SFC Report Annual 2023 - Jack Whitewood

Introduction

Southampton FC. A club that is the heartbeat of the city. A club that some of the world's greatest players have represented during their careers. The likes of Gareth Bale, Sadio Mane and Virgil Van Dijk all joined The Saints as unknown players and left as world class athletes. Not to mention that it is also a club that is very close to my heart. In this annual, I will be reviewing and reflecting on the season so far, and will be hearing from fellow Saints fans. A focus on the Southampton players that are representing clubs elsewhere for the season. I will also be looking at some vintage Saints shirts. Additionally, this annual will include a Matchday blog where the Saints will host fellow south coast side AFC Bournemouth which promises to be a must win game for the home side. This annual will conclude with a word search and a crossword.

I hope you enjoy!

Season Review Pt.1

Southampton kicked off their 10th season back in the Premier League after being promoted from the Championship back in 2012. After many seasons of ups and downs in the past decade, this season proved to be the most difficult yet.

August

The Saints began the 2022/23 season up in the capital as they visited Tottenham Hotspur. The last time the south coast side won a game on the opening day of the season was back in the 2013/14 season where The Saints snatched a 1-0 win away at West Bromwich Albion from a last minute Rickie Lambert penalty. However since then, they have had a wretched streak of unwinnable games and this season was no different as they fell to a disappointing 4-1 defeat against the North London side. They hosted Leeds United the following week with the game resulting in a 2-2 draw after The Saints brought it back from a 2-0 deficit with goals from summer signing Joe Aribo and Kyle Walker-Peters. After the south coast side picked up their first point of the season they travelled to the King Power Stadium to face a struggling Leicester City side. Subsequent to a James Maddison free kick that put the East Midlands side ahead, super-sub Che Adams came on against his hometown and scored a brace to turn the game around to 2-1 which brought all three points back to the south coast. After a brilliant display from the Scotsman against Leicester, he followed up with a brace which was topped off with a third by 17-year old Dom Ballard in a 3-0 win against League One side Cambridge United in the EFL Cup. Commencing from that victory in midweek, The Saints put on a brilliant display at home to Manchester United but were unlucky to fall to a 1-0 defeat from a brilliant finish from Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes. Following that unfortunate loss, The Saints ended the month of August with a 2-1 home victory over London side Chelsea. First half goals from Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener. After this result, Long serving Saints fan, Lee, has stated that this was the best Southampton side he has seen play since the ‘Koeman Era’. He

has highlighted that the players attitude after conceding goals and desire to turn the games around is the best he has seen for a long time.

September

After a terrific opening month for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, the month of September was very underwhelming. Interrupted with the International Break and a matchweek halted due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the Saints only played 2 games throughout this month. The first game was against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton were coming into this game on top of the world after their 2-1 win over Chelsea which concluded a phenomenal month. However, the south coast side were brought back down to earth after a 1-0 defeat from a scrappy Daniel Podence finish. 2 weeks later, Southampton fell to another 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa after Jacob Ramsey claimed all three points for the Villans. 2 consecutive 1-0 deficits for the Saints gave the fans little hope for the rest of the season after disappointing displays against teams they should really be picking up points from.

October

The beginning of October was no different, Southampton welcomed Everton to St Mary’s Stadium. Joe Aribo opened the scoring for the hosts but goals from Conor Coady and Dwight Mcneil turned the game on its head, The Saints dropped all 3 points by losing 2-1 to the Toffees. A week later, they travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face a dangerous Manchester City side who were seeming to destroy anyone in their path. Despite City smashing 4 past the visitors, it seemed like that was a good result for The Saints and especially for their goal difference. Following from the first two games of the month, the south coast side began to find a bit of form. Unbeaten in their next 3 games and picking up 5 points along the way. A fair 1-1 draw at home to West Ham United was prior to an excellent performance against AFC Bournemouth to win 1-0 with a brilliantly executed header from Che Adams to pick up their first 3 points since the end of August. Next, The Saints hosted league leaders Arsenal, Granit Xhaka’s thunderous opener for the Gunners was cancelled out by a delightful Stuart Armstrong finish that complet-

ed an excellent move by Mohamed Elyounoussi. These 3 games started to give the fans excitement and bring back hope into the city. However, Hasenhuttl’s men ended the month of October with yet another disappointing 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace. A first half strike from Odsonne Edouard was enough to seal all three points for the Eagles.

