It was the result Southampton fans could only dream about, and it will be a game that will be spoken about for years to come.
A 4-0 win against Portsmouth in the first South Coast Derby in nearly seven years was a near-perfect result for the Saints, who realistically could have scored more on the night as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had a chance in front of an open net well blocked by Oliver Hawkins as well as other efforts denied by Craig MacGillivray scattered throughout the match.
It was a fairytale night for Southampton, who claimed the south coast bragging rights and will likely hold onto them until the next encounter in the future, yet the performance should be met with questions from supporters, namely, where has this type of quality been in the Premier League?
Indeed, the occasion does have some contributing factors. A derby can lift the spirits of an entire squad like no other, especially so when said rivals are currently languishing in the pits of the League One table.
Yet this was a game that Southampton dominated from minute to minute, and heading into this fixture on the back of a disappointing result against Bournemouth, fans would be expecting similar performances to what they saw against Portsmouth for the remainder of the season.
With the derby done and dusted, the main attraction for Saints fans now returns to finishing as high as possible in the Premier League, and after the showcase at Fratton Park this week, performance levels would be expected to continue after such a dominating display.
The derby went better than expected for Southampton, and now the side should be aiming to keep up the level of passion, intensity and drive they showed this week in their upcoming Premier League games, where supporters will expect Hasenhuttl and company to continue to deliver impressive results.
