Three takeaways from Southampton v Middlesbrough

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MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Grant Leadbitter of Middlesbrough reacts to missing a penalty during the Premier League match between Middlesbrough and Southampton at Riverside Stadium on May 13, 2017 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images) /

We need a penalty taker

Well, strictly speaking we need Charlie Austin back to take them. Since the striker went out injured the Saints have had three Premier League penalties, scoring just one and missing their last two.

Since joining the Saints nearly three years ago Dusan Tadic has attempted eight penalties across all competitions, scoring just five and missing three.

Meanwhile Shane Long’s spot-kick yesterday was his first in the top flight since the 2011/12 season, showing exactly how thin the Saints are when it comes to penalty takers.

This was shown by the 30-year-old’s lack of composure despite the fact that his side were already 2-0 up.

Austin has a great record from 12 yards across his career on the other hand, scoring 20 of his 22 attempts with his last miss coming back in 2014.

But with the striker being injury prone and not guaranteed to be in the squad week in, week out it would benefit the Saints to look for someone with a good penalty-taking ability when they shop in the summer.

Doing so would avoid occasions like yesterday, or more importantly the game against Hull a few weeks back where they threw away the chance to take the three points.