 2–1 Premier League 7 April 2012 St Mary's 2–2 Championship Southampton wins Draws Portsmouth wins 7 5 4

Portsmouth vs Southampton Date Venue Score Competition 18 September 1920 Fratton Park 0–1 Third Division 18 March 1922 Fratton Park 0–2 Third Division South 29 November 1924 Fratton Park 1–1 Second Division 16 January 1926 Fratton Park 1–2 Second Division 28 August 1926 Fratton Park 3–1 Second Division 31 December 1960 Fratton Park 1–1 Second Division 13 October 1962 Fratton Park 1–1 Second Division 28 September 1963 Fratton Park 2–0 Second Division 12 September 1964 Fratton Park 0–3 Second Division 5 February 1966 Fratton Park 2–5 Second Division 26 December 1974 Fratton Park 1–2 Second Division 6 April 1976 Fratton Park 0–1 Second Division 22 August 1987 Fratton Park 2–2 First Division 21 March 2004 Fratton Park 1–0 Premier League 24 April 2005 Fratton Park 4–1 Premier League 18 December 2011 Fratton Park 1–1 Championship Portsmouth wins Draws Southampton wins 4 5 7

Cup tournaments

Date	Score	Winner	Competition	Venue
13 January 1906	5–1	Southampton	FA Cup	The Dell
20 January 1984	0–1	Southampton	FA Cup	Fratton Park
7 January 1996	3–0	Southampton	FA Cup	The Dell
2 December 2003	2–0	Southampton	League Cup	St Mary's
29 January 2005	2–1	Southampton	FA Cup	St Mary's
13 February 2010	1–4	Portsmouth	FA Cup	St Mary's
24 September 2019	0–4	Southampton	League Cup	Fratton Park

Players who have played for both clubs

Updated to 9 February 2024

Player	Portsmouth career			Southampton career
	Span	League Appearances	League Goals	Span	League Appearances	League Goals
John Bainbridge	1906–1907	25	4	1907–1910	84	20
Ian Baird	1987–1988	20	1	1982–1985	22	5
Gavin Bazunu	2021–2022	44	0	2022–	61	0
Dave Beasant	2001–2002	27	0	1993–1997	88	0
Billy Beaumont	1907–1910	70	2	1910–1911	27	0
Edward Bell	1911–1912	4	0	1906–1908	4	0
John Beresford	1989–1992	108	8	1998–2000	17	0
Eyal Berkovic	2004–2005	22	2	1996–1997	28	4
Robert Blyth	1921–1922	8	2	1922–1923	8	0
Tommy Bowman	1904–1909	85	3	1901–1904	88	2
Arthur Charles Brown	1907–1910	9	0	1906–1907 1910–1912	0 39	0 0
Arthur Chadwick	1901–1904	43	9	1897–1901	81	6
Mick Channon	1985–1986	34	6	1966–1977 1979–1982	391 119	157 28
Colin Clarke	1990–1993	85	18	1986–1989	82	36
Eamonn Collins	1986–1989	5	0	1981–1983	3	0
David Connolly	2012–2015	38	11	2009–2012	61	14
Andy Cook	1987–1991	16	1	1997–1998	9	0
Martin Cranie	2007–2009	2	0	2004–2007	16	0
Peter Crouch	2001–2002 2008–2009	37 38	18 11	2004–2005	27	12
Ron Davies	1973–1974	59	18	1966–1972	240	134
C. B. Fry	1902–1903	2	0	1900–1902	16	0
Ricardo Fuller	2004–2005	31	1	2005–2006	31	9
Paul Gilchrist	1977–1978	39	3	1972–1977	107	17
Mervyn Gill	1953–1955	6	0	1955–1956	1	0
Jon Gittens	1993–1996	83	1	1985–1987 1991–1992	18 19	0 0
Alex Glen	1907–1908	7	1	1906–1907	29	10
Ivan Golac	1985	8	0	1978–1983 1984–1985	144 24	4 0
Willie Haines	1922–1928	164	119	1928–1932	70	47
Trevor Hebberd	1991	4	0	1976–1982	97	7
Scott Hiley	1999–2002	75	0	1998–1999	32	0
Barry Horne	1987–1989	70	7	1989–1992	112	6
Ted Hough	1931–1932	1	0	1921–1931	175	0
Kelly Houlker	1902–1903	23	1	1903–1906	59	3
Bill Kennedy	1932–1933	1	0	1936–1938	43	0
George Lawrence	1993	12	0	1980–1982 1985–1987	10 70	1 11
John Lewis	1900–1901	21	7	1907–1908	24	10
Alex McDonald	1902–1903	7	7	1901	5	5
Johnny McIlwaine	1928–1930	56	5	1930–1932 1933–1937	46 81	9 9
Jerry Mackie	1920–1928	278	78	1928–1931	81	24
Alan McLoughlin	1992–1999	309	54	1990–1992	24	1
Steve Middleton	1977–1978	26	0	1969–1970	24	0
George Molyneux	1905–1906	23	0	1900–1905	142	0
Harry Penk	1955–1957	9	2	1960–1964	52	6
Vincent Péricard	2002–2006	44	9	2008	5	0
Matt Reilly	1899–1904	138	0	1895	2	0
Nigel Quashie	2000–2005	148	13	2005–2006	37	5
Matthew Robinson	1998–2000	69	1	1993–1998	14	0
Bill Rochford	1931–1946	138	1	1946–1950	128	0
Bobby Stokes	1977–1978	24	2	1968–1977	216	40
Isaac Tomlinson	1906–1907	5	0	1905–1906	29	8
Jhon Viáfara	2005–2006	14	1	2006–2008	76	5
Grégory Vignal	2005–2006	14	0	2007–2008	20	3
Malcolm Waldron	1984–1986	23	1	1974–1983	178	10
Jack Warner	1906–1915	227	10	1905–1906	17	0
Ernest Williams	1906–1909	32	5	1912	1	0