November A short month for Premier League football as it was paused by the return of the World Cup, The month of November did not start well for the Saints. After an embarrassing 4-1 thrashing at home to Newcastle. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s time at St Mary’s was up. The Austrian’s time down on the south coast lasted just under 4 years, full of entertainment and enjoyable moments but ultimately it seemed as if it was the right time for manager and the club to part ways. A few days after the sacking of Hasenhuttl, the Saints hosted Sheffield Wednesday in the 3rd round of the EFL Cup. Assistant manager Ruben Selles took charge for this game. Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse equalised from the spot after a Josh Windass opener in a game that ended 1-1, this scoreline resulted in a penalty shootout which was won by The Saints 6-5 to progress to the next round. The following day, former Luton Town manager Nathan Jones was appointed as the First Team Manager. This appointment caused a great deal of concern and confusion to the fans, saying it was a poor appointment and expressing guaranteed relegation. The Welshman, Jones, had 1 game before the World Cup to prove to supporters he had what it takes to be the manager of the south coast club. It was a difficult first game under Jones as they travelled to Anfield to face Liverpool. A brilliant header from Che Adams cancelled out Roberto Firmino’s opener before Darwin Nunez scored a brace ahead of the interval. Despite the result ending 3-1 to the hosts, Saints fans were pleased with the performance and thought that this moment could be the turning point in their season. Due to the fact that the world’s grandest tournament was being played during the winter, club football had to be put at a halt for the foreseeable future.

December

After the conclusion of the World Cup, club football was back. The Saints resumed their campaign starting off with a EFL Cup tie at home to Lincoln City.

It was a shock start into the game as the visitors went ahead within the first 2 minutes. However, a double from Che Adams was enough to see The Saints over the line to progress to the quarter finals. Southampton next hosted fellow south coast side Brighton on Boxing Day. A woeful performance from the Saints as they fell to their second 3-1 defeat in consecutive Premier League games. A header from former Saint Adam Lallana, an own goal from Romain Perraud and a screamer from Solly March put the visitors in dreamland before a consolation from Saints skipper James Ward-Prowse. The final game of the year for the Saints was up in the capital as they faced a high-flying Fulham side. An own goal from James Ward-Prowse gave the hosts the lead in the first half before equalising for Jones’ men from a terrific free kick in the second half. However, a late header from Joao Palhinha gave the Cottagers all three points. The Saints go into the new year fearing the worst for the rest of the season as Jones is yet to pick up his first points in the league.

January

A busy start to the year for the Saints and the first game of the month ended in terrible fashion as they gifted Nottingham Forest a crucial win from a Taiwo Awoniyi strike in the first half. After this game against relegation rivals, the Saints fans were really starting to worry for the rest of the season. The weekend after that dampening defeat, Southampton visited Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. It took the hosts just under 15 minutes to break the deadlock, with a goal from Odsonne Edouard. This game was seeming like a repeat of the league fixture back in October, but in spite of that, goals from James Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong claimed the Saints the victory and a place in the next round. This game started to reignite the excitement back into the club as they then put out an excellent display in the EFL Cup against the holders Manchester City to beat them by 2 goals to nil to progress to the semi-final of the competition. This game started to make the fans believe in what Nathan Jones was doing and started to support the Welshman. The faith in the manager was definitely repaid for the next game as they faced Everton in a crucial relegation 6-pointer. A header from Amadou Onana put the Toffees ahead going into half-time. However, The Saints came back out for the second half and it was an absolute masterclass from deadball specialist James Ward-Prowse as he scored a

