Portsmouth 0-4 Southampton: Saints thrash rivals to advance to Carabao Cup Fourth-Round

Southampton thrashed their local rivals Portsmouth to advance to the Fourth-Round of the Carabao Cup and claim bragging rights on the South Coast.

A clinical first-half brace from Danny Ings gave the Saints a comfortable lead at half-time, whilst further strikes from Cedric and Nathan Redmond rounded off the evening nicely for the travelling Saints fans.

Ralph Hasenhuttl named a strong side despite making five changes. A three-pronged attack of Danny Ings, Che Adams and Michael Obafemi looked threatening, whilst they would be supported by James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oriol Romeu in midfield.

Ryan Bertrand started ahead of Kevin Danso and Maya Yoshida was brought in to replace Jannik Vestergaard at the heart of the defence.

From the start of the game, the toxic atmosphere was clear and Saints would need to adjust to the unique conditions quickly in order to get the result they wanted.

However – with the support of a packed Fratton Park – it was Portsmouth who made the better start and they went close to opening the scoring through both John Marquis and Brett Pitman.

Alex McCarthy was forced into a superb save to deny Pitman from a corner, but Pompey would pay for their missed chances when Saints took the lead after 21 minutes.

Danny Ings tested home goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray from range but then received the ball again as Saints kept the move alive before sliding a precise effort inside the far post.

The home crowd were silenced for the first time in the evening but Saints would need to put the game to bed as soon as possible to avoid any chance of a comeback from the hosts.

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Chances to double the lead came and went for both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and James Ward-Prowse as they searched for the all important second; the former’s strike blocked on the line and the latter forcing a decent save from long-range.

With one minute remaining until half-time though, the advantage was doubled and it was that man Ings again who provided the finish.

Michael Obafemi put through the perfect ball to his fellow striker, who duly obliged with a perfect dink over the onrushing MacGillivray; potentially making Ralph Hasenhuttl’s teamtalk at the break that little bit easier.

In the second-half, Saints did a good and composed job of seeing out their win but added two more goals to their tally to please the travelling fans that little bit more.

An unlikely scorer in Cedric made it 3-0 when he received a pass from Ings down the left flank and crashed home at the near post.

Then it was left for substitute Nathan Redmond to break away and race at the Portsmouth defence before firing a unstoppable strike back across goal and in.

Saints will find out their opponents for the Fourth-Round following the conclusion of the Third-Round ties tomorrow evening.

Portsmouth team: Craig MacGillivray, James Bolton, Oli Hawkins (Paul Downing 59), Christian Burgess, Brandon Haundstrup, Tom Naylor, Ben Close (Ross McCrorie 82), Ryan Williams (Gareth Evans 78), Brett Pitman, Ronan Curtis, John Marquis

Subs not used: Anton Walkes, Alex Bass, Leon Maloney, Andrew Cannon

Saints team: Alex McCarthy, Cedric, Jan Bednarek, Maya Yoshida, Ryan Bertrand, Oriol Romeu, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse, Danny Ings (Shane Long 83), Michael Obafemi (Nathan Redmond 72), Che Adams

Subs not used: Angus Gunn, Yan Valery, Jack Stephens, Stuart Armstrong, Sofiane Boufal