Cardiff City 1-0 Southampton: Hasenhuttl sees the size of the task facing him in Saints loss
By Marc Walker
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first game in charge of Southampton did not go to plan as his side fell to a 1-0 defeat against Cardiff City.
A defensive error that summed up the campaign to date for the Saints led to the only goal of the game; Calum Paterson rolling the ball home after an underhit backpass from Jannik Vestergaard.
Citing freshness as an issue ahead if the match, the Hasenhuttl made six changes to the starting line-up, with Charlie Austin, Oriol Romeu, Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard and Mario Lemina all coming in.
It was a high intensity start from Saints and Charlie Austin would have two early efforts on goal.
He was first to a low cross from Matt Targett and flicked just wide before turning a Jannik Vestergaard free-kick over the bar within he first five minutes.
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Despite their good start though, Saints would have to deal with a few Cardiff chances as the home side looked to get into the contest.
They were thankful for a vital challenge from Jan Bednarek to turn away a low cross after Matt Targett had given away the ball on the halfway line.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Josh Murphy were the Bluebirds’ main threats and the latter would sting the palms of Alex McCarthy after beating Yan Valery one-on-one.
The game looked to be very even in the first 30 minutes and Mario Lemina almost opened the scoring when he volleyed a loose ball just over following a corner.
Hesitancy in defence was still there from Saints though and McCarthy had to tip over a strong drive from Mendez-Laing in first-half stoppage time to keep it 0-0 at the break.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side began the second-half in good fashion and had a penalty appeal turned away by referee Jon Moss.
Stuart Armstrong drove into the box and thought he had been brought down by Victor Camarasa but television replays showed minimal contact and a fairly theatrical fall from the Scottish international.
The deciding moment of the game came as Cardiff took the lead and once again it was Saints who gave away the goal.
Possession was surrendered poorly in midfield and Jannik Vestergaard made a complete hash of his pass back to McCarthy, allowing Calum Paterson to shrug him off the ball and roll the ball past the advancing keeper.
In that one action, Ralph Hasenhuttl could see the size of the challenge he was up against to get the club to safety.
It was always going to be a scrap with Cardiff in this game as both sides look to claw themselves out of trouble. However, there only seemed to be one team with the fight and desire needed to get the results.
With fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea coming up in the next five, some resilience from within his side needs to be found by Hasenhuttl, and quickly.