Season Review Pt.2

brace to claim a vital win over their relegation rivals. This win concluded an excellent week for Jones’ men. 3 games, 3 competitions, 3 wins. Southampton were looking to build on that extraordinary week and they next faced Aston Villa. The Saints were unfortunate to lose the game 1-0 as a late Ollie Watkins header snatched the 3 points from Jones’ men after VAR controversy stole the show. This damaging defeat for The Saints was followed by a crucial EFL Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg vs Newcastle United, an evenly matched affair ended with the Magpies claiming the advantage going into the 2nd leg with a brilliant side-footed finish from Joelinton. Sandwiched between the two legs was a 4th round FA Cup tie against Blackpool. A dominant first hour display from the south coast side, with a brace from Romain Perraud, turned into a nervy end to the game after youngster Charlie Patino got one back for the Championship side. However, The Saints got over the line and booked their place in the 5th round of the competition. The following game was the 2nd Leg of the EFL Cup against Newcastle United. This crucial game for the Saints couldn’t have possibly started any worse after Sean Longstaff fired in to double the Magpies advantage on aggregate after just 5 minutes on the clock. 15 minutes later Longstaff grabbed a second for the Geordies on the night and made it 3-0 over the course of both legs. These two strikes made it near enough impossible for the Saints to come back from. The Magpies were in dreamland and were convinced they already won the tie just before Che Adams silenced the crowd with a wonderstrike that just squeezed past Nick Pope. However, that was all that Saints could produce in their comeback as the two-legged affair ended 3-1 to Newcastle which meant the Saints were knocked out of the competition. As well as lots of drama on the pitch, Southampton made some excellent signings throughout the course of the January transfer window:

Mislav Orsic (£8 Million)

Carlos Alcaraz (£12 Million)

James Bree (£750,000)

Kamaldeen Sulemana (£25 Million)

Paul Onuachu (£18 Million)

February

The Saints kicked off a brand new month away to a strong Brentford looking to progress up the table. Now that Nathan Jones has had a transfer window to bring in players that fit his style of play, it was a break for the Welshman. In the end, Brentford proved to be too strong for Jones’ men as they were thumped 3-0 by the London side. This game resulted in fans chanting to Nathan Jones to “get out of our club”. A week later, The Saints hosted fellow strugglers Wolves in a must win game for Nathan Jones. January signing Carlos Alcaraz smashed in the opener for his first goal for the club before former Saint Mario Lemina was sent off on his return to St Mary’s. It all looked like it was going The Saints’ way until the 10 men of Wolves staged a late comeback. A Jan Bednarek own goal was followed up by a brilliant late strike by Joao Gomes to seal all three points for the visitors. This game proved to be the last for Nathan Jones as the manager of Southampton. Following the sacking of Jones, assistant manager Ruben Selles stepped up to take charge for the second time this season. The Spaniard’s first game was against a struggling Chelsea side. The Saints put out a brilliant performance under Selles and claimed a 1-0 victory after a yet another phenomenal free kick from dead-ball specialist James Ward-Prowse. Subsequent to the magnificent away day up in Chelsea, The Saints were looking to bring that into their next game which was another crucial relegation battle, this time against Leeds United. Ultimately, the south coast side did not perform well for that game and suffered a painful 1-0 defeat which was damaging as relegation was starting to look increasingly likely.

