Much more of this and things are going to get serious for Southampton. Terrace renditions of “We’re going to win the league,” may have to be chorused with tongues extracted from cheeks.
A sixth clean sheet of their Premier League season ensured maximum return from what appeared to be an onerous fixture on the Humber. The one goal required came courtesy of Victor Wanyama’s wondrous piece of opportunism after their high-pressing forced a mistake from Eldin Jakupovic, the error-prone Hull goalkeeper.
Flustered by an under-hit pass back from Robbie Brady, a makeshift left-back, the one-cap Swiss international shanked his third-minute clearance straight to the feet of the former Celtic midfielder Wanyama, who swept it first time back over the goalkeeper’s head. The clinical nature of the finish epitomised Southampton’s display, and left their manager, Ronald Koeman, to consider their title credentials.
“Maybe, maybe,” he said, laughing. “I’m always positive. But to continue winning, to continue up the table, why not? The expectation is high and I like that because we would like to win something. If you win games you have good possibilities, maybe to play in Europe. If we keep like this it can be a great season.”
When £90m worth of talent left St Mary’s in the summer and Mauricio Pochettino departed to Tottenham there was seemingly only one way to go for the club. Yet they sit in second place three months in and have also progressed to the last eight of the Capital One Cup.
Steve Bruce, whose Hull team inconvenienced Arsenal and Liverpool in their previous outings, reckons Southampton were comfortably the best of the rest in 2013-14 but the departure of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Dejan Lovren has hardly been a loss at all thanks to canny recruitment.
“They are a very good side and arguably as good as they were, so the manager and the people behind the scenes need a big pat on the back,” Bruce said. “What they have let go has been replaced by real quality. The two full-backs for them were really terrific.”
Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand, the players in question, chose an opportune moment to shine – it was Roy Hodgson’s first Premier League visit to the KC Stadium. The Southampton goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, another in contention to feature in the Euro 2014 qualifiers, can rarely have been as well protected.
That Southampton took one of two chances created in the first period – Shane Long, their £12m acquisition from Hull, saw Jakupovic block the other – reflected the clinical nature of their play this season.
Southampton could have won by a greater margin but for a rare off-day for their new-look attack. Graziano Pellè’s timing was out a minute from the end when he swung his boot at Sadio Mané’s low cross, guiding it narrowly the wrong side of the post. Earlier, Mané also made a hash of a golden chance in the 69th minute when he looped Dusan Tadic’s pass into the turf and over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
That the Saints maintained their march on Chelsea’s coattails came down to the latest howler by Hull’s third-choice goalkeeper. On his last league appearance here, 21 months ago, Jakupovic fumbled Miguel Llera’s corner into his own net to send Sheffield Wednesday home with a surprise Championship victory.
With Allan McGregor and Steve Harper sidelined through injury, Jakupovic was integral to Liverpool being blanked at Anfield a week ago but panic spread whenever Southampton closed the ball down deep in home territory. Redemption of sorts came when he foiled Steven Davis with an unconventional stop in the second period.
But this particular Southampton side needs only one chance.
