Albeit not the most convincing of wins, Tonda Eckert’s side fought out their first league win in over a month.
A long-awaited formation change
The key talking point for Southampton fans from the game was the long-awaited switch from a 3-4-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1.
While Saints boss Eckert had previously argued that the system with three centre-backs had made the Saints stronger defensively, the change on Wednesday evening suited the side much better.
Tonda Eckert told the BBC, "After a long [winless] spell, the first is always the hardest. We knew we had to dig very deep; it was pure desire to win that game of football. Compliments to the boys, you could see that in every minute of the game.”
A win that was greatly needed for morale ahead of Sunday’s south coast derby trip to Fratton Park, platforming Southampton’s best players like Leo Scienza and Tom Fellows in their best positions made the team look so much more comfortable.
Leo Scienza, the matchwinner on the night, spoke about the formation change: "It's different. I think with the quality me and Tom have, the other teams have to be a bit scared, our qualities are in 1v1 situations. With Ross is a different situation, he's a different profile, a big guy, he wins headers.”
Southampton have kept just 5 clean sheets in the Championship this season, but with two of those coming on the rare occasions the side has started with a back four, Tonda should be looking at keeping the formation in the long term.
Fresh optimism ahead of derby day
Southampton fans had been growing tired of the back three system that their Championship opposition had learnt to exploit in recent weeks.
Sides had begun limiting options ahead of the ball and forcing errors from the Saints, but the switch to a back four resulted in a near-faultless performance against Sheffield United, who had averaged 1.4 goals per game before their trip to St Mary’s.
With just days to go until the long-awaited trip to fierce rivals Portsmouth, Eckert’s side appears to have found a new winning formula.
That, plus the timely returns of Shea Charles and Ross Stewart, put the side that sits 15th in the Championship in excellent stead to go to Fratton Park and push for a result.
It remains to be seen whether this mentally frail Southampton squad has it in them to win in such a hostile environment, but the signs of progress under Eckert are now evident.
Paul Blake/Alex Comber