26 December 2024
Southampton 0 West Ham 1
Ivan Juric took charge of his first game as Southampton manager as they welcomed West Ham to St Mary’s. You have to feel for the manager as the task he has taken on of keeping The Saints in the Premier League seems some challenge. Sitting bottom of the table, eight points from safety, it would take something of a miracle to keep them up.
Christmas seems a peak time for The Saints to get a new manager in. They have done just this in each of the last four seasons, some record. The first chance of the game came when Wan-Bissaka got forward down the right wing. His inch-perfect cross picked out an unmarked Soler on the penalty spot. A goal seemed certain but somehow, he smashed his shot against the crossbar.
Southampton seemed to have some of that renewed confidence you only see in a team with a newly-appointed manager. A deep cross to the byline was kept in by Walker-Peters but Onuachu’s header missed the far post. From such a position you have to be hitting the target, the only plausible excuse for missing is the keeper making a save.
The first task for the new man to address on the south coast might be heading practice. Walker-Peters got to the byline and crossed, picking out Fernandes with a free header. It was straight at Fabianski when you felt, either side of him, it was a goal. Even this early on in the game the hosts were seeming to be very wasteful.
They continued to stretch the West Ham defence and Walker-Peters once again found Onuachu in the box. This time he got a good header away, which seemed to be going in the far corner, but Fabianski made a brilliant save to claw it out of the goal. It was one-way traffic at this stage and you felt Southampton needed to have something to show for all this pressure.
As the resulting corner came in, Fabianski got to it but got clattered in the process. He was in a bad way and there was a considerable break in the game. Eventually he was stretchered off with the entire ground applauding him. It was a cruel blow for the keeper who had been in some great form of late, coinciding with Lopetegui’s best run of form as West Ham manager.
The Hammers were really struggling with Onuachu. He had another chance with a header from eight yards out but once again directed it straight at the keeper. The striker could, and probably should, have had a hat-trick already in this game. Despite their inability to take their chances, the home faithful were enjoying what they were seeing.
Into the second-half and Rodriguez went in heavy on Walker-Peters. The referee immediately brandished a red card to the amazement of the midfielder. On inspection of the replay, it seemed the player had slipped and also made no contact with the Southampton defender. The referee downgraded his decision from red to yellow as a result.
Under no pressure whatsoever, Sugawara got his feet all mixed up and gave away an unnecessary corner. The Saints struggled to clear their lines and West Ham recycled it well as Soucek won a header at the far post. Fullkrug flicked it on and Bowen ghosted in to poke it home and give The Saints’ fans a familiar sinking feeling.
They continued to try and attack the West Ham goal and Fernandes had a great chance but his shot narrowly missed the far post. To their credit, they had probably created more chances in this game than they had in the rest of the month of December combined. It all meant nothing unless they could find the back of the net.
Deep into added time The Hammers gave the ball away and Dibling made a beeline for goal. As it opened up for him in the box, he got his effort all wrong as his shot went well over the crossbar. That pretty much summed up the afternoon for Ivan Juric’s side. This was a big chance to get themselves only their second win of the season but you had to feel they missed the boat.
The win took West Ham above Man Utd in the Premier League table. They had been under the cosh for the majority of the game but took all the points thanks to the predatory instincts of Jarrod Bowen. It was a harsh lesson for Southampton but a relevant one. If you do not take your chances in the top-flight, more often than not, you will be punished.
West Ham’s travelling fans rubbed salt in the wound as they started a rendition of ‘oh when the saints go marching down’. Harsh but true, even the most die-hard Southampton fans cannot feel confident about their chances of retaining their Premier League status next season. They would have to work some magic in that January transfer window to even stand a chance.
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