And that’s all from us this evening. Thanks for reading as always. See you next time ...
Here is Ben Fisher’s match report:
The matchwinner Adam Armstrong speaks: “Yeah, quality. We knew we had to come into this game and show we could score goals ... one of them nights when we defended brilliantly. To get the three points was amazing. It [the ball for the goal] dropped nice ... it fell lovely for me and I hit it nice.”
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Full-time! Southampton 1-0 Aston Villa
A valuable, well-earned three points for the Saints – and more misery for Villa and Dean Smith. They gave a very good account of themselves in the second half but it wasn’t to be. In truth they were very lucky that El Ghazi stayed on the field in the first half - he could and should have been booked three times. Smith under serious, serious pressure after five straight defeats, it is fair to say. A bit of reaction coming up ...
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94 min: Southampton give the ball away. Villa stream forward. Ramsey tries to find Davies with an angled pass to the left, but it’s easily intercepted and Davies waves his hands in frustration. Smith continues to look deeply unhappy on the sideline.
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92 min: Villa attack. McGinn fires a shot from the edge of the box. It’s blocked. Archer is dispossessed on the edge of the Southampton box and the Saints charge downfield to relieve the pressure.
90 min: SEVEN minutes of stoppage time, for Villa to find a point, or Saints to make it safe ...
89 min: When play restarts, Villa fight their way into the penalty area, and Cash swings his weaker left foot at a golden chance, but it’s a complete air shot! What a chance to grab a point. Gone. But Southampton will be thrilled to escape, and edge closer to three points ...
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86 min: Villa win a corner. It’s whipped into the danger zone. Saints half-clear, but Bednarek goes down injured and play is stopped, as it looks like a head injury. The delay is long, and will add a couple of minutes at least to the stoppage time.
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84 min: Villa move forward in waves once again. They keep the ball for a few seconds around the edge of the box. Watkins hits a shot which squirts wide. Smith, on the touchline, looks dejected and beaten, before deciding to yell at someone on the field.
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81 min: Villa have a throw in an advanced area, and Cash gets the towel out to try and launch it long, but Saints can clear.
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76 min: Elyounoussi off, Diallo on for Saints. And then Dean Smith turns to Keinan Davis, bringing off El Ghazi.
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75 min: With a quarter of an hour to go, there is so much riding on this. A fifth straight defeat would increase the howls of unhappiness from Aston Villa fans. Another goal for Saints would surely make the win safe – but Villa are far from done yet. Can they find a way through?
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Meanwhile: literally fireworks in the Irish league tonight:
A firework explodes over the pitch during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Waterford and Shamrock Rovers pic.twitter.com/iBjhbjiWHE
— Seba John Finn Daly (@SebaJFDaly) November 5, 2021
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71 min: Cash goes down injured after a clash with Elyounoussi. Cameron Archer comes on for Villa with Buendía going off. You would be a bit surprised if we didn’t see another goal, because both these teams are going for it.
68 min: Now Villa come again in this very lively game. McGinn bends a good ball into a crowded box, but Saints manage to repel the danger.
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66 min: Saints have a free-kick: Ward-Prowse curls it in, Adams sends a fine header towards the top corner, but Villa’s Martínez makes a stunning stop to keep it at 1-0!
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63 min: After a big buildup, Bailey hits a free-kick from a dangerous position on the edge of the box, but it’s an awful delivery, or attempt at a shot, because it flies high over the goal.
62 min: Hassenhüttl, on the touchline, looks particularly concerned that this is slipping away from his team, even if they remain in the lead. Cash – soon to be a Poland international - is fouled on the edge of the box as he charges forward. Nakamba off, Jacob Ramsey in time for this set-piece.
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59 min: Southampton have a corner. Ward-Prowse takes it, Villa manage to repel it, and almost launch a lightning-fast counterattack. They do manage to attack soon, though, after a mistake by Lyanco, Watkins shoots from a narrow angle from the left as Southampton are attacking.
57 min: El Ghazi yet again has the ball and is bearing down on the Southampton penalty area. He is tackled, Saints get it, and stream forward. This has been really open in the second half so far.
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56 min: Change for Saints: Stuart Armstrong goes off and Lyanco, the centre-half from Brazil, comes on.
53 min: It’s all Villa at the moment and the Southampton fans are getting nervous. Now Mings crashes a shot over the bar. Bailey then bends a cross over to the far post, where Tuanzebe tries to head it but misses, and then thumps the turf in frustration.
50 min: Villa attack yet again. Watkins does well to cut the ball back for Buendía who shoots just wide! Clearly, Smith’s half-time team talk did the trick.
Now, Buendía and Watkins play a lovely one-two in the area and the Argentinian curls a low shot just wide of the other side of the goal from his previous effort. Good signs for Villa.
49 min: El Ghazi is in the thick of the action and he spins very well at the edge of the area and bangs a shot which McCarthy has to punch clear. Villa look good at the moment, and this is some justification for Smith’s argument that they are not playing as badly as results may suggest.
46 min: A bright start from Villa: El Ghazi bursts down their left wing, and sends over an excellent cross. It’s repelled momentarily but a cross then comes over from the opposite side and now El Ghazi heads for goal. Aston Villa win a corner. Tyrone Mings is clearly pulled back by Romeu at the corner as he jumps for a header but the ref doesn’t spot it and the VAR is presumably asleep.
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Second half kick-off!
No changes at half-time. Here we go. Can Saints secure this win, or can Villa’s players throw their manager, and indeed themselves, a lifeline in the second half?
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Half-time! Southampton 1-0 Aston Villa
Villa could be three down and down to 10 men. As it is, they trail by a goal, and it’s 11 v 11. So that’s a result, when you think about it. But Southampton will be intensely annoyed if they don’t win this, as they’ve been all over their opponents. See you in a few minutes for more.
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45 min: Villa end the half on the front foot. McGinn floats a good angled pass towards Targett, who tries to nod it across the goal for a teammate to get on the end of, but it’s good defending from Stuart Armstrong.
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42 min: Another Saints corner. Another fine bit of defending by Mings with a strong clearing header ... but Southampton come again, and Romeu clips a shot fractionally over the crossbar from the edge of the box after an excellent passing move!
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40 mins: Saints, again, have their foot on Villa’s throat right now. Romeu tries a delightful first-time cushioned pass to try and find Walker-Peters but the wing-back is crowded out. Before that, Elyounoussi tries a couple of bits of skill in the manner of that annoying flashy kid you get in every five-a-side.
35 mins: With 10 minutes until the break, Villa are still very much in this, and that is some kind of achievement given the balance of play. El Ghazi now falls over in the Southampton penalty area, and wants a penalty, but the ref isn’t interested. On replay, it’s a blatant dive, so that’s three yellow cards for El Ghazi now. Although in real terms, he has received just one.
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32 min: Southampton are pushed back, but Adams wins it and then embarks on a lovely driving run through the heart of midfield, jinking this way and that. It ends with a corner, which Saints take short, and Martínez grabs the subsequent delivery from the Villa left. Seconds later, Ward-Prowse hits a stunning first-time shot which is flying into the top corner before Martínez tips it around the post! Southampton win a seventh corner ...
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30 min: Here’s a clip of the goal – a very good one too:
🗣 "What a way to end his goal drought."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 5, 2021
Adam Armstrong takes the lead for Southampton in the first three minutes ⌚
Watch live now on Sky Sports Premier League 📺 pic.twitter.com/OdBRXw4UvN
28 min: Apart from the fact they should arguably be down to 10 men, Villa have steadied the ship somewhat in terms of the pressure on their own penalty area. They win a corner, which McGinn smacks into the danger zone, and Bednarek clears.
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25 min: El Ghazi, who many of the home supporters think (with some justification) should no longer be on the pitch at this stage, storms down to the other end, wrestles Livramento off, cuts into the penalty area and bends a shot goalwards but it flies over.
23 min: “Walker-Peters is having a field day down that left-hand side,” says Andy Hinchcliffe on comms, and he’s not wrong.
Now, El Ghazi hacks down Livramento out on the wing again! It’s a robust, physical challenge and it’s very cynical, as El Ghazi had just lost the ball, and Livramento was about to hare into space behind him. You’d have to say the Villa man is incredibly lucky not to be sent off for a second bookable offence.
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20 min: Villa manage to ease the almost constant pressure on their defence momentarily. Leon Bailey, the Jamaica international, hits a powerful shot from distance but it’s straight at McCarthy. Predictably, Southampton immediately stream down to the other end and Elyounoussi makes a nuisance of himself and wins another corner.
17 min: Walker-Peters and Elyounoussi combine well on the Southampton left, cutting their opponents open with ease. Elyounoussi fires a low cross in, but a Villa boot manages to clear with the visitors’ goal under serious threat once again. It’s mostly been one-way traffic and it’s shaping up to be a long, long night for this Villa defence.
14 min: Southampton win another corner. Ward-Prowse takes it, Adams tries to head it goalwards from the edge of the six-yard box, but Mings deals with the danger. Villa don’t look comfortable at the back, though, and it wouldn’t be an unfair reflection of the play if they were already 2-0 down.
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11 min: Livramento is cynically tripped by El Ghazi while trying to burst into space on the wing. El Ghazi is booked.
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9 min: Southampton have a corner. It’s swung into the six yard box and is flicked to the far post. There is no sight of an Aston Villa defender in the same postcode at Stuart Armstrong, who has time to line up a shot, hits it on the half-volley, but smashes it high over the goal. A let-off for Villa – and yet again, Dean Smith is pictured on the touchline look ashen-faced.
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6 min: Now Villa enjoy a couple of bright moments. After a free-kick from the Villans’ right, John McGinn cracks a good long-range effort just over the crossbar. Seconds later, Southampton are dispossessed in midfield – Emi Buendia has a sight of goal and hits a low shot from inside the area, which McCarthy flops on and makes a comfortable save.
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The ball was hacked forward high towards the Villa penalty box. Che Adams challenged for it, it bounced loose momentarily, on the edge of the area. Adam Armstrong was first to it, and unleashed a sweet first-time right-footed strike which flashed past Emi Martínez before he could move, from 20 or so yards. The crowd goes wild – and Dean Smith looks suitably grave on the touchline.
