FULL TIME: Southampton 1-1 Midtjylland
Targett, deep down the left, clips a diagonal ball towards the far post. Yoshida rises, and thumps a header against the right-hand post. Dahlin might have got fingertips to that. So close to a dramatic winner! But that’s that. A draw, a fine result for the Danish champions, and a fair result: they were the better side in the first half, while Saints had the upper hand in the second. Saints have to score in Denmark next week if they want Europa League action this season. At the moment, Big Data is winning the battle with Koeman’s classicism for the very soul of football. Maybe we exaggerate a tad, but them’s the bare bones.
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90 min +5: Happily Long is back on. He’s not moving particularly well, but for a horrible second that looked serious, so this is good to see. Olsson is booked for some more time-wasting.
90 min +4: Long is down in some pain, clutching his right knee. He was slipping over when Sparv came clattering into him. The pair were contesting a loose ball, it was a totally accidental collision. Long looks concerned for a while, but he’s able to limp off, so hopefully that’s just a bang and nothing serious.
90 min +2: Onuachu powers into the Saints box down the inside-left channel. He earns a corner off Fonte. Poulsen takes, but it’s headed purposefully out of the area by Wanyama.
90 min: But cynicism only gets you so far, and there will be six extra minutes of this. Saints appear to be immediately energised by this, and Long busts down the right. His cross isn’t up to much, though.
89 min: Onuachu replaces Rasmussen. This is text-book clock management.
88 min: Romer is booked for taking an age to take a throw.
86 min: Lauridsen goes into the back of Long, and falls heavily in doing so. He takes the opportunity to roll about for a while, a bit of old-school European time-wasting. The home crowd aren’t enjoying it, but hats off to Midtjylland for brazenly running down the clock, their medics trotting onto the field after their player is back up and about. The sort of thing that, if he’s watching, will have simultaneously annoyed and impressed Jose Mourinho.
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84 min: But it’s Midtjylland who nearly get one. Hassan nearly gets onto a huge up and under, but Yoshida crowds him out down the inside-left channel. The ball breaks to Rasmussen, on the penalty spot. He takes a swing at the ball, but Fonte slides in to block brilliantly.
83 min: That was Ward-Prowse’s last kick of the game. He’s replaced by the former Malaga striker Juanmi. Southampton really could do with a goal.
82 min: Mane embarks on a diagonal run through the Midtjylland half, left to right. He’s tripped by Hassan. Free kick 35 yards out, just to the right of goal. Saints load the area. Ward-Prowse opts to go direct, though, and whips one towards the top right. It’s wide and high, but not by much, and the keeper wasn’t getting there. A lovely effort.
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80 min: Sviatchenko, playing the ball out of the box, is scythed down by Romeu. Fortunately for the Saints midfielder, who has already been booked, the away side continue to flood upfield, so the referee waves play on. The move peters out, and Romeu avoids what would have been an awfully costly yellow card.
78 min: Another change for Midtjylland. Andersson is replaced by former Arsenal youngster Kristoffer Olsson.
76 min: Long comes on for a knackered Rodriguez, whose efforts are rewarded by a warm round of applause by the home faithful.
75 min: Ward-Prowse, cutting in from the right, belts a shot goalwards. Sviatchenko throws himself in its road. The ball balloons to the left, where Targett is unmarked. The young man smacks a fine low diagonal shot towards the bottom right, but it whistles an inch wide of the post. So close.
74 min: Rodriguez and Hansen battle for a Romeu up-and-under on the edge of the Danish box. They both fall over. The crowd fancy a penalty, but nope. Nobody in a red-and-white shirt makes the claim.
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73 min: Sparv is yellow carded for a nothing tackle on Pelle. He dragged him down from behind, but the pair were contesting a throw on the halfway line. It’s a harsh punishment for Midtjylland’s goalscorer.
72 min: The first change of the night. The much-fancied Sisto has had a quiet evening, and he’s replaced by Hassan.
71 min: Wanyama one-twos with Pelle down the inside-left channel. He enