Saints Marching
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Chelsea 2-0 Southampton (FA Cup): Three key players

By Chris Hughes

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Olivier Giroud of Chelsea celebrates scoring the first goal during the The Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Olivier Giroud of Chelsea celebrates scoring the first goal during the The Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: Charlie Austin of Southampton looks dejected after the 2nd Chelsea goal during The Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: Charlie Austin of Southampton looks dejected after the 2nd Chelsea goal during The Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

Charlie Austin

The English forward came in to start on Sunday as part of a two-man strikeforce alongside Shane Long.

Often when the Irishman starts the Saints have a limited amount of shots on goal, as he’s more often dropping deep to win possession or chasing a loose ball down the flank. When Guido Carrillo has started, he’s simply not managed enough goal-scoring opportunities.

Going into the game with the same five-at-the-back set-up as in the last three matches, there was a very realistic chance Southampton would have a seriously limited amount of goal-mouth action but being a positive and natural goal-scorer, Austin made sure he did.

The ex-QPR man had five shots in all over the course of the game, and whilst none of these actually challenged the Chelsea goalie, his work to fashion chances for the definite underdogs warrants praise.