Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth: Hasenhuttl bemoans sluggish Saints start in loss

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl bemoaned his side’s slow start against Bournemouth on Friday evening; a match that they went on to lose 3-1.

First-half goals from Nathan Ake and Harry Wilson saw the Cherries with a 2-0 lead at half-time, whilst Saints were also lucky to see a further strike from Josh King ruled out by VAR.

Hasenhuttl’s men fought back in the second-half as James Ward-Prowse halved their deficit from the penalty spot but their task ultimately proved too much in the end. A third goal for the visitors from Callum Wilson in stoppage-time completing the scoring.

Speaking to southamptonfc.com after the game, Hasenhuttl said:

"“The first half was too bad to get a point. We lost this game in the first half. We haven’t showed a few of the qualities we showed in the last games. The second half was completely different. We really tried to stress them, we won nearly every second ball and 26 shots on goal in 90 minutes is also not so bad, but these stats are not so interesting.”"

The result at St Mary’s saw Bournemouth win for the first time away at Saints’ home ground and Eddie Howe’s side end their opponents’ four-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

A lot of the talk pre-match was whether the fixture could be called a derby despite there not being a historic rivalry between the two clubs.

Saints’ most recognisable derby comes with a Carabao Cup clash against Portsmouth on Tuesday evening, but facing Bournemouth had produced some entertaining encounters in the past.

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This game – with VAR to contend with too – was no different as the Cherries beat Saints for just the second time in the Premier League.

As the home side, Ralph Hasenhuttl would have wanted his side to not give their opponents an easy lead. But that is exactly what they did.

Visiting left-back Diego Rico swung in a corner accurately to the penalty spot and Nathan Ake rose highest above everyone to plant a simple header past Angus Gunn.

As Saints struggled to get control and play out from the back, Bournemouth thought they had got a second when Josh King raced through and curled into the far corner. VAR came to the hosts’ rescue though by showing that the forward had been marginally offside when the ball was played to him.

Harry Wilson’s calm finish did give the Cherries a two-goal advantage at half-time though and left the home fans fearing the worst.

A shift of system and personnel at the break saw Saints pushing for a draw throughout the second-half, but only one goal came via James Ward-Prowse’s penalty.

An ugly mix-up in stoppage-time then gifted a third to Bournemouth and Callum Wilson, and Saints now must respond in the actual South Coast derby during midweek.