Southampton 1-2 Cardiff City: Premier League – Three Match Takeaways

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 09: Neil Etheridge of Cardiff City gathers the ball under pressure from Nathan Redmond of Southampton 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)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 09: Neil Etheridge of Cardiff City gathers the ball under pressure from Nathan Redmond of Southampton 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)
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 09: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton battles for possession in the air with Oumar Niasse of Cardiff City 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)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 09: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton battles for possession in the air with Oumar Niasse of Cardiff City 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)

Jack Stephens scores a late equalizer, but Cardiff strike even later to run out 2-1 winners over Southampton.

Southampton have had a knack for managing to drop points from positive positions. If it’s not giving up two-goal leads at home, then it’s surrendering last-minute penalties. Just as fans thought it couldn’t get any worse Southampton have saved their best or should that be worst till now.

After going behind, the Saints toiled to break Cardiff’s steadfast resistance. With one minute of five on the injury time stopwatch, Southampton breached the defence. Jack Stephens fired home from a corner and opened his account for this season.

Regrettably, the hero became the villain, as the centre-back failed to adequately clear a seemingly innocuous ball into the Saints half. Cardiff not only took two opportunities to put the ball into the box but then had enough time to tee it up for a better shot.

Kenneth Zohore applied the finish as Alex McCarthy offers nothing except to look on in despair. For those keeping score at home, Southampton restored parity for all of two minutes.

Saints now have a week away from competitive action and will be looking to put a series of tepid results behind them. The last three games against fellow strugglers, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and now the Bluebirds have only yielded two measly points out of a possible nine.

Here are the takeaways from Southampton’s 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City: