Southampton 2-1 Norwich: Report, Ratings & Reaction as the Saints Heap Pressure on Canaries

Southampton creeped out of the relegation zone and heaped further

pressure on relegation rivals Norwich with a 2-1 win at St Mary’s.

Southampton started the faster of the two teams with the pace of

Shane Long and the clever runs and occasional trickery of Danny

Ings causing the Norwich defence multiple problems.

After 21 minutes, Nathan Redmond’s fast feet drew a free kick on

the edge of the area and displayed Norwich’s vulnerabilities from set

pieces. 

A whipped cross at the front post saw Danny Ings find

himself space in between two Norwich defenders to flick it beyond

Tim Krul and give Southampton the lead.

Norwich continued in a sloppy manner, repeatedly dallying on the

ball for too long and being dispossessed far too many times,

allowing Southampton the chance at swift counter attacks. 

Set

pieces caused Norwich headaches and they eventually succumbed

to a second just before half time. A corner from Ward-Prowse saw

Shane Long win the flick on header, and an unmarked Ryan Bertrand

was able to sweep it home from close range to double his team’s

lead.

Norwich struggled to get star striker Teemu Pukki in the game as

they struggled to retain possession. 

The Finnish striker was forced

to drop deep to receive the ball but he did manage to find the net for

the Canaries in the 65th minute to reduce the deficit.

 A perfectly

weighted through ball from Alexander Tettey and a well-timed run

from Pukki split open the defence and allowed him the striker to lash

the ball in the corner past the helpless Alex McCarthy.

This suddenly breathed new life into Norwich as they began to

control possession and completely overrun Southampton in midfield.

Southampton started to drop back and even made defensive

substitutions to see out the result. 

Norwich continued to see more of

the ball and towards the end wasted multiple chances at goal.

Stoppage time saw Norwich continue to press for an equaliser, but it

wasn’t to be. Substitute Emi Buendia found himself with a free

header but put it wide and Sam Byram had two chances well blocked

in the last minute as Southampton held on for a nervy three points.

Although Southampton fans will have been nervous after Norwich

found the net, they will have been pleased with the attacking threat

the side posed.

Shane Long may not be the greatest finisher in the world but he can

certainly cause defenders problems.

His

 pace and willingness to

look for the quick release as well as his surprising strength in the air

was a great strength for Southampton.

 Add on to that Danny Ings'

quick feet, clever runs and shoot on sight mentality and

Southampton really could have had three or four in the second half.

Ings proved a real thorn in the Norwich defence with his link up play

with Shane Long causing all sorts of problems.

 His clever late run to

the near post for James Ward Prowse’s first half free kick saw him

grab a goal and his overall play was impressive.

A well taken volley in the second half was inches away from putting

the game to bed for Southampton but he and Southampton will have

been encouraged by his performance.

Time and time again Norwich have relied on Teemu Pukki, and more

often than not he has delivered.

 He managed so again today

Although he ended up on the losing side and was not overly

involved, he is always a threat on the pitch.

He was prepared to drop deep to receive the ball when Norwich was

being pinned back and he was on hand to remain composed and

slam the ball past Alex McCarthy to give the Canaries a lifeline.

 Even

if his goal wasn’t enough to snatch anything, he has definitely

proven he’s more than good enough to play at this level.