Port Melbourne VFLW fell short by three points against the Southern Saints in a tough battle at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.

In an evenly-matched contest, the Borough looked like taking the upper hand with two goals early in the second quarter, giving them an eight-point lead at the main change.

However, the Saints fought back with a series of behinds before Gabriella De Angelis kicked her second 14 minutes into the third quarter.

That turned out to be only goal of the second half, with the Saints scoring the only two behinds of the last quarter holding on as Port launched one last attack that saw the ball in its forward pocket when the siren sounded.

De Angelis (20 disposals, five marks, seven tackles, two goals) was best-on-ground in a terrific display for the Saints, with Winnie Laing (24 disposals, five tackles) laying a crucial one at the death to stop the Borough getting a late shot on goal.

Alex Hynes (10 disposals, six tackles, 23 hitouts) won the ruck and Tayla Kearns (13 disposals, seven marks, seven tackles, one goal) worked hard in attack.

Emily Harley had 11 touches and kicked two goals in her first game from a serious knee injury for Port Melbourne, with Olivia Barton (19 disposals, six rebounds) strong in defence, Jessie Williams (16 disposals, seven clearances, seven tackles) doing well in the middle and Kaitlyn O’Keefe and Saraid Taylor laying 21 tackles combined.

SOUTHERN SAINTS 2.0, 2.1, 3.5, 3.7 (25)
PORT MELBOURNE 1.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.4 (22)