CHERRIES’ first-half double was enough for them to edge past Southampton Women.

Molly Clark and Pearl Mortimer grabbed a goal apiece to send Cherries on their way away at Southampton Women, the hosts threatening a comeback 15 minutes from time when Shannon Sievwright pulled one back.

However, Cherries saw out the closing stages to record a first win in three games.

Reflecting on the result, Steve Cuss told afcb.co.uk: “I’m really pleased, it was a really strong performance and delighted with the win.

“I thought in the first half we were particularly impressive. We were on the front foot, we created a number of really good chances and scored two goals, which put us in the driving seat.  

“Southampton are a good side so we knew they would come back strong in the second half and that’s what they did, which meant we saw the other side to our game.

“We defended well and had to be a little bit more defensive to cope with Southampton pushing players forward. I felt we dealt with that really well.”

There was specific praise for Cherries' attackers from Cuss, who continued: “Molly was excellent throughout the evening and her goal was fantastic.

"I was really pleased with the second goal as it involved all of the front three, who are under the age of 18.

"They’re a real threat so we were pleased with our attacking capabilities, but we were equally pleased with the defence and Katie (Scadding) behind them.”

Cherries face higher-division Portsmouth on Sunday, the two sides drawn together in the semi-finals of the Hampshire Senior Cup.
 “We’ve got a massive challenge," restarted Cuss.

"We’ve had a tough run of games recently and we’ve shown up well in those fixtures.

“Now we’re playing a Portsmouth team who are riding high in the division above. The players are looking forward to it, we’ll have to be at our best to get that result but we’re confident we can compete.”