Southampton were denied all three points controversially, but Manolo Gabbiadini scored to bring some hope to a Saints side struggling to get results at St. Mary’s.
The Saints scored first, although gave away points at home again, placing greater importance and pressure on the team heading into the International break. Manager Mark Hughes says his team “can’t wait for the Fulham game…” but unfortunately will have to do just that.
It was hard to judge the Southampton performance based upon circumstance. The pitch was very wet and the pouring rain throughout the first half led to more giveaways than a manager would expect. Watford probably should have been awarded a penalty on a Ryan Bertrand desperation tackle, and Southampton were denied a goal that likely would have given them the win.
Charlie Austin’s post match interview went viral, and if you haven’t seen it, it is worth a watch. The Southampton striker let it all go, chastising the referees for wrongly disallowing his potential match-winning goal in the 67th minute. Austin’s deflected shot went past Maya Yoshida, who was standing in offside position, but did not make an attempt on the ball, nor did he disrupt the goalkeeper’s sight. Deep into celebration, Simon Hooper pulled the goal back, and Austin clearly made it know he was not up to Premier League standards.
The refereeing controversy may have been the main talking point, and is already well documented. So here are three different takeaways from the Saints game against Watford.