Heartbreak in Hull as Southampton Blow Early Lead, Fall 2-1

Southampton got an early lead on a penalty kick, but conceded two goals in three minutes to fall 2-1 vs Hull City at the KCOM Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Southampton’s first strike came on just the fifth minute of play, as Charlie Austin buried a penalty kick from the spot to notch his seventh goal in all competitions this year and put the Saints up 1-0.

That early lead looked to set the tone for the first half, as the Saints dominated possession and their relegation-zoned opposition were forced to burn two of their substitutions due to injury. But Tigers’ keeper David Marshall stood as a brick wall between his sticks, denying the South Coast club any further opportunity to extend the lead before half-time approached.

The second half would see Hull City off to a more spirited start, seeing a bit more of the ball and creating chances with the help of substitute and top-scorer Robert Snodgrass, who was forced into action in the 26th minute for the injured Will Keane. After a few good runs against a Southampton side that was set back and looking to grind out the win, Snodgrass finally made it count, burying a shot into the corner against a diving Fraser Forster to bring Hull City level.

Three minutes later, the Saints’ shellshock would turn to abject horror, as a Michael Dawson header found the back of the net to put Hull up 2-1, as much to the shock of their own supporters as to heavily-favoured Southampton.

Now trailing late, Claude Puel made an admirable effort to kick-start the Saints’ attack, substituting on Soufiane Boufal for Dusan Tadic in the 66th minute and doing a double-swap Nathan Redmond and Jordy Clasie for Jay Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse respectively a few minutes later. But the Tigers were dead-set on protecting the most improbable of leads, and despite their best efforts, the Saints couldn’t find an equalizer as time ran out.

With the international break approaching, Southampton have now lost two straight Premier League matches for the first time since 27 February-1 March 2016, when back-to-back losses against Chelsea and Bournemouth were endured. With the end of the week played, the Saints sit on 13 points in 10th position, as they did at the start of the match-week. The bottom half of the table has bunched up, however, and the club are now merely three points safe of relegation.

Speaking after the match, manager Claude Puel told club media that the team got complacent after going a goal up, but would use this as a learning experience going forward.

“We must do better to control this game and to take the good points…I think we lacked concentration for this game and it is a pity. We are angry,” Puel said in postgame remarks.

Dusan Tadic echoed the boss’s sentiments in his own remarks, telling the club media that the loss was down to failure to kill the game off decisively.

Next: Claude Puel Focused on Results as Season Wears On

“We gave two cheap goals and we gave them a chance to go back into the game,” Tadic said. “Nobody is happy because we needed those points before the international break.”

League action resumes on 19 November, when Southampton host first-placed Liverpool at St. Mary’s. The Reds won this week, drubbing Watford by a score of 6-1 to tie the season record for goals scored in a League match.