March

As well as the fear of relegation, a few days after at the beginning of March. The Saints were embarrassingly knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town. 2 penalties from Gavan Holohan was enough to see the Haddocks through to the next round. From the lows of FA Cup elimination to the highs of winning a relegation 6-pointer just days after, The Saints picked up an important 3 points against Leicester City

AprilAfter

the International break, Selles’ side resumed their fight for survival in the Premier League. They next travelled to the capital to face relegation rivals West Ham. A huge game for The Saints yet again ended in a defeat as Nayef Aguerd’s well executed header proved to be the winner to claim a massive three points for the Irons. The following week, the south coast side hosted Manchester City. A game with very little hope and expectation for the supporters, The Saints fell to a 4-1 defeat. With a brace from Erling Haaland and goals from Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez was too much for The Saints to compete with despite a consolation from Sekou Mara to score his first league goal for

to seal a double over the Foxes. Another goal from Carlos Alcaraz proved to be the winner for Selles’ side. The Saints followed up that terrific win by claiming a pivotal point against Manchester United as they drew 0-0 at Old Trafford. However during that week, The Saints hosted Brentford under the lights. Another poor performance from the south coast side as goals from Ivan Toney and Yoanne Wissa proved to be the difference between the two sides. Following that disappointing defeat, The Saints welcomed Tottenham Hotspur. It looked as if it was another depressing day for the supporters when Ivan Perisic fired in to put Spurs 3-1 up with just over 15 minutes to go. However, The Saints struck a late comeback. A composed finish by veteran Theo Walcott was prior to a brilliant penalty by skipper James Ward-Prowse to save The Saints for yet another time this season. 7

the club. Selles’ side next hosted Crystal Palace in what proved to be a must win for The Saints in their fight for survival. However, a second half brace from Eberechi Eze saw the better of the home side as they lost 2-0 to add to their busy tally of pitiful losses. This result was making relegation to the Championship increasingly likely for The Saints. Their next game did not get much easier, as they travelled to the Emirates Stadium to face league leaders Arsenal. However, an unexpected quickfire start for the visitors as Carlos Alcaraz put The Saints ahead within 30 seconds of the game which came to a shock to many people in the stadium. Before the 15 minute mark, former Gunner, Theo Walcott, fired Saints into a 2-0 lead. However, 5 minutes later Gabriel Martinelli brought one back for the league leaders. A tense matchup as both teams had so much on the line. Then, Duje Caleta-Car smashed in a bullet header to put The Saints into a 3-1 advantage. The Saints were cruising and it was looking more and more likely that The Saints were going to get a famous win against title contenders Arsenal. However, 2 swift goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka brought the game to 3-3 with a matter of minutes to go. The Gunners were fired up, trying to get a winner, but the game ended in a 3-3 draw. Considering the circumstances, this was a bad result for both teams.

A season full of many underwhelming moments for the supporters as relegation to the Championship is looking more and more threatening every game. Next up for Southampton is a matchup against AFC Bournemouth which is proving to be a much needed three points for Selles’ side. Can The Saints step up to the occasion or add to a crowded list of poor results? You can find out on page 12.

Page 12

The Saints VS The Cherries

Interview with @Saintssnewsfc

Question 1: What is your opinion on this season?

“Very unexpected. I would have thought we would have placed higher in the league due to the investments we’ve had and the amount of players we signed. However, overall it’s been a pretty terrible season due to the possible relegation”.

Question 2: Who has been your player of the season?

“I think it has to be the skipper, James Ward Prowse, his work rate and talent says it all”

Question 3: Do you think that Ruben Selles is the right man for the job after this season?

“I have mixed emotions on the man, one week he does an amazing job, the next it goes downhill. I’d say to give him half a season in the Championship to prove himself, if not, then the right thing to do is sack him”

Question 4: Do you think we would be in a better position if Ralph Hasenhuttl was still in charge?

“I feel like Ralph being sacked was unfortunate but if we didn’t sack him, we wouldn’t move on in the future. However, undoubtedly he was amazing for us”

Question 5: Do you think Nathan Tella will stay or leave in the summer?

“I would absolutely love for him to stay but he’s found a new family so I think he will definitely leave in the summer”

Question 6: Score predictions for the game against AFC Bournemouth?

