September Report

Results


Premier League
Norwich 2-0 Southampton
Dieumerci Mbokani (17), Robbie Brady (90+2)

Norwich took the lead through a Mbokani header on 17 minutes. We struggled in possesson, and James Ward-Prowse failed to fill the injured Sadio Mane’s boots on the right wing and our lack of creativity was embarrassingly clear. Norwich put the game beyond doubt when Robbie Brady scored a placed shot in extra time.


Europa League Group K
Southampton 1-1 Ast. Tripolis
James Ward-Prowse (84)
Dorin Golan (77)

With both Sadio Mane and Ryan Bertrand recovering from injury, I hoped that we would be able to secure a good result in our first group fixture. We started well, dominating possession but creating little by way of chances. By the end of the first half, I was disappointed that we hadn’t taken the lead. We created a lot of chances in the second half, with Jay Rodriguez hitting both post and crossbar. On 77 minutes, we were left reeling after Dorin Golan scored from a corner. However, we bounced straight back, with James Ward-Prowse scoring with a tidy finish on 84 minutes. I was disappointed with the draw, but glad that we managed to scrape a point after it looked like we were going to come away with nothing.


Premier League
Southampton 2-1 Leicester
Virgil Van Dijk (22), Sadio Mane (45+1)
Marc Albrighton (31)

After the disappointing results against Norwich and Ast. Tripolis, it was vital that we earned three points against newly promoted Leicester. We took the lead on 22 minutes, with Van Dijk tapping home from a messy corner. However, we failed to capitalise on our lead, with Leicester grabbing an equaliser from some great play between Vardy and Albrighton. However, on 46 minutes we managed to take the lead again, with Sadio Mane scoring a wonderful effort left footed effort. We dominated the second half, creating a lot of chances but lacking the ruthlessness needed to take advantage. I was pleased with the win, but felt we should have scored a few more goals.


Capital One Cup 3rd Round
Southampton 2-3 Chelsea
Virgil Van Dijk (13), Dusan Tadic (pen 18)
Diego Costa (2, 50), Kurt Zouma (90+7)

I hoped to kick on from our good result against Leicester, but we started poorly, conceding a soft goal in the second minute. We equalised in the thirteenth minute, after Virgil Van Dijk got his head on the end of a Dusan Tadic free kick. We were awarded a penalty on 17 minutes, after Pedro brought down Bertrand in the box. Tadic managed to beat Courtios, putting us ahead. Chelsea won a penalty of their own on 35 minutes, but Maarten Stekelenburg made the save as Eden Hazard attempted to put it away. Diego Costa scored again early on in the second half, taking advantage of Hazard’s defense-splitting pass. We were forced into extra time, with neither team able to find the winning goal. Heartbreak ensued, with Kurt Zouma able to find the net with a header from a corner on 97 minutes, before Shane Long hit the cross bar after an ambitious effort. The game ultimately ended in disappointment, although we put in a good performance against a full-strength Chelsea side.


Premier League
West Ham 2-1 Southampton
Steven Caulker (own goal 33, own goal 52)
Shane Long (84)

I was hoping for three points to finish the month, although going to West Ham is always tough. We did not start well, getting easily dispossessed and lacking creativity once again. Caulker suffered an embarrassing own goal on 33 minutes, putting us in the back foot. Steven Caulker was hauled off on 55 minutes, after scoring another own goal, adding to his first half humiliation. Long scored in the 84th minute, and we pushed for an equaliser. We couldn’t find it, and I was left wondering how we managed to score three goals and still come away with nothing.

Analysis


Despite our below average month, we are still doing okay. We sit in 5th, doing better than we are expected, but our poor results definitely need improvement in the next month.


I was disappointed with our draw against Ast. Tripolis, but it was only our first game of the group. I’m confident we can kick on and qualify.


We have a tough month coming up. We start but playing Trabzonspor in the Europa League, and then have three very tough games on the bounce, against Man Utd, Arsenal and Shakhtar. We then have a home fixture against West Brom, followed by a trip to Anfield.

Player of the Month

Sadio Mane



Mane was one of the key players for us this month, often being the only creative outlet. It could have also gone to Cedric or Ward-Prowse, but Mane had the edge.

Other News

Awards
Young Player of the Month: Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin took first place, with Luke Shaw of Mnahcester United coming in at second, and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse rounding out the top three.

Transfer News
Harrison Reed joins MK Dons on one-month loan
Ryan Seager joins Burnley on three-month loan
Matthew Targett joins Huddersfield on one-month loan
Harry Chapman joins Chesterfield on one-month loan
Harley Willard joins Hartlepool on one-month loan
Will Wood moves on loan to Chesterfield on one-month loan

International News
Will Britt received his first senior call up for Gibraltar
James Ward-Prowse received his first senior call up for England