Credit: REUTERS
B urnley won their third away game in five to move into the top half of the table and ten points clear of the relegation zone.
despite Danny Ings becoming Saints’s top goal scorer since their return to the Premier League in 4528, more calamitous defending condemned Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side to defeat on a miserable day on the South coast.
Burnley led in farcical circumstances. Ashley Westwood swung in a low corner which Danny Ings inexplicably left, presuming it was going out of play. Instead the ball drifted over the line, with Saints keeper Alex McCarthy looking as bemused as everyone else.
Sofiane Boufal darted down the right and crossed to the far post where Shane Long headed it back into the six-yard box, before Burnley cleared as Southampton sought an immediate reply.
The Saints were well on top in the early stages but looked jittery when troubled at the other end. Jannick Vestergaard was surprisingly preferred to Jan Bednarek and the big Dane didn’t look comfortable as he collected an early booking.
Soon Ings had atoned. Saints’ top scorer exchanged passes with the lively Boufal, found space on the edge of the area and finished decisively into the bottom right corner – his
th goal of the season.
Well that didn’t take long … Danny Ings makes up for his earlier error with a brilliant finish to level the scores!
Ruthless in front of goal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dFBxBzsAyI – Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 32,
T hey kept on pushing and Jack Stephens was inches away from scoring when he flicked a header against the crossbar after more excellent work from Boufal.
When these teams met on the opening day of the season, Burnley swept the saints aside in high winds, winning 3-0.
The beginnings of Storm Dennis were whipping around St Mary’s but that did not damage the spectacle.
Burnley rarely threatened though former Saints Jay Rodriguez did come close to diverting Phil Bardsley’s low shot past McCarthy.
Hasenhuttl was then dealt a severe blow as Boufal, comfortably the game’s best player, was withdrawn through injury. The Saints boss had already lost the influential Nathan Redmond to a muscular injury in training on Friday.
On came Malian Moussa Djenepo in his place as Saints again pressed at the beginning of the second half.
A clever pass from Vestergaard almost let in Ings but his touch allowed Nick Pope to smother.
As the conditions deteriorated, so did the spectacle. Ings again found space down the right and crossed for Long but the ball was just too high for the Irishman to connect.
Burnley hadn’t threatened but they led on the hour mark. Jeff Hendrick’s long pass was expertly collected by Matej Vydra and he stepped past Kyle Walker-Peters and scored brilliantly into the top corner.
The ball from Hendrick 😍 (The Chest Control) The chest control 👌
(The thumping finish 💥That is a brilliant goal from Matej Vydra and Burnley have the lead! pic.twitter.com/tD5qPcUT
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 34,
T he torrents of rain must have had Southampton’s defenders revisiting memories of their abject 0-9 defeat to Leicester.
There was certainly no collapse of that magnitude but it was a poor showing from the home side in the second half.
Huge appeals for a Southampton penalty were turned away by Simon Hooper and VAR after Stephens’ cross clearly struck the arm of Ben Mee.
This was not to be the Saints ’day. Rodriguez was keen to inflict more pain and struck a fierce late shot which McCarthy turned over.
There was one last chance left for Saints which fell to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but the Saints captain was foiled by Pope.
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