Wolves 2-0 Saints post-match: Hughes bemoans poor defending

Southampton manager Mark Hughes was frustrated by his side’s poor defending that eventually handed Wolves a 2-0 Premier League victory.

The game was an even affair up until the latter stages where two breakaway goals from Ivan Cavaleiro and Jonny ultimately condemned Southampton to a fourth Premier League defeat of the season.

A strong period for the Saints came and went midway through the second-half and Hughes was pleased with the attacking traits that his team showed during the contest, but he also admitted that it was defensive frailties that let his side down again.

During his post-match press conference, the Welshman said:

“I thought we came here with good intent and good purpose to our play. For long periods of the game, I thought we were the dominant team in terms of possession and, for the most part, chances created as well.

“We had better possession stats and better shots on target, but unfortunately for us, the only stat that matters is the 2-0 at the top of the page.

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“We’re disappointed with the manner of the goals because they clearly could have been avoided. Both times the Wolves players were in an area of the filed that we should be able to deal with, with not too much room to operate in.

“On two occasions we allowed them to be able to get past and put the ball into a dangerous area and, as a consequence, we’ve conceded two goals. It’s difficult to take because the first goal came at a time when we looked the more likely team to score.”

Tuesday night sees Saints travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton in a delayed Carabao Cup Third-Round tie.

With changes expected from both sides for the clash, Hughes issued a challenge to his fringe players to push themselves into the reckoning for league games.

He said: “You can stick with it for so long and with individuals for so long, but at some point you might have to make a change to make sure you stimulate the group.

“We’ll look at things. We’ve got a game on Tuesday against Everton, and a number of players that weren’t involved today and are probably a bit frustrated that they haven’t bee able to break into the team will have a chance.

“We’ll see what kind of performance they are able to produce. I hope they give me more options, and more options for Premier League teams.”