SAINTS Women boss Remi Allen was left "disappointed and frustrated" following their 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City on Sunday.

Amy Merricks' side scored in both halves and were hardly tested by Southampton's attackers, who came into the game off a 5-0 win over Portsmouth.

Allen admitted her side did not reach the standard expected of them against a good Birmingham team.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, she said: "(I'm) disappointed, frustrated. First half we competed, second half I don't think we laid a glove on them and it wasn't good enough by our standards.

"I think we can be better, we want to be harder to beat, we've got to get in the duels, we've got to fight, we've got to compete."

Fran Stenson produced two fine saves to deny Ivan Fuso after Saints went more attacking in a bid to get back into the game.

"I think that's the trade-off, we changed shape, we went attacking, we're trying to get back in the game, so you leave yourself a little bit more vulnerable going the other way," Allen continued.

"We knew that, whether we lost the game 3-0 or 2-0, we were still going to lose the game, so that's what Fran's there for.

"She's an unbelievable goalkeeper, she's helped us out, we just needed more going the other way.

"I think if you look at when she came in in the summer, obviously you also had Kayla Rendell already here."

Some of Southampton's players will now go away to represent England and Wales during the first international break of the 2024/25 season.

Allen pointed out that this will be a chance to work on some aspects of their game ahead of facing second-place Charlton after the break.

"There's only so much we can do with the numbers that we have left but we'll be working hard, there might be a little bit of individual detail that we can go through and work with them.

"Hopefully the players that have gone away have a great international break, and they come back fit and raring to go.

"The league is wide open, everyone's beating everyone. We want to win as many games as possible.

"But as I've said before, I think it's really important you don't get too high with the highs, and you don't get too low with the lows.

"It's a league, it's competitive, so each team will beat each other at different points. So, it's just about us refocusing and going again."