Chapter 1: What were the highlights of Southampton's 2-1 victory over Watford?
Lovely skills, Janepo still going, and bundled home by Danny Ings! James Ward-Prowse! Oh, James Ward-Prowse! Another free kick of real quality, Foster clawed at it, he couldn't keep it out, and Southampton have turned this one around.
James Ward-Prowse with the winner here at St Mary's. Of their last ten goals, they've been scored by either Ward-Prowse with four, or this man, Danny Ings, with six. He was on the score sheet as well this evening, and now he's with Greg Whelan.
Danny, congratulations. Sum up for us just how big the result this is.
Massive. It's been a very tough week for everybody at the club. To go 1-0 down tonight and then to come back and win the game like that shows the character of the lads. You know, everybody here all together, the fans. You could tell by the atmosphere it was great towards the end. Yeah, I thought it was thoroughly deserved in the end.
Another very important goal from yourself was a mixture of joy and relief when you saw that go in.
Yeah, definitely. I could kind of sense something coming for us and you could see who was going on top of them. Making that run to the near stick and managing to put it in was a great moment for me and helped the team towards the win. Prowse with what he does with his free kicks, unbelievable. Yeah, it's a great night for us.
Danny, in the build-up to your equaliser, VAR have spotted after the event that there was a handball involving Gineppo. Had they have seen it at the time, there would have been a position to overrule the goal. So a touch of good fortune that I'm sure you'll accept.
Yeah, I think so. You know, you just have to carry on. It does indeed. Some will go for us, some won't for the rest of the season and lucky enough it went our way tonight.
In fairness, did you feel you should have had a penalty in the second half when you tangled with the goalkeeper?
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Chapter 2: How did James Ward-Prowse contribute to the match outcome?
We've got to make other teams not want to be here when we're playing them. Tonight I thought the fans were unbelievable on this cold night. Thanks to them, they were great tonight.
Danny, many congratulations.
Thank you very much.
Big win for Southampton. Danny Ings with the equaliser and James Ward-Prowse with the winner. And what a winner it was. We'll take a look at that in just a second. But first of all, to be a goal down against Watford in particular and to come back and take all three points, how big a win does this feel?
Yeah, it's a massive win. If you want to be successful and stay in the Premier League, we need to win our home games. We picked up a few good results away from home, a good performance last week against Arsenal. We see this as a really key period in our season and we've taken another step in the right direction tonight.
Does it feel significant, as you said, in terms of the rest of the season, just to get that first win at home?
Yeah, it's been spoken about in the dressing room. Everybody is desperate for that. Over the years, we've been successful because we do in our home games. Like I said, we knew that tonight was a massive game. To come from a goal behind, it's a special performance from everyone.
And the goal itself, one that you enjoyed, Jamie.
I did, yeah. I mean, every time you get over a free kick, I always think you're capable of scoring. Just talk us through the technique of what you're trying to do there, James.
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Chapter 3: What did Danny Ings say about the team's performance after the match?
Obviously, the first half probably didn't go the way you'd have liked, but the second half, you come out, you looked a totally different team, and I thought you deserved to win the game in the end.
Yeah, I think with us, we've got a great belief in what we're doing. You could see that against Arsenal last week, the way we attacked them away at the Emirates, but to come here tonight, we knew the pressure was on. It was a home game, a relegation battle, and we've come out with three points and a real good step in the right direction, and what could be a real
big week for us did you feel second half what was the first half you got caught a lot playing in your own half got lost possession did the manager maybe say let's be a little bit more expansive let's be a bit more direct second half yeah i think we need to get the balance right you know we all want to play play football but um you know confidence maybe isn't there at the minute and um you know sometimes you have to mix the game up and i think we did that well in the second half i think the lads who came on off the bench made a real difference to us gave us an outlet and that enabled us to get up the pitch
James, also you talk about confidence and obviously it will have taken a huge knock with the result against Leicester here. Since then, do you feel that having spoken together as a dressing room, that the performances have improved since then?
Yeah, I think it was a wake-up call that everybody needed. Everybody sort of stood back for a few days and thought, you know, we can't allow that to happen again and we are in a bad situation and we need to get out of it. So we could have easily, you know, gone downhill from there, but, you know, we've shown what we're about as a group and the togetherness that we need to push forward.
You are the man of the match, James.
Not just for the free kick, but for the all-round performance. Go and get somewhere warm as well. You're making me cold just looking at you as well. James Wood Price, thanks so much for joining us. And it is such a big win for Southampton. Especially, as he said, coming off the back of that game against Leicester. Then they had improved performances, weren't quite able to get the result.
the frustration of the game against Arsenal as recently as last week, but to finally get over the line tonight in such a significant match.