“I hope for it to be 2-0 Southampton, however realistically I believe it’ll be 1-1 with a late Saints equaliser”

Loan Watch

Jack Stephens Profile

Age: 29

Nationality: England

Position: Defender

Team: AFC Bournemouth

Market Value: £5 Million Statistics

Appearances: 19

Assists: 0

Clean Sheets: 3

Minutes Played: 1,394

Average Rating (FotMob): 6.71

Dan N’Lundulu Profile

Age: 24

Nationality: England

Position: Forward

Team: Bolton Wanderers

Market Value: £900,000

Statistics

Appearances: 40

Goals: 6

Assists: 3

Minutes Played: 2,543

Average Rating (FotMob): 6.50

Will Smallbone Profile

Age: 23

Nationality: Republic of Ireland

Position: Midfielder

Team: Stoke City

Market Value: £2.20 Million Statistics

Appearances: 46

Goals: 3

Assists: 5

Minutes Played: 3,375

Average Rating (FotMob): 7.06

Kgaogelo Chauke Profile

Age: 20

Nationality: South Africa

Position: Midfielder

Team: Exeter City

Market Value: £250,000 Statistics

Appearances: 26 Goals: 2

Assists: 0

Minutes Played: 1,137

Average Rating (FotMob): 6.43

Mateusz Lis Profile

Age: 26

Nationality: Poland

Position: Goalkeeper

Team: Troyes

Market Value: £1 Million Statistics

Appearances: 9 Goals Conceded: 17

Clean Sheets: 1

Minutes Played: 810

Average Rating (FotMob): 6.96

Caleb Watts Profile

Age: 21

Nationality: Australia

Position: Forward

Team: Morecambe FC

Market Value: £250,000

Statistics

Appearances: 30 Goals: 3

Assists: 4

Minutes Played: 1,117

Average Rating (FotMob): 6.47

One To Watch

Nathan Tella

Profile

Age: 23

Nationality: England

Positon: Forward Team: Burnley FC

Market Value: £12 Million

Statistics

Appearances: 45

Goals: 19

Assists: 5

Minutes Played: 2,842

Average Rating (FotMob): 7.06 9

Retro Kits

1987/89 Hummel Home Shirt

After 7 years with Patrick, Danish brand Hummel took over as Southampton FC’s kit suppliers in 1987. Their first playing kit for the club was this famous halves design that was also similarly worn by the Danish national team. This retro shirt is an authentic Hummel Replica, it features the same extremely striking design with the thin red stripes and Hummel’s distinctive chevron trim. In the two seasons that The Saints used this neat shirt, they produced 2 consecutive mid table finishes in the previous 1st Division. During a time where a young Matt Le Tissier and Alan Shearer were breaking through to the first team, and what footballing legends did they turn out to be.

1989/91 Hummel Home Shirt

The Saints continued their partnership with Hummel. As well as the sponsorship with Draper. However, they went back to the trademark red and white stripes. In Chris Nicholls final season as manager of the club. The Saints would magnificently finish 7th in their first season with this kit although they would drop off to a 14th place finish in the following campaign. Future Saints legend Matt Le Tissier stole the headlines and made a name for himself by being the top scorer in both seasons scoring a total of 47 goals across 2 campaigns. This would prove to be the end of the Saints' first association with Hummel with Admiral taking over as suppliers in 1991, although the iconic Danish brand would return in 2021.

1989/91 Hummel Away Shirt

A Superb example of the extremely vintage away shirt from the late 80s with another classic Hummel design and Draper sponsor. The icy white primary colour gives the turquoise secondary that extra attention on the collar and shoulders. A very fashionable and trendy kit that looks as if it has been made in the modern game. As previously mentioned, Southampton would finish 7th in 1990 and 14th in 1991 thanks to the goals of Matt Le Tissier and Rod Wallace.

