Typically, when you go down to ten men, you end up crashing to a devastating defeat.
Over recent seasons, this has largely been the case for Southampton, with the Saints slipping to a horrible 5-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea during the 2024/25 season - in just one grim example - after Jack Stephens was sent off early on.
However, in the South Coast Derby on Sunday, there was no soft underbelly on display from Tonda Eckert's men when they were reduced to ten men, as they managed to secure a 1-0 win over Portsmouth, despite playing all of the second half with this obvious disadvantage.
Amazingly, this slim victory being secured means this remarkable phenomenon involving red cards in the Championship continues on...
The remarkable red card phenomenon happening this season
Championship content creator Benjamin Bloom has unearthed a crazy statistic involving red cards in the second tier this season.
Indeed, Bloom - via his X account - has dropped a bewildering stat, with all the four sides who have received first half dismissals this season in the Championship going on to win either win or draw at the full time whistle.
4 sides have received first half red cards in the past 4 Championship rounds and none of them have gone on to lose the game...🤯
— Benjamin Bloom (@Benjaminbloom) October 12, 2026
Derby 0-1 WBA (🟥 Pereria 34)
QPR 2-2 Preston (🟥 Cirkin 15)
Bolton 1-2 Stoke (🟥 Talovierov 20)
Southampton 1-0 Portsmouth (🟥 Bragg 44)#WBA #QPR… pic.twitter.com/Pks3192E7o
Even more startlingly, one of these occurrences took place on the exact same weekend as the gutsy South Coast Derby performance, as Stoke City - one of Southampton's promotion rivals - won 2-1 away at Bolton Wanderers, despite being down to ten men for 70 plus minutes of the contest, due to Maksym Talovierov wiping out a Trotters attacker early on.
You would think that a first half dismissal would be a kick in the teeth that's too hard to bounce back from, but clearly the likes of Stoke and Southampton are made of sterner stuff, as Eckert and Co. had to dig deep to win the latest instalment of the South Coast Derby.
They won't want to test out this surprising theory too much, though, as they go into the mid-week contest away at Norwich City without Cameron Bragg at their disposal.
Southampton won't want to test out this crazy stat
Losing Bragg through suspension won't hurt the Saints too much, thankfully, as Eckert will just stick with Flynn Downes and James Ward-Prowse centrally, who both put in composed displays against Pompey.
Additionally, while Bragg watches from the sidelines, Caspar Jander is back and available for selection, so this dismissal won't be too noticetable on their travels to Norfolk.
Finn Azaz was lucky not to be on the receiving end of the Saints' second red card of the afternoon against Pompey on the weekend, as he rashly went in for a tackle as a frustrated figure.
He would have been a much bigger loss, as his assist during the 1-0 win means he now has a stunning eight goal contributions next to his name in the Championship this season, from only eight appearances.
Eckert will be calling for calmer heads against Norwich, that's for sure, as his team return to the usual bread and butter of second tier action, away from the blood-and-thunder occasion of the South Coast Derby.
The hope will be that their away day hoodoo can be broken, too, away from any notable stats involving red cards, as they are currently winless away from the fortress of St. Mary's.
Eckert and Co. did win at Carrow Road last season, albeit in the EFL Cup, as Kuryu Matsuki was among the goalscorers in an emphatic 3-0 win.
Any win will do this time around, with the Saints having the spotlight firmly planted back on them if they collect three points on the road for the first time this second tier campaign.
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