Portsmouth and Southampton are historically the most successful clubs on the southern coast of England and lie only 19 miles (31 km) apart in Hampshire.

In "first class" matches between the two teams, Southampton have the most wins, and have been more regularly in a higher league than Portsmouth, including their 27 consecutive years in the top flight of English football.

The match was won "on their merits" 2–0 by Portsmouth, with goals from Dan Cunliffe (formerly with Liverpool) and Harry Clarke (formerly with Everton).

Because of the large crowd expected for the first FA Cup meeting between the two rivals, the local registrars in both towns postponed voting in the 1906 general election until the following week.

[2] The match at The Dell was attended by a capacity crowd of 14,000 and the Portsmouth fans, together with their players, did their best to unsettle the inexperienced Southampton goalkeeper, Bill Stead, who was making only his second first team appearance.

Stead, however, showed few signs of nerves and produced a "phlegmatic performance",[3] restricting Portsmouth to a single goal from Dan Cunliffe, while the Saints scored five and eventually progressed to the last eight, where they lost 3–0 at Liverpool.

From the 1960s onwards, Southampton found themselves in the ascendancy, being in a higher division nearly every season while defeating their rivals whenever the two sides met in cup clashes.

Events such as the death of Portsmouth goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan, a Southampton-born footballer whose brother Darryl had played for Southampton, occasionally brought the fans together.

Southampton dominated the South Coast derby games in the post-war era, with fourteen wins to Portsmouth's six.

Portsmouth's promotion to the Premiership in 2003 evened matters and reignited the clubs' rivalry – the first time the two teams had met in regular league competition since the 1987–88 First Division season.

Southampton were subsequently relegated from the Premiership a few games later on the final day of the 2004–05 season, ending their 27-year run in the top flight of English Football.

[6] In Portsmouth's absence, AFC Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion – based about 30 miles (48 km) and 60 miles (97 km) from Southampton respectively – gained promotion to the Premier League, with some media outlets marketing fixtures against them as a 'South Coast derby';[7][8][9] however, there is very little shared history or animosity between the clubs and supporters have never acknowledged these as significant rivalries,[10][9][11] something which was emphasised in September 2019 when Southampton were drawn against Portsmouth in the EFL Cup for their first meeting in seven years, with the event being discussed with much more anticipation than Saints' league matches against both Bournemouth and Brighton a few weeks earlier.

[12][11][13] The acrimonious departure of Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth to Southampton brought the bitter rivalry between the two clubs to a new level.

When Redknapp returned to Portsmouth in November 2005 following Southampton's relegation, it only served to further sour relations between the two clubs, which arguably remain at an all-time low.

Jealously, bragging, changing fortunes between the opposing fans, and the rise of football hooliganism in 1970s England are most likely the cause of the bitter rivalry that now exists between both sets of supporters.

Portsmouth's closer proximity to the European continent saved fuel, journey time and made more economic sense to ferry operators.

This was the first season that Southampton fans began using the derogatory "Skate" nickname for Portsmouth's supporters, which had been chosen from a fanzine poll.

Portsmouth's loss earned West Bromwich Albion three points and survival to end one place above the relegation zone.

[21] Despite the best efforts of the police, violence and anti-social behaviour ensued; before the game, red and blue flares were set off near Fratton Train Station and the Shepherd's Crook pub respectively.

According to some Portsmouth fans, the term "scum" developed out of a fictitious acronym standing for Southampton City (or Corporation) Union Men, with the term allegedly originating from when Southampton dockyard workers supposedly crossed the picket lines in the 1930s when Portsmouth dockyard workers were on strike.

[24] Skates was chosen as the derisive alternative to "matelot" to describe naval sailors, Portsmouth being the home of the Royal Navy.