Absolutely, Kelly. And I think at half time, I couldn't see that coming. I must admit, I thought they didn't really have that belief. The way they were playing, they were getting caught. The crowd was starting to turn against them to a certain extent. But James hit the nail on the head. Bouffal coming on made a massive difference.
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Chapter 4: What role did VAR play in the match and the equalizer?
But what we didn't see at the time and what VAR failed to pick up was a blatant handball in this situation. Now, as he meant to do it, I would say no. But with the rule now, it doesn't matter. And it hits his hand and they get a huge slice of luck. And it's a game changer for Southampton. And from Watford's point of view, it could have been so much different.
Yeah, great skill, but not necessarily legal skill.
Well, you know, I don't think anyone in the stadium seen it. So you have to play on. And from Danny, we said before the game, we thought that Danny Ings would score today and his movement was excellent. But here, you know, it flicks up, it hits its head.
It looks like he's done it deliberately, but in real time, it doesn't matter if he's done it deliberately, though, because it's just it's a handball in the build up to a goal. But no one saw it in the stadium. So, again, we're talking about VAR. Should they have gone back? Should they have stopped it? It would have been disallowed.
So and it would have been a different, you know, we'd be standing in our talking about a different game.
The controversy around VAR is often about those minute decisions about offside, and people say, well, you know, it comes... And the reason they're controversial is because they are so close and they're so open to debate. That one is exactly what VAR has been brought in to stamp out, which is clear and obvious.
But what they haven't obviously done is looked at the right angles because that one there is hard to tell. I must admit, I wouldn't really look at that one. But the other two angles that we showed again are the ones when it is conclusive. This one here, look, it hits his hand there and he flicks the ball forward. Holibas doesn't actually complain, but it is definitely a handball. I can't lie.
I hate this new rule they've introduced. Because I don't think it's deliberate. I think if you handball the ball, or your hand's in an unusual position, I get that. But sometimes in football, we're always off balance, and the ball does sometimes hit your hand. And I think that rule has been introduced at a really bad time, considering we've gone to VAR as well.
And that's the thing, when... Although you could argue that maybe it's made it clearer with the introduction of VAR and it makes it easier to apply it if they manage to spot it. They're trying to get the balance right between getting decisions made quickly and getting them made accurately. And they didn't get the balance right on this occasion.
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Chapter 5: How did Ralph Hasenhuttl assess his team's performance?
And you'd take that, wouldn't you? You'd go back home next week. So, you know, they've been dealt a hard blow tonight, unfortunately.
Well, for so long in this game, it looked like Watford were going to take all three points, but Southampton turned it around. We will get the Watford perspective on what turned out to be a significant defeat at St Mary's next. Southampton have got their first home Premier League win of the season. They've come from behind against their relegation rivals to do it.
And Ralph Hardenhutl is with Greg Whelan.
Ralph, congratulations. Some of your emotions on the final whistle there.
Yeah, tons of weight falling off the shoulders, tons of weight you could feel from the first minute on. From my team, the first half you couldn't move, I don't know why, but it was a completely different performance than last weekend. But in this stadium, in the moment, after all these bad results this season, In the first moment it was really shocking for me, I must say.
It cost me a lot of building up in the half-time and a few substitutes in the second half. The subs had a good impact, they're coming with fresh energy and Sofian and Longhi made a good job, and also young Valerie. Then it was a completely different second half where we deserved to score and finally an unbelievable turning of the table and an important win for us.
You made that double change, didn't you, early in the second half, what difference do you feel it made?
Yeah, Sofjan, when he has the ball, he's always surprising for everybody, absolutely, one against one, he's a fantastic player and gives you this momentum in the final third, and then you have Sofjan on one side, Moussa on the other side, and this gives you more and more quality and finally more chances in the end.
Great relief when the equaliser came. We have to point out that VAR have let it be known that they've seen a handball by Gineppo in the build-up to the goal. Had they seen that at the time, they'd have been in a position to overrule the goal.
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Chapter 6: What were the key tactical changes made in the second half?
Yeah, I think...
the dynamic of their season could change within the space of a week. They're coming off the back of the Arsenal, exceptional performance. They've come here today, didn't start well. We know that first half wasn't great, but they finished the game on a high. They've won the match.
Now they've got an opportunity against another team that's in a relegation battle in Norwich here on, I think, Wednesday night. Another great opportunity to get another three points and then a game at the week. All of a sudden, within the space of a week, you know, things, your fortunes can turn. So, you know, they're not out of the woods.
There's still plenty of points and games to play, but they're kind of heading in the right direction now.
I think what was important as well with Kevin was to win here. That was the key because the longer this run goes on without winning at home, the fans start to get disgruntled. It transmits to the players. They were so anxious first half. I felt for them because then you get players... started to hide, not wanting the ball.