Managed both clubs

• Alan Ball
• Harry Redknapp

Played for one, managed/coached the other

• Alan Ball
• Kevin Bond
• Arthur Chadwick
• Jimmy Easson
• Stuart Gray
• Joe Jordan
• Steve Wigley
• Harry Wood

Women's football

Both Portsmouth and Southampton have had women's counterparts in the past. Southampton Saints L.F.C. had the better history, affiliating to Southampton F.C. and taking on the club name in 1995, maintaining membership of the FA Women's Premier League National Division from 1998 to 2003 and finishing runners-up in the Women's FA Cup in 1998-99. Portsmouth F.C. Women, formed in 1987, has never climbed higher than the second tier.

Both teams played in the Southern Championship in the 2006–07 season. Portsmouth was a strong contender for promotion (they finished 3rd), while Southampton was relegated to the Regional Combinations. The former Portsmouth manager, Vanessa Raynbird, also played in and later managed Southampton as well.

Southampton F.C. had ended its links with Southampton Saints L.F.C. in 2005. In 2017, Southampton F.C. formed a women's section, Southampton F.C. Women. In summer 2021 Southampton F.C. Women were awarded upward club movement to the third-tier FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division, of which Portsmouth F.C. Women are long-serving members, meaning the 2021-22 season saw the resumption of the South Coast Women's Derby.

Major honours won by the clubs

Honours	Portsmouth	Southampton
Football League First Division / Premier League (first tier)	Champions 1948–49, 1949–50	Runners-up 1983–84
Football League Second Division / Football League First Division (second tier)	Champions 2003 Runners-up 1927, 1987	Runners-up 1966, 1978, 2012
Football League Third Division (South) / Football League Third Division (third tier)	Champions 1924, 1962, 1983, 2024	Champions 1922, 1960 Runners-up 2011
Football League Fourth Division (fourth tier)	Champions 2017	-
FA Cup	Winners 1939, 2008 Runners-up 1929, 1934, 2010	Winners 1976 Runners-up 1900, 1902, 2003
League Cup	–	Runners-up 1979, 2017
FA Charity Shield	Winners 1949 (Shared) Runners-up 2008	Runners-up 1976
Southern League	Champions 1902, 1920 Runners-up 1900, 1907	Champions: 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904
Western Football League	Champions 1901, 1902, 1903 Runners-up 1908	Champions 1908 Runners-up 1904, 1906, 1909
Football League Trophy	Winners: 2019	Winners: 2010
Hampshire Senior Cup	Winners: 1896, 1903, 1913, 1952, 1987	Winners: 1891, 1892, 1895, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1905, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1920, 1921, 1935, 1940, 1950, 1976

Bibliography

• Farmery, Colin (2004). Seventeen Miles from Paradise: Saints v Pompey – Passion, Pride and Prejudice. Desert Island Books. ISBN 978-1874287896.
• Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
• Juson, Dave (2004). Saints v Pompey – A history of unrelenting rivalry. Hagiology Publishing. ISBN 0-9534474-5-6.

External links

• Saints vs. Pompey: A recent history
• "Chimes could be a-changing", BBC Sport article on the rivalry between Southampton and Portsmouth
• Scummers v Skates (article in The Guardian newspaper, 23 January 2005)
• South Coast derby (Which two rivals have the world's closest derby record? Article in Guardian newspaper 24 Sept 2014)