Hat-trick hero Rickie

Southampton’s first league visit to the competition’s most controversial organisation, currently trading as Milton Keynes Dons, was also their fourth meeting of the season. Not that anyone found much to get excited about in a tedious first half that contained little of note, and only a fool would have been tempted by half time odds offering 40 to 1 against a 3-0 away win.

Then, after the break, Gueret made a late decision to come for a high bouncing ball, a move that allowed Lambert to come out on top and head into an unguarded net. This at least made an away win a distinct possibility and when Fonte’s unlikely run along the bye-line after a corner earned a penalty, things were looking positive. Lambert likes to give his spot kicks a fair old whack, and that enabled him to beat the ‘keeper’s dive.

As we know, Lambert can strike the ball well from anywhere, but the unfortunate Gueret was not expecting the 35 yard effort from Rickie that caught him in no-man’s-land and entered the net on the first bounce for a remarkable goal. At this point LSSC’s Steve Keenan revealed that he had staked a couple of quid out of his fortunes on that 40-1 bet, and he’d be grateful if Saints failed to score any more, thank you.

In fact Saints got a bit sloppy in the last 15 minutes and a revamped defence with Harding at right back, Mills at left back and Seaborne partnering Fonte were grateful that at least Davis kept his concentration. So too were the Keenan finances.

LSSC Man of the Match: Rickie Lambert, and he’d have got it for that third goal alone – never mind a first Saints hat trick.

01 Davis
02 Harding
12 Fonte
18 Mills
35 Seaborne
04 Puncheon
14 Hammond
19 Schneiderlin (Wotton 90)
07 Lambert (Papa Waigo 78)
17 Barnard (Connolly 81)
20 Lallana