Manchester United 0 – Southampton 0
What a pig of a game of football. Full with controversy, full of opportunity and full of mediocrity at times… but nothing catastrophically abhorrent from any of the south coast boys in blue, a very welcome change and something becoming seemingly more frequent under Selles.
While very much caught up in the relegation fight and at time of writing, sitting 20th in the league, all hope is not lost yet for Southampton. The bottom 9 have only 5 points difference between them, something that could easily be capitalised on should the reds pick up 3 points in their midweek fixture on Wednesday against Brentford.
Sunday’s game against Manchester United is one to really and truly reflect on. While many are understandably disappointed, thinking the saints should have done more and brought the big 3 home, if someone had said “Southampton will not only get a point against united but keep a clean sheet.” before the game, then most people would probably have laughed.
Given the season’s form and performances, when the red devil’s went down to 10 men, many fans still had little hope. But we held on, infact we dominated. Yes, Southampton really ought to have capitalised on their chances however there are victories to take from this game.
The clean sheet and saints defence:
This was the third clean sheet for that saints in four premier league games. Previously, the squad had only recorded one in their last 34 – this is undeniable progress that has been helped by Selles. Confidence seems to be coming back to the back line, something so incredibly key with such young and inexperienced players.
While an unpopular decision with the fans and with myself at the time, the choice to recall Bednarek from his loan spell at Aston Villa appears to have been a success, doing exactly what the club needed it to do. With the two very young centre backs, Salisu and Bella-Kotchap, the lack of a voice of reason and experience was becoming not just a small blip, but a screaming hole in the club’s defence. While Bednarek may not be the long term solution, nor the most reliable, some strong and calm performances alongside ABK have really seemed to settle some of the nerves.
For me two players stood out against United, and seemingly I wasn’t the only one, both of them making it into Alan Shearer’s Premier League team of the week.
Kyle Walker Peters – this man deserves a whole article to himself in my eyes. He is just the prime example of the sort of attitude you want in your team. Not only has he got bags of talent, but he is a voice of reason and a rational, clever thinker. Against United he had 89% pass accuracy, 4 key tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 clearances and 1 blocked shot, an industrial shift. He has been such a key figure in every success of the squad this season, and deserves the acknowledgement and praise.
Big Gav Bazunu – Gavin put in a Stella performance against United, his attitude once again was one to be admired. In the post match response he said “A few months ago we would have lost this game. Hopefully this can give us some momentum to keep building from. You see from today’s performance that we can perform against any team in the league and we just need to continue” and I have to agree. Far too many mistakes are still being made, and goals still aren’t being scored however the performance quality has improved, we are playing as a unit again and that can only be a positive.
Selles seems to have restructured the flow through midfield that has been missing, with Romeo Lavia coming in strong in defence and Charly Alcaraz pressing high and with intensity, all while Ward Prowse facilitates the success of both. The look of threat is returning more each game as slowly but surely mindsets and style seem to shift back to what they once were – narrow aggressive football, blocking the passing channels of the teams who would normally play out from the back. There is a look of intent that has been missing for months.
The game on Wednesday against Brentford is arguably make or break for the saints, with picking up points vital for their chances of survival. After the results of the teams around them over the weekend, the pressure is on.
Poppy Deabill (@pdeabill_football)