Reading comfortably beat Southampton 3-0 at St Mary’s stadium in the Women’s League Cup.
Goals from Sanne Troelsgaard, Lauren Wade and Justine Vanhaevermaet were enough for the Berkshire side as they went up to second in Group E.
For Southampton, it was a tough afternoon, and despite competing well throughout the match, Reading showed their class in the end.
The match was played out in front of an impressive attendance of 4,258 on the South Coast, and the supporters were treated to a thoroughly entertaining encounter.
Story of the match
Reading took a fifth minute lead when Sanne Troelsgaard turned in the box after the Saints defenders failed to clear their lines, and she fired high into the roof of the net.
Southampton were struggling to get going, and a promising attack resulted in Megan Wynne getting tackled before she could deliver into the box.
The Royals always looked a threat when they came forward and they almost made it 2-0 midway through the first half.
A wonderful cross from the left was agonisingly too far in front of the Reading forward as she tried to connect.
At the other end, Wynne almost capitalised on a mix-up in the Reading defence as keeper Jacqueline Burns rushed out of her box to just beat the Saints player to the ball.
The home side's pressure continued with Alice Griffiths being denied by a fine stop from Burns as she let fly from outside the area.
The visitors doubled their advantage on 38 minutes as Lauren Wade broke in behind the Saints backline before coolly slotting the ball past Sophie Harris.
Reading made a change at the start of the second half as Charlie Wellings came on for Emma Harries.
The Berkshire side continued to look the dominant team after the interval, and they were looking far more likely to add to their lead rather than let Southampton back into the game.
On the hour mark, the home side failed to clear their lines from a free-kick and Justine Vanhaevermaet lashed the ball home to make it 3-0 to the visitors.
Reading boss Kelly Chambers made a double substitution shortly after as the cup tie entered its final stages.
Diane Caldwell and Tia Primmer replaced Rachel Rowe and Deanna Cooper in an attempt to see the game out for the Royals.
The Saints also made a change of their own as Sophie Pharoah entered the fray in place of Lexi Lloyd-Smith.
The hosts were really struggling to create any clear-cut chances and a free kick in a promising position for Griffiths was comfortably dealt with by the Reading backline.
Southampton striker Ella Pusey was introduced with 10 minutes remaining, looking to give the home crowd something to cheer about late on.
But it was the Royals who again came closest to scoring again, but a miraculous block on the line denied the Reading forward from making it four.
Player of the match - Sanne Troelsgaard
It was an excellent display by the Danish midfielder as she made it two goals in two matches on Sunday.
She followed up her late equaliser against Liverpool in midweek by getting the Royals off to a fast start with a fine turn and finish in the box.
Her performance never dwindled and Southampton will be glad to see the back of the 34-year-old.