Brighton Home Lost 1 – 2
Forster replaced McCarthy in the team to face Brighton, and that was no surprise given their respective stats of late – it had really been a surprise when McCarthy got the call last time out, allegedly because of his better skills with the ball at his feet, although the evidence for that is becoming thin. It looked a much more likely Southampton line-up from goal to attack, but as it turned out the ball seemed to be an alien body for most of the side, with it frequently given away cheaply, including in dangerous areas. Forster denied Maupay from one such situation, conceding a corner in the process from which Dunk scored with a long-distance header that the keeper might have dealt with. That was on 16 minutes, but it was followed by Southampton’s best period of the match and their equaliser ten minutes later was not unexpected. Adams has suddenly started to find the net again and he looked poised to get in a decent effort as Bertrand headed across goal but a touch off Dunk’s head actually set him up for a volley that gave Sanchez no chance. Hopes that we might press on from 1-1 were premature as errors began to creep back in and only Forster’s save from Gross with his trailing leg prevented the visitors from turning round in front. At least we could only improve in the second half, couldn’t we? No, we couldn’t! I was already willing the clock to run down after only 56 minutes when Trossard darted away from his marker, something he does quite frequently to very little effect, but Bednarek failed to cover, with the inevitable result. Referee Attwell allowed Adams every chance to score from the loose ball after Tella was fouled, but we eventually had to settle for a free kick on the very edge of the box when Sanchez saved. Ward-Prowse has a record as good as any from these situations but when his shot cannoned off the wall and wide of the post, the best chance of an equaliser had come and gone although there was pretty much a third of the match remaining. Saints are a frustrating team to follow these days; their next league outing is at West Bromwich – one to watch from behind the sofa I’d say.
LSSC Man of the Match: Jannik Vestergaard, comfortably our best player.
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