 In 1925 and 1927, Saints reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 and 2–1 to Sheffield United and Arsenal respectively.Saints was briefly forced to switch home matches to the ground of their local rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park during World War II when a bomb landed on The Dell pitch in November 1940, leaving an 18-foot crater which damaged an underground culvert and flooded the pitch.Promotion was narrowly missed in 1947–48 when the club finished in third place, a feat repeated the following season (despite having an eight-point lead with just eight games to play) while in 1949–50 the club was to be denied promotion by 0.06 of a goal, missing out on second place to Sheffield United.