1995/97 Pony Home Shirt

An iconic Saints with yet another trademark red and white stripes and the famous Sanderson sponsor that blended so well with the shirt itself. In the first season of this kit, The Saints marginally survived due to goal difference in a season that started with Dave Merrington and ended with Scotsman Graeme Souness. A poor season all round however relegation was just avoided thanks to goals from Matt Le Tissier and Neil Shipperly. The following season, The Saints only just survived the drop again by just 1 point. With more goals from Matt Le Tissier helped them towards safety in another poor season overall. Not to forget the famous Ali Dia incident during this campaign.

2018/19 Under Armour Home Shirt

Fast forward 2 decades, and The Saints have a different partnership, this time with Under Armour. However they continue to make their trademark red and white. In addition to a sponsorship with Virgin Media which blends in very well with the colour of the kit. During this season, The Saints finished 16th place in the Premier League and once again just survived the drop thanks to a bundle of goals from English trio Danny Ings, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond. This was also the season where Austrian manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was first appointed. A manager that gave the fans so many amazing memories over the five years that he was at The Saints.

2018/19 Under Armour Away Shirt

This Under Armour away kit brings back the iconic 'Brazil' design of a yellow shirt and blue shorts, that the club have used many times over the past few decades. The same template used for the home shirt, however it is replaced by these two bold colours. Seeing this kit gives memories from when James Ward-Prowse produced a brilliant long range free kick against Manchester United.

Saints Quiz 2023

Question 1: Who came off the bench to score a brace against Leicester City in August 2022?

A. James Ward-Prowse

B. Stuart Armstrong

C. Che Adams

Question 2: What was Ralph Hasenhuttl’s last game as the manager of The Saints?

A. Newcastle United

B. West Ham United

C. Crystal Palace

Question 3: Who did The Saints embarrassingly lose to in the FA Cup in March 2023?

A. Cambridge United

B. Stockport County

C. Grimsby Town

Question 4: Where have The Saints picked up more points?

A. Home

B. Away

Question 5: Who has received the most yellow cards in the Saints squad?

A. Mohammed Salisu

B. Romeo Lavia

C. Armel Bella-Kotchap

Question 6: The Saints are top of the charts for a certain stat this season, what is it?

A. Big chances created

B. Interceptions per match

C. Accurate passes per match

Saints Squad 2022/23 Word Search

Matchday Blog

Tavernier Strikes As Saints Slide Towards Relegation!

On the 27th of April, The Saints hosted fellow south coast side AFC Bournemouth in a must win game for Selles’ men. The games are well a truly running out to retain their Premier League status as they sat bottom of the league and six points from safety. Having led 3-1 against league leaders Arsenal the previous Friday, The Saints conceded two late goals and only drew 3-3. It may still represent a good point for the south coast side but it leaves Selles’ side without a win in their last seven games. As for Bournemouth, they still remain in the relegation scrap despite being in a far better position as opposed to their opponents. The Cherries came into this game on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to relegation rivals West Ham. They sat in 15th prior to this game, with four points separating them and the drop and a win against The Saints would do wonders for their chances of staying in the Premier League next season. Following their 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium back in October, Southampton were looking to complete their first league double over The Cherries since 2010-11, when the sides both competed in League One.

in goal for his first start in 11 months. Bournemouth also made two changes after their 4-0 defeat to the Hammers. Jack Stephens was unable to start against his parent club and was replaced by Argentine Marcos Senesi. Matias Vina also came in with Adam Smith dropping to the bench.

Southampton made two changes from their 3-3 draw to the league leaders. Duje Caleta-Car replaced Armel Bella-Kotchap who missed out entirely while Alex McCarthy replaced Bazunu

