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Southampton 1-0 Watford: Match recap

By Chris Hughes

WATFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: Jack Stephens of Southampton shows appreciation to the fans after the Premier League match between Watford and Southampton at Vicarage Road on January 13, 2018 in Watford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
WATFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: Jack Stephens of Southampton shows appreciation to the fans after the Premier League match between Watford and Southampton at Vicarage Road on January 13, 2018 in Watford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The Saints have qualified for the fifth round of the FA Cup after dispatching Watford, courtesy of an early Jack Stephens goal.

It was the third time this season that the Saints had faced the Hornets, having previously been comfortably beaten 2-0 before surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 just a fortnight ago.

This time around however the Saints came out as victors, with birthday-boy Jack Stephens scoring his first competitive goal for the the side. It came courtesy of Shane Long’s shot being saved by Watford’s goalkeeper Orestis Karzenis.

The rest of the game would find itself without a huge amount of clear-cut opportunities, with Southampton’s best chance of doubling the lead coming courtesy of an effort from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg which cracked off the bar.

The win also saw the Saints hand a late debut to new record-signing Guido Carrillo – he came on with just under ten minutes to go.

But Mauricio Pellegrino received scoring criticism for his earlier substitution, bringing off an impressive Sofiane Boufal for Maya Yoshida whilst only 1-0 up.

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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Stefano Okaka of Watford chases down Guido Carrillo of Southampton during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Watford at St Mary’s Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Stefano Okaka of Watford chases down Guido Carrillo of Southampton during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Watford at St Mary’s Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /

Aside from Stephens’ early goal, there was one other main talking points from the first 45 minutes of play – Ryan Bertrand’s substitution.

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The Southampton left-back was taken off after just 40 minutes, with the supporters now anxious to hear any news regarding the severity of the injury.

Optimists are hoping that it was taken off as a precaution, with some important league games to come in the next few weeks.

However if the England international does have to sit out the next few games, it leaves the Saints precariously down that side. With Matt Targett out on loan at Fulham, Sam McQueen remains the only out-and-out left-back in the squad.

Irregardless the Saints are now unbeaten in four since the victory over Fulham in the last round of the cup, with two draws in the league against Tottenham and Watford themselves in between.

However, the Saints remain in the bottom three so will want to use the confidence from today’s positive result, and transfer it into a good performance in the league on Wednesday night against Brighton.

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