Newcastle vs Southampton: Key Players in the Saints loss

Southampton suffered defeat on Sunday when they conceded twice in the final 22 minutes of the match including an 87th min. heart breaker.

For most of the match, Southampton found themselves on the front foot and looked like the team in control and the more likely to take home the points. Then it all fell apart and the Saints found themselves dropping from a winning position yet again.

It was more of the same that cost Southampton. Poor finishing and sloppy defending so let us take a look at three players who were key in the game.

Nathan Redmond

Something is up with the Englishman as of late and it seems like he is lacking a bit of an edge at the moment. He had a chance to score early in the match on a quick counter attack after a turnover. The keeper was rushing out at him and Redmond drills it directly at him.

His finishing has been an issue for a while now and it cost the team on Sunday. This is a man who could benefit tremendously seeing the ball go into the back of the net but that is not going to happen unless he gets more composure and confidence.

If he has another poor performance this weekend he could benefit from being dropped for a match or two to get his head right and let Boufal try and create some magic in his absence.

Cedric Soares

Cedric, much like Redmond, has had a string of poor performances and it is getting to the point where the question has to be asked why is he still starting? He has been poor both offensively and defensively lately and it may be time to give the youngster Valery another shot.

He has been linked to several clubs in the January transfer window and I think it may be best for both he and the club if he was sold in January even if it is for a discount price.

Alex McCarthy

McCarthy, has had the starting job since that match against Leicester we do not talk about. He started off looking confident and playing with the quality we saw when he got a national team nod but that form quickly faded and he was not convincing on Sunday.

The second goal in particular he should have done better with. It was a well struck ball but he needed to either smother it or push it out for a corner for the very least, but, he parries it right to a Newcastle player and was left hopeless on the second attempt and that goal ended up being the winner.

I am not sure what happens to Saint keepers after a few matches but we just cannot seem to find a number 1 who can play with consistency for more than a few matches at a time.