Southampton: Saints’ U23s triumph at South Shields tournament
By Marc Walker
Southampton’s Under-23s side were victorious at the South Shields pre-season tournament with a 2-0 win over Marseille in the final.
Southampton were joined by youth sides from both the French side and Celtic for the competition and South Shields’ senior side also participated.
The young Saints side triumphed over the hosts on Saturday with a 3-0 win as a Jake Hesketh brace and Marcus Barnes’ penalty saw them through to this evening’s final.
The Celtic versus Marseille game on Friday night had been abandoned after 69 minutes due to adverse weather conditions. but the 1-0 scoreline stood and saw the French side through to meet Saints.
In today’s final, Callum Slattery’s early strike after five minutes saw his side ahead before striker Michael Obafemi added a second just past the hour mark, and the scoreline would stay at 2-0 to see Saints to victory.
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In the third placed play-off, Celtic won 2-1 over South Shields in what was Sunday’s first game.
A number of players with first-team experience played for Saints in the North East. Each of Jake Hesketh, Michael Obafemi and Jake Flannigan have made senior appearances, whilst Alfie Jones, Callum Slattery and Yan Valery have been on the fringes at St Mary’s.
Playing against a first-team in South Shields will have given the youngsters a taste of senior football if they are to eventually move out for valuable loans to the lower leagues.
Marcus Barnes, who played in this competition, spent time at League 2 side Yeovil Town last season and is one of many Saints youth players to experience competitive football with higher stakes.
A significant test also came for the U23s in their recent trip to Italy. The side was put up against Serie A side Bologna’s senior team, and they managed to hold out for 70 minutes before eventually falling to a 2-0 defeat.
The club will be hoping for a productive year for the academy after recent seasons that have lacked youth players breaking into the first-team set-up.
The Under-23s begin their domestic campaign on Friday 10th August with a clash against Middlesbrough at Staplewood Campus.