The Portsmouth heroes threatening to pull off the 'Greatest of Great Escapes' in another relegation battle against the odds

Nonetheless, Fratton Park could well be celebrating two remarkable survival fights at the season’s end, with both teams having triumphed against all the odds.

While John Mousinho’s men have dragged themselves off the foot of the Championship to presently occupy 17th spot, a rejuvenated Pompey Women are also performing heroics.

Until this month, Jay Sadler’s side had spent six months at the bottom of the table after failing to win any of their opening 14 games following promotion to the Barclays Women’s Championship.

The last of their two points arrived on December 15, they’d scored seven league goals all season, while a goal difference of minus 33 was more than double anyone else.

However, the start of March finally brought a cherished first Championship victory, with a 2-0 success at relegation rivals Sheffield United.

They followed that up on Sunday, with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Fratton Park in front of a 2,461 crowd.

Consecutive wins have suddenly lifted Sadler’s side two places above the drop zone - and their long-serving head coach is adamant the Great Escape is on.

Sadler told The News: ‘Winning on Sunday was imperative, it was so important. It was a great win at Sheffield United, but it meant nothing if we didn't back it up - and they backed that up against Sunderland, which was superb.

‘Before March, we had two points and hadn’t won in 14 league games. Now we’ve won two in a row. It wouldn’t be Pompey if it wasn’t a Great Escape - and, if this was to happen, it would be one of the greatest.

‘100 per cent we can stay up, I have always said it. Every time someone has asked me if we could - whether we were on zero points or one point - I have said the same. I believe in this group.

‘We knew we had the ability, it was just about getting the results. We have ‘Great Escape’ written on our board back at Havant & Waterlooville where we train. We have to believe.

‘For belief, though, you need to give the fundamentals and the players keep doing it, day in, day out. They are a pleasure to work with and we’ve always had that optimism.

‘Winning on Sunday, Blackburn losing, Sheffield United not playing, we have now jumped over both of them, which is psychologically massive.

‘We have hard-working staff who stay late and give everything they can to try to help the cause. And we have a group of players that are coachable and have heart and spirit.

‘But you need points to stay in the league. Three weeks ago we were on two points - now we’re on eight. That is a huge jump over such a short period of time.

‘We have four cup finals remaining.’

A January resurrection

Ava Rowbotham and Meg Hornby netted in a four-minute second-half spell to deservedly establish a 2-0 lead over sixth-placed Sunderland.

Indeed, the Blues had been ruing a glut of missed opportunities up until that point, particularly in the first half, as they failed to make their superiority count.

The Black Cats’ Katy Watson pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining to set up a nervy finish, yet Sadler’s side held on for a huge 2-1 triumph.

With four games remaining, Pompey Women are now two points clear of Sheffield United, who currently occupy the final relegation spot.

Sadler added: ‘We’ve got better since January. For a start, it has taken us time to adapt to the league and the physicality and demands. It’s a huge jump from where we were last season.

‘The owners have also backed us and supported us bringing in Jazz Bull, Emma Thompson and Liv Bramley, so we’ve been able to recruit players into the squad - and we needed all of those on Sunday.

‘It was a really good performance, maybe the last 15 minutes the game got a little chaotic, which probably fell into Sunderland's hands.

‘However, the first 45 minutes we were in control, able to get into some really good areas, and the disappointment at half-time was not being 2-0 up. Then the way we started the second half was superb.

‘It was going to be nervy given the position we’re in. There was that anxiety, everyone could feel it, but the way the character shone through the players was superb. We definitely deserved to win.’

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