Southampton 1-2 Cardiff City: Slack Saints slip back into bottom three

Cardiff City took a crucial three points away from St Mary’s after a dramatic second-half that saw late action.

Sol Bamba gave the visitors the lead but Saints thought they had rescued a point when Jack Stephens equalised in stoppage-time.

However, there was still time for a Bluebirds break that ended with Kenneth Zahore rolling in a crucial winner to lift his side out of the relegation zone.

A tight and cagey first-half saw Saints with a large amount of possession and pressure consistently on the Cardiff defence, but Neil Warnock’s men held strong.

Chances of note came as Nathan Redmond dragged just wide and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg volleyed straight at Neil Etheridge, whilst Aron Gunnarsson shot well over for the visitors.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 09: Ralph Hasenhuettl, Manager of Southampton looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Cardiff City at St Mary’s Stadium on February 9, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images) /

Saints must tie key men down to longer contracts. dark. Next

More from Saints Marching

It was anyone’s game going into the second period and Saints again came out of the traps quickly.

However, with just long range efforts from Shane Long and Hojbjerg to count for their dominance of the ball, it looked as though it wasn’t going to be their day.

Many of the home faithful would have been dreading a late Cardiff goal and it duly came after 69 minutes.

They made full use of a set-piece as Sol Bamba bundled home from a corner and sent the away supporters wild.

James Ward-Prowse tested Etheridge with a free-kick at the other end and would then produce a corner delivery that led to his side’s equaliser.

The ball was flicked on at the near post in the first minute of stoppage-time and found Jack Stephens arriving perfectly at the back post to turn home.

However, the game would turn again for Stephens as he gave away possession on the halfway line and saw Cardiff promptly break forward. The ball eventually broke for Kenneth Zahore and his shot across goal found the far corner.

Cardiff now climb outside the drop zone by one point, whilst Saints drop back to 18th and remain in deep trouble.

Home/Southampton FC News