Photo: Goal scorer and player of the match, Chelsie Hay, was a handful for the Southampton defence. Photo credit: Gary Marsh

Winchester City Flyers came from behind to beat Southampton Women’s for the first time in the club’s history, winning 3-1 at home.

Izzy Crooks gave the south coast club a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute in a first-half to forget for the Flyers.

A better performance in the second-half saw Winchester clinch the win through goals for Lydia Moulding, Chelsie Hay and Shayne Prasad.

It was a chilly afternoon as Southampton made the trip to the Charters Community Stadium for the first league meeting in over eight years.

Manager Emma Pearmine was seeking a reaction after the previous week's disappointment of losing to Wycombe Wanderers, and within minutes, it seemed that was happening.

Prasad was light on her feet as she found Annie Northwood out wide, who then split the defence to return the ball to the winger, who struck the woodwork before Hay shot wide.

Minutes later, former Winchester loanee Scarlet Kirby struck from 30-yards out and forced Ellie Parker into parrying the effort round the post.

Momentum went with the visitors as more chances came for Southampton.

Ashleigh Mills headed wide from a corner before Moulding raced back to tackle the ball away from the feet of a goal-bound Kirby.

The pressure paid off in the 15th minute.

Chloe Tedman set the ball back to Eliska Lynn who found an unmarked Crooks to shoot from 20-yards out, and despite getting a hand to it, Parker couldn’t keep the strike out.

The ascendancy was with Southampton, but they couldn’t find another outlet to extend their lead.

Charlie Snelling struck wide from a freekick before Pearmine looked to switch things up and bring Amy Smith on in place of Northwood, moving Hay into a more central role.

The final 10 minutes of the first-half saw Winchester grow into the game, but the chances were limited, the best of which fell to Snelling, who could only direct her header straight at goalkeeper, Leah Etheridge.

Half-time couldn’t come soon enough for the Flyer,s and they came out after the break with renewed energy.

Laura Vokes sent a perfect cross into the box for Hay to control, but the forward couldn’t keep the shot on target as the ball rattled the railings surrounding the pitch.

Hay then turned provider, she cut back to a free Kayleigh Tonks in the middle of the area; however, the shot was once again straight at Etheridge.

There was a flurry of attempts for Winchester; Sian Wylie lacked power on a shot before Snelling and Moulding had headed opportunities they couldn’t convert.

The pressure eventually paid off for the Flyers in the 76th minute.

Etheridge couldn’t keep out a dangerous Vokes corner, and Moulding was the closest to ensure the ball went over the line.

Minutes later, Southampton thought they had the game levelled, except Parker had other ideas as she pushed a good freekick over the bar.

In the 84th minute, the visitors dropped down to 10 players, as Wright was sin-binned for 10 minutes.

With renewed energy, the Flyers attacked the Southampton goal.

Captain Emma Whitlock overturned possession, she threaded the ball to Wylie and then to Tonks, who slid Hay in behind for a rocket of a shot to put Winchester ahead with three minutes of normal time remaining.

The drama didn’t end there as the game headed into eight minutes of additional time.

More chances came, and then in the 97th minute, Winchester had the game officially wrapped up.

Another dangerous Vokes corner wasn’t dealt with and fell to Prasad, who had been a constant nuisance all game, and fired past Etheridge for the third.

A minute or so later, the final whistle was blown to euphoria around the ground as the Flyers recorded their first competitive win over Southampton.

The win saw Winchester move up into fifth, two points off Southampton, who dropped to third.

Next up, the Flyers host Reading in the Southern Region Premier Division before Farnborough visit the Charters Community Stadium in the league cup.

Full-time: Flyers 3 Southampton 1