And I think it was credit to the Southampton players that second half they did try to get on the ball. Now, Hoiberg in midfield, especially second half, he was the one player that sort of took the game by the scruff of the neck. He kept looking for it, kept trying to play forward. And in the end, listen, they had that slice of luck. But that's just, like Kevin says, that could be a game changer.
That can turn your season around. And they need that belief because you've got to win your home games if you want to stay in the Premier League. Otherwise, you've got no chance.
Like you said, though, there is still a way to go for them in terms of their performances. What do they need to work on?
Well, I think everything really. Defensively, they've got to be better because I thought at times Watford opened them up too easy and they created a lot of opportunities. So defensively, but the manager, he knows that. They'll sit, they'll analyse the games and they'll work on it day in and day out in training. But confidence is a huge thing and we saw that towards the end of the game.
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Chapter 7: How did Watford's manager react to the defeat and VAR decisions?
And someone like Bouffal is... has got that, he can do something different, he's got that imagination, and I think that they probably need him right now, and he needs to produce, not just for a cameo for 25, 30 minutes, he needs to do that for 90 minutes. If he does, he can become a regular.
Let's talk about Safian Bouffal, because you were talking about the difference that he makes, the fact that he's the kind of player that this crowd in particular will warm to.
Absolutely. I mean, he's got genius feet. I mean, that wasn't so good, obviously. But some of the skills and one-on-ones, Shane Long's got a score there. But every time he faced someone up, he just went past them with ease. You know, he's so natural on the ball and little chops like that and little moves that he kept getting past people. And this has led to the goal.
This is the one that goes to the far post. But you need someone that's incisive, someone that doesn't care. Someone with a bit of flair, exactly.
he was introduced in the game when when they needed it you know someone to just attack keep going forward because too many times southampton were playing square passes and backwards passing every time he got the ball he must have been told just take have a go take them on get crosses in get yourself inside get shots off and he was the game changer him and shane i thought shane long brought a different perspective to the game uh he's running down the channels and i think you know with jamie i'll be amazed maybe if the pair of them don't start on wednesday i think
I think with players like Bouffal it's difficult and I get when you're a manager the frustration of someone like him because I've seen him play here before I remember him scoring a goal a couple of years one of the best Premier League goals you've ever seen he went past three or four players and scored but then it's the following we don't see anything from him Kelly but sometimes when you've got a player like that and it can affect the structure of the team it's important you get players to fill in for him because what he is he's a match winner
And I think everyone, I was happy to play with those sorts of players because I knew they could do something different. And I think that as long as they can get the right blend, the right chemistry for him, he can be the difference here, you know, because he shouldn't have that much ability. And that 10, 15 minute, you know, he came on, that rap was brilliant.
All the skills that he's showing, but he's got to do that on a regular basis.
And the thing is though, so often you hear when a team's in a relegation fight, they need battlers in there. They need players who are prepared to work hard, maybe do the less attractive stuff in the game. Is he the kind of player who can do that as well? Is he the kind of player that you want to see if you're battling at the bottom of the table?
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Chapter 8: What implications does this result have for both teams moving forward?
Yes, they've tightened up defensively, but results are still not going their way.
It was a really tough one for them today because first half they were comfortable, they looked strong, they looked organised and then second half, when the tide started to turn, they really did struggle. The manager made three substitutions, didn't really make an impact. I was amazed to not see Troy Deeney come onto the pitch.
I must admit, you can sell by his body language after, he probably wasn't happy and I understand that as well because the substitutions, They brought on Chalaba, and there's nothing against him, but sometimes when you bring on a defensive player, the mindset then is to think, OK, what we've got, let's hold on to. And I think that sometimes can be a really dangerous ploy, and it didn't work today.
And it felt as unfortunate, and I'm sure we'll talk about the decision with the handball, that played a big part in the game. That is one win this season. They have to find a way of getting some results really quickly because they are starting to get cut adrift.
Let's get some reaction then. Will Hughes is with Greg Whelan.
Will, commiserations in the Watford dressing room, were you as players feeling a little hard done by under the circumstances of this defeat?
Yeah, massively. If you look at the replays that I've seen on TV, if we're going to have VAR in the Premier League, it doesn't really matter how long it's going to take, you have to get to the right decision. By the rules we know, if it's intentional or unintentional handball, as an attacking player, it's a free kick. It's the third time this season for us that it's happened against.
We've made mistakes ourselves in the games and we should have probably punished them earlier, but When you see that after the game, it's quite deflating.
That's in reference to their equalising goal, of course. Until that goal, did you feel you were in control of this game, that the points were yours?
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