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Goal! 3 min: Southampton 1-0 Aston Villa (Adam Armstrong)
An absolutely belting strike from the edge of the area, first-time on the half-volley! 1-0!
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2 min: Adam Armstrong flies into an early tackle on the Saints right. Apart from Matty Cash taking a throw-in, not much has happened ...
First-half kick-off!
There is a pre-match moment of remembrance, and an evocative rendition of the Last Post at an otherwise silent St Mary’s. Players from both teams take the knee, and we are off.
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Five mins til kick-off. Just enough time to read this by Martin Laurence:
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“I’d say Grealish is a great player who is yet to adjust to a team in which he is not the only star but rather one of them,” emails Admir Pajic.
“Villa tried what is called “sell Elvis, buy the Beatles” but has never quite worked. Even Barcelona struggled with attempts to replace Figo and Neymar respectively, never mind Spurs with Bale and Liverpool with Suarez. Players like aforementioned ones are game changers and even if you fill two or three gaps in the first team, you lose that ‘X’ factor game changers bring to table.”
A bit like when Collymore signed for Liverpool from Forest? I hear you. I really do.
The new official ‘winter ball’. Wow, that is truly horrible.
The Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhüttl, sporting a waistcoat he almost certainly bought in Next, is asked what the key has been to Southampton’s recent uptick in form: “Not conceding that many goals ... and finally scoring more ... but this is the next tough game for us against a good side.
“There is no need to hold anything back today [because of the coming international break]. We have a strong side on the pitch today.
“Nathan [Redmond] tested positive, but he feels fine, he is at home.”
Dean Smith speaks to Sky Sports: “The mood is determined ... this is a tough place to come ... they make it tough for you, and we’ve got to be at our best.
“We’ve conceded too many goals ... [we need to] go out as a collective, and show we want to battle.”
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“How big is this for Villa tonight, Paul Merson?”
“I think massive.”
Teams
Stuart Armstrong replacing Nathan Redmond is the only change for Saints. Redmond has tested positive for Covid-19 but is ‘fine’, Hassenhüttl says.
Three changes for Villa: Tyrone Mings comes back into the starting lineup as captain alongside Axel Tuanzebe in a brand-new centre-back pairing. Ezri Konsa is suspended after his red card last weekend, Kortney Hause is left out, with Anwar El Ghazi coming in for Jacob Ramsey. Danny Ings misses a trip to his former club due to injury.
Southampton: McCarthy, Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse (capt.), Romeu, Stuart Armstrong, Adam Armstrong, Adams. Substitutes: Lyanco, Long, Perraud, Broja, Djenepo, Tella, Diallo, Walcott, Forster.
Aston Villa: Martínez, Cash, Tuanzebe, Mings (capt.), Targett, McGinn, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Buendia, Bailey, Watkins. Substitutes: Steer, Young, Hause, Philogene-Bidace, Carney Chukwuemeka, Archer, Davis, Aaron Ramsey, Jacob Ramsey.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Ralph Hasenhüttl on the absence of Nathan Redmond and the return of Stuart Armstrong to the starting line-up 💬 pic.twitter.com/Eo8xvKbOza
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) November 5, 2021
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Let’s dip into this weekend’s ‘10 Things’ ... here is Barry Glendenning on tonight’s encounter:
“Dean Smith’s reversion to a 4-3-3 formation against West Ham last weekend was undermined by the red card shown to Ezri Konsa on 50 minutes. The dismissal forced the early withdrawal of a visibly displeased Emi Buendía so Tyrone Mings could slot into defence, having started the game fuming on the substitutes’ bench to which he had been dropped. These obvious signs of player disquiet are to be expected but do little to dispel rumours that all is not harmonious behind the scenes at Villa Park. Smith takes his side to Southampton on the back of four straight defeats in which they have conceded an average of three goals per game. Their hosts are inconsistent and have just two league wins to their name, so there are far more difficult tests Villa could face. One suspects another defeat will seriously drain any of the remaining credit we keep hearing Smith has in the Villa bank.”
Preamble
How good is Jack Grealish, now of Manchester City, exactly? On the evidence of Aston Villa’s fortunes this season, he’s very good indeed. Dean Smith’s side have now lost four matches on the bounce – although that may have more to do with the absence of a suitable defensive midfielder in the side, rather than the Grealish-shaped hole in midfield and attack.
Whatever the root cause of Villa’s poor run, Smith needs a win, and he needs it fast. A trip to St Mary’s to take on a Southampton side that have won seven points from a possible nine certainly isn’t the easiest place to go looking for it.
Saints are 14th, Villa are 15th, on 11 and 10 points respectively. Victory for Ralph Hassenhüttl’s side would see them move to 12th place, level with Everton and Leicester City, and beginning to eye up the top half of the table. Smith’s ambition, if some reports are to be believed, is simply to avoid the first sacking of his managerial career. While perhaps not quite a six-pointer, it’s the kind of match against a fellow bottom-half side than can do a fair amount in shaping a season. Pre-match reading, team news and more coming right up.
Kick-off: 8pm
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