Southampton 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Saints up to 11th after grinding out win

Southampton flew up to 11th in the Premier League table after grinding out another crucial win against Spurs on Wednesday.

A superb solo goal from Danny Ings in the first-half decided the contest and saw Saints make it 10 points from the last 12 on offer.

Their battling performance made them fully deserving of the victory, whilst their effort appeared on another level to their opponents.

Decent openings for both sides went begging in the first five minutes of the contest as Cedric and Harry Kane went close – a header from the Saints man flying just wide before Kane saw his deflected effort tipped wide by Alex McCarthy.

Spurs were enjoying the most possession in the first half, but Saints were using their time on the ball well to spring quick attacks in the opposite direction as Nathan Redmond forced Gazzaniga into action.

But then, the hosts claimed the lead through the most predictable of sources as they made their pressure tell.

The ball was lofted in behind the Spurs backline and into the path of Danny Ings, with the striker brilliantly beating his marker inside the area to set up an open shot at goal that flew into the net.

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In this type of form, there will be many more Ings goals for us to enjoy this season. But just for clarification this was his fourth in four appearances, ninth in ten and 15th of the season in all competitions with four months of the campaign still to go.

The same theme from the first period continued into the second as Saints looked more willing to work and run than their opponents, but Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men would need to be aware of Spurs’ quality in any given moment.

This was particularly the case as Christian Eriksen delivered a free-kick from a promising position and Harry Kane found the net from close range as the clock ticked past 75 minutes, but thankfully a linesman’s flag and VAR decided that the England striker turned home from an offside position.

Late chances also went begging for Shane Long and Lucas Moura – and Jose Mourinho was shown a yellow card in a bizarre incident between the two benches – but it was Saints who ended the day with another three points in the bag and a six point advantage on the bottom three.

Saints team

Alex McCarthy, Cedric Soares, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse, Moussa Djenepo (Shane Long 57), Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings (Michael Obafemi 76)

Subs not used: Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Adams

Spurs team

Paulo Gazzaniga, Serge Aurier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Ryan Sessegnon, Moussa Sissoko, Tanguy Ndombele (Giovani Lo Celso 25), Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Harry Kane (Erik Lamela 75)

Subs not used: Vorm, Tanganga, Skipp, Winks, Sanchez