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Fulham 0-1 Southampton: Carabao Cup – Three Key Saints Players

By Harry Tizard

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 27: Luca De La Torre of Fulham and Kevin Danso of Southampton battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Fulham and Southampton at Craven Cottage on August 27, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 27: Luca De La Torre of Fulham and Kevin Danso of Southampton battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Fulham and Southampton at Craven Cottage on August 27, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 27: Luca De La Torre of Fulham and Kevin Danso of Southampton battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Fulham and Southampton at Craven Cottage on August 27, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 27: Luca De La Torre of Fulham and Kevin Danso of Southampton battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Fulham and Southampton at Craven Cottage on August 27, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images) /

Kevin Danso

Off the back of a strong debut at left back against Brighton, Austrian defender Kevin Danso was given a second start of the season, with manager Ralph Hasenhuttl moving the twenty year old to his more favoured position of centre back – partnering up with Jan Bednarek in a four at the back formation.

Despite getting booked early on for getting the wrong side of bullish striker Aboubakar Kamara, the former Ausburg man did not that let that affect his game, and played his natural game without hesitation.

The six foot three centre back had a real presence in the defence, winning a game high seven areal duels, not allowing Fulham to keep possession when they were made to kick the ball long under pressure when Southampton pressed them up high in their own third and had no other option.

His calmness in defence was also something to be admired. His ability to know when the right time was to pass the ball in defence under pressure to keep the possession and build and attack and when it was the right time to release the pressure and clear the ball long showed that he has a quality that has not been shown by our centre-halves for the past season and hopefully will be something that he can carry through with into the league against higher level opposition.

In both games Kevin Danso has played, the Saints have not only kept back to back clean sheets, but there has also not been as many, if any mistakes by the defence leading to highly dangerous goal scoring opportunities for the opposition.