The Cherries kicked off the first half and it was a bright start for the home side as Mohamed Elyounoussi found a pocket of space. He plays in Theo Walcott who makes a good run inside the Bournemouth defence but his eventual shot was saved well down low by Cherries shot stopper Neto. Ten minutes later another chance fell for Selles’ side as Adam Armstrong played a clever reverse pass to Romain Perraud down the left. The full-back couldn’t get his effort away but the ball eventually fell back to Armstrong whose effort struck the post from a tight angle. After a good start for The Saints, the visitors caught them on the break as Dominic Solanke nipped in behind the Saints defence but saw his effort saved by Alex McCarthy, however Matias Vina slammed in the rebound but the offside flag was raised and VAR confirmed the disallowed goal which was a let off for the home side. Then, on the 36th a blow for The Saints as Frenchman, Romain Perraud was forced to come off due to an injury and was replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Chances continued to fall for both sides in an evenly matched affair, however the first half ended with the deadlock yet to be broken. A rather tepid end to the first half in St Mary’s after a

fast start from both teams. Shots striking the posts and goals ruled out by VAR, but both sides huffed and puffed but rarely threatened the two keepers at each end. A spattering of boos broke out as the whistle blew and the home fans knew their side needed to be better in the second half to get the much-needed goal in the fight for their already slim survival hopes.

The team were back out for the second half and an unexpected change was made that brought a lot of confusion to the home fans as skipper James Ward-Prowse was replaced by Lyanco. This substitution was later found out to be due to illness. The Saints kicked off the second half and within 5 minutes it went from bad to worse for Selles’ side as Bournemouth took the lead thanks to a neat finish from Marcus Tavernier. He was set free down the right wing by Dominic Solanke and continued to jinx back inside onto his favoured left-foot. It was a relatively tame effort but it took a small deflection and squirmed into the corner.

The Saints needed to try everything they possibly could to get something out of this game so they brought on Scotland duo Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams who came on for his first appearance in over a month due to injury. They both replaced Mohamed Elyounoussi and Theo Walcott. These substitutions presented a better tempo between the Saints attacking players but was still unable to produce any quality in the final third. The Cherries then made their first change of the night as Marcos Senesi was replaced by Illia Zabarnyi as they tried to see out a famous win.

The clock was ticking for the Saints and they just couldn’t produce that cutting edge as the fans and players began to get more and more frustrated considering what was at stake. The

fourth change for The Saints on the night saw Kamaldeen Sulemana replace Adam Armstrong as they continued to chase an equaliser. They were pushing and eventually Stuart Armstong beat two players in the box and played it to fellow substitute Che Adams who controlled the ball before slamming it home off the bar, however after a lengthy VAR check the goal was disallowed for offside.

Very slim margins in this game and the referee blew his whistle for full time. A late disallowed goal meant Southampton fell to yet another 1-0 defeat with relegation looking increasingly likely for Ruben Selles’ side. After a drab first half, it was Bournemouth who seized the initiative in the second period when Tavernier’s jinking run shot found its way into the far corner. Southampton were poor in response for large periods of the second half, a common theme for most of the season. They thought they had grabbed a point in the 89th minute however the visitors escaped with a vital win. They move up to 14th and are now seven points clear of the drop while Saints remain rock bottom and six points off safety. Southampton face a difficult task away against Newcastle United next in the Premier League on Sunday while Bournemouth welcome Leeds to the Vitality Stadium in another crucial relegation clash.

Quiz Answers

Question 1: Who came off the bench to score a brace against Leicester City in August 2022?

A. James Ward-Prowse

B. Stuart Armstrong

C. Che Adams

Question 2: What was Ralph Hasenhuttl’s last game as the manager of The Saints?

A. Newcastle United

B. West Ham United

C. Crystal Palace

Question 3: Who did The Saints embarrassingly lose to in the FA Cup in March 2023?

A. Cambridge United

B. Stockport County

C. Grimsby Town

Question 4: Where have The Saints picked up more points?

A. Home

B. Away

Question 5: Who has received the most yellow cards in the Saints squad?

A. Mohammed Salisu

B. Romeo Lavia

C. Armel Bella-Kotchap

Question 6: The Saints are top of the charts for a certain stat this season, what is it?

A. Big chances created

B. Interceptions per match

C. Accurate passes per match

Word Search Solutions

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