Yesterday’s visit was special – Southampton 1 Newcastle 3

The Mag

·26 de janeiro de 2025

Yesterday’s visit was special – Southampton 1 Newcastle 3

Three trips to Southampton in the past three seasons.

Three wins for United, including the League Cup semi-final.

Vídeos OneFootball

All while watching politely amid the home fans. If only the Saints could stay in the Premier League rather than bouncing up and down like a toddler on a trampoline, I would look forward with confidence to the next victory.

Yesterday’s visit was special because my son was in tow, a mere 29 years after he and I watched Southampton play at St James’ Park in the agonising climax to the 95-96 season.

When I say “in tow”, he drove on the 100-mile round trip from West Sussex. Which almost makes up for the 600-mile round trip in the previous millennium. In truth, my memories of that long-ago game are hazy. We won 1-0, it was Easter, and Francis Benali was clean through twice before we scored. He failed to test the keeper with either chance. I do remember thinking then: “That’s why Benali is a full-back.”

Was that the match in which a furious KK replaced John Beresford before half-time? Or did that happen in the other 1-0 home win in the same week, against Villa?

No matter. Turns out Benali started life at Southampton as a striker, a little-known fact I learnt yesterday courtesy of our travelling companion and lifelong Saints supporter, Alan from the bowling club.

Like a lot of his fellow fans, Alan has lost hope of avoiding relegation. He’s on the lookout for a bit of consolation. In his case, that was putting a free £1 bet on Isak at 17/2 to score and assist.

Ice-cool Alex did his best to oblige, though he cut an increasingly frustrated figure, especially after half-time. Searching for the goal to complete his second black-and-white hat-trick, he kept making runs into space but the ball rarely found him. Fortunately for Alan, his tablet had been playing up before kick-off, so he never did place that bet!

We started brightly yesterday, in a welcome return to the dynamic, progressive football that had been so lacking against Bournemouth seven days earlier.

United were quicker in mind and body than the Saints, which made the opening goal a bit of a shock. Burn’s failure to clear the ball on the byline as he went to ground left us short in the box. Bednarek took full advantage with a powerful and accurate header.

One down, having dominated the early exchanges, the players had a quick chat and redoubled their efforts. Southampton were pushed deeper and deeper until the pressure told.

What the referee saw from 10 yards away when Isak was kicked is a mystery.

From 30 yards away in the safe-standing section of the Northam End, I saw only a cast-iron copper-bottomed penalty rather than the corner Sam Barrott awarded. Aribo didn’t touch the ball. Isak was poised to shoot when he was fouled. Simples. The other mystery is why VAR spent three minutes pontificating, instead of immediately telling Barrott to “go to the screen.”

VAR corrects so many mistakes, it has to be an improvement on what went before. What it also does is take far, far too long. No wonder thousands of Saints fans were chanting “f… VAR” loudly and repeatedly between 3pm and 4.55.

Isak’s little skip before stroking the ball into the corner of McCarthy’s net was elegant and effective. With his dancing feet, a quick hokey cokey of a run-up wouldn’t look out of place.

Murphy’s vision and acceleration earned him enough space to play a gorgeous pass through to Isak for the second goal. The striker’s first touch took him away from his marker, his second fired the ball into the net off the inside of the far post. Sheer poetry in motion.

Southampton were nothing if not game. They held out until half-time only 2-1 down and would have levelled soon after the restart if not for a reaction save by Dubravka. He flapped at a corner but when Harwood-Bellis hooked the bouncing ball goalwards with a close-range overhead kick, the keeper leapt to tip it to safety.

The scoreline became a more accurate reflection of the game when the tireless Tonali bust a gut to win a header in midfield. He kept running and finished like an assassin when Isak and Gordon combined to set him clear. The Italian’s initial header, Isak’s chest control, Gordon’s cushioned volley. Three touches that ripped Southampton apart without the ball reaching the grass.

I’ll give Schar the benefit of the doubt over an odd incident in the closing minutes. He ducked under a long boot upfield, allowing Fernandes to stride clear and shoot past Dubravka. Perhaps our Swiss maestro knew he had let the Saint run offside, perhaps he thought there was no danger.

Again, VAR took three minutes to decide the goal was illegal. When the lines were drawn, the offside was obvious. Were they looking to see whether the ball had brushed Schar’s head? It was not even close to his perfectly coiffured locks, as was clear in real time to everyone in the ground.

A fun afternoon at a chilly St Mary’s, although Howe left his substitutions too late for my liking. Guimaraes in particular looked in need of a rest. His passing was often wayward, his movement a bit laboured. Schar for Botman had been the only change from the team that Bournemouth outplayed. With a run of massive games in February, was this an opportunity to give Miley a start, for example? Or for Osula to replace Isak once we went 3-1 up?

In Eddie we trust. Sometimes, however, I wish he would shuffle the pack.

I like St Mary’s, although my first trip of the post-Dell era was less than joyful. It was on May 11, 2002, the final day of the Premier League season. We were assured of fourth place and with it Champions League football. Reasons to be cheerful, although the Dell, for decades, had been a metaphorical graveyard, with Le Tissier acting as executioner more than once. New ground, new hope? We travelled to St Mary’s buoyed by the knowledge that Le Tiss was no longer a threat. After 16 years as a Saint, he had played the final game for his one and only club a few months earlier. His sometimes questionable fitness was so far short of 100%, retirement was inevitable.

Not that United and the Toon Army could avoid him, even then. Before kick-off he was introduced to his adoring fans and went on a leisurely lap of honour.

The hero worship was more than justified. Season after season his ability, loyalty and determination had preserved Southampton’s status in the top tier.

What of the match? We lost 3-1, Shearer scoring against his old club. The headlines were made by a truly appalling tackle on Kieron Dyer by Tahar el Khalej a few minutes after the interval. Somewhat ironically, Dyer had spent the entire first half giving an utterly convincing impression of wanting to be anywhere except near the ball.

His heart and mind were more interested in the World Cup tournament due to start three weeks later. Much to my surprise, Sir Bobby didn’t replace Dyer at half-time. Perhaps the manager had instead urged the errant star to pull his finger out. I was standing among the away fans that day and gave Dyer both barrels for his lack of application. Some near neighbours were as unimpressed by my outburst as I was by the Little Waster. “Support the Toon,” I was told. “Don’t abuse your own player.”

To which I responded, safe in the knowledge that my mates were bigger than theirs: “I’ll start cheering him when he starts trying.”

The GBH assault by el Khalej abruptly halted Dyer’s first meaningful contribution by propelling him skywards like a rag doll. Several minutes later he left the field on a stretcher. With him went any prospect of a starring role with England in Japan/Korea. Dyer did make a couple of cameo appearances as a sub in the Far East but he was nowhere near ready. Dyer had loads of ability. He would never have fitted into the current squad, sadly, without transforming his approach.

We have a team of triers, wholehearted professionals who do their best to make our dreams come true.

Looking across to the surging mass of humanity celebrating the sublime third goal with the players, more than 100 yards from my vantage point, I wondered when the next visit to St Mary’s would be made. The Saints play Burnley in the FA Cup fourth round on February 8. If we beat Birmingham City that day and Southampton have a rare home win, there’s a slim chance of a rapid return to the South Coast strugglers.

Before all that, there’s the small matter of two matches at St James’ Park over the next 10 days. Bring it on.

Southampton 1 Newcastle 3 – Saturday 25 January 2025 3pm

Newcastle United:

Isak 26 pen, 30 Tonali 51

Southampton:

Bednarek 10

Possession was Newcastle 47% (48%) Southampton53% (52%)

Total shots were Newcastle 17 (7) Southampton 12 (4)

Shots on target were Newcastle 9 (5) Southampton 5 (2)

Corners were Newcastle 8 (5) Southampton 3 (0)

Touches in the box Newcastle 34 (18) Southampton 15 (3)

Newcastle team v Southampton: