Southampton

v

Tottenham Hotspur


ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

20th September 2020

Southampton 2

  • Ings 32', 90' (pen)

Tottenham 5

  • Son Heung-Min 45'+2, 47', 64', 73'
  • Kane 82'
    Intro & Team News

    Intro and Team News

    IBO Reporter - channonite


    |Oh dear, oh dear. Spurs were second best in the first 45 minutes, but just scored again and again in the second half, using the same tactic of a long ball over the top for Son to run on to. That happening once you could understand, but the same thing time and again??

    I think it fair to say that Saints have not had a good start to the season losing in the League to Crystal Palace and Brentford in the League Cup. Now came a naïve performance against Tottenham. Not what the fans were hoping to see. At least we were not watching it in person in the stadium, but only on TV. Unfortunately even that was the somewhat less than inspiring coverage from BTSport.

    Coming into this game we knew that there would be no Redmond, as he was injured. When the team was announced, there were no major surprises, with Armstrong making a welcome return to the midfield and Djenepo returning on the other side, in place of Redmond. In other words, it was about as strong a side as is possible to field.



    Embed from Getty Images

    Moussa Djenepo made a welcome return to the side and looked very lively


    Southampton


    • 1 McCarthy
    • 2 Walker-Peters
    • 5 Stephens - Booked 68'
    • 35 Bednarek
    • 3 Bertrand - Booked 44'
    • 17 Armstrong (Tella 68')
    • 8 Ward-Prowse
    • 6 Romeu - Booked 5' (Smallbone 55')
    • 12 Djenepo
    • 10 Adams - Booked 39' (Long 80')
    • 9 Ings

    Substitutes

    • 4 Vestergaard
    • 7 Long
    • 14 Obafemi
    • 20 Smallbone
    • 23 Tella
    • 29 Vokins
    • 44 Forster


    Tottenham


    • 1 Lloris
    • 2 Doherty - Booked 79'
    • 6 D Sánchez
    • 15 Dier
    • 33 Davies
    • 5 Højbjerg
    • 8 Winks
    • 28 Ndombele B'kd 45' (Lo Celso 45' B'kd 90')
    • 27 Lucas Moura (Lamela 61')
    • 10 Kane (Bergwijn 84')
    • 7 Son Heung-Min

    Substitutes

    • 4 Alderweireld
    • 11 Lamela
    • 12 Hart
    • 17 Sissoko
    • 18 Lo Celso
    • 23 Bergwijn
    • 24 Aurier

    Match Report
    Embed from Getty Images

    Danny ings scored twice, one being a penalty and still finished on the losing side


    Match Report

    IBO Reporter : channonite



    |It all seemed to be going reasonably well in the first half, apart from the goal conceded just before the break, Saints were well on top, but the warning signs were already there. Tottenham had the ball in the net twice in the first few minutes, but both were offside efforts. However, the holes being left by both full backs being way upfield were obvious even then.

    Mourinho had obviously done his homework on how Saints play these days and within the first couple of minutes Tottenham had the ball in the net, after a long ball over the top to Son who was wide on the left, completely unmarked. He crossed into the area and eventually it found Kane, who's overhead kick found the back of the net. Oh, here we go. But wait! VAR. After a review it was ruled out for offside, earlier in the build up. Phew.

    It wasn't to be all one way traffic, as Saints won a free kick, but probably too far out for a Ward-Prowse special. Anyway, it was taken by Bertrand and knocked into Adams path by Romeu. The Saints No10 would have scored, but for a blinding reaction save from Lloris.

    Then we thought that the first goal of the day had fallen to Southampton, when a glorious lob over the defence by Adams was taken on by Ings. Lloris came way out of his area and fell at the feet of the Saints No9, but Danny came away with the ball and tapped it into an empty net. However the linesman was flagging for an infringement. After a slight delay David Coote, the match referee, simply awarded a free kick to Tottenham, presumably for a foul by Ings on Lloris.

    After that disappointment there was a wonderful bit of play, featuring several different players, most noticeably a mazy run from Djenepo, which ended up pinging around Lloris' area, but chances were missed by several players, culminating in Bertrand shooting at a defender and the ball going behind for a corner.

    Eventually, after so much action, the first goal finally came on 32 minutes. There was a lot of manoeuvring by Saints on the right, eventually they managed to work a bit of room for Walker-Peters and he sent an inch perfect lob over the top to Danny Ings. He took one touch and shot. Back of the net. 1-0 to Saints. Simple.

    Then came the sucker punch in time added on at the end of the first half. A ball over the top beat Saints defence and there was Son running through them and beating an indecisive McCarthy, who was stuck on his line. 1-1. Deflating.

    So, 1-1 at halftime, but the impetus was with Tottenham now.

    Almost straight from the kickoff Kane found Son and he waltzed past Stephens. Almost before you could draw breath, Saints were behind. 1-2 and Son had scored a brace either side of the break.

    It was about to get a lot worse.

    Twenty minutes later there was an almost carbon copy of the move that led to Son's second involving the exact same players and the result was the same, with the ball in the back of the net and Spurs No7 had his hat-trick.

    Nine minutes later, it happened again and Son scored his fourth goal. Unbelievable. To make the first mistake was irritating, but for Saints to make the exact same mistake three times in a row is simply not good enough. Dreadful stuff.

    I thought at this stage there would be more goals and I was not wrong. Tottenham's fifth goal came after a short range shot from Lamela came back off the post, giving Kane the simplest of tap-ins.

    It wasn't quite over yet. In the final moments of time added on, a Spurs player was adjudged to have handled in their penalty area and it went to VAR, which confirmed the fact and the referee awarded a penalty to Saints. Danny Ings stepped up and without any fuss tucked the ball away to make it Saints 2, Spurs 5.

    An unbelievable end to an unbelievable poor second half by Saints. Even more galling, considering that they were so far on top for the vast majority of the first half. In the end they were undone by some appalling defending and seemed incapable of learning from their mistakes.

    Man of the Match? I don't think so.




    Embed from Getty Images

    Stuart Armstrong was another making a return from injury

    Match Statistics

    Match Stats


    Referee: David Coote

    Attendance: NIL



    Southampton


    • 53% Possession
    • 14 Shots
    • 7 Shots on Target
    • 2 Goals
    • 3 Corners
    • 17 Fouls
    • 19th in Premier League


    Tottenham


    • 47% Possession
    • 9 Shots
    • 6 Shots on Target
    • 5 Goals
    • 2 Corners
    • 18 Fouls
    • 6th in Premier League

    Embed from Getty Images

    In common with the other Premier League sides, Saints have arm patches bearing the 'No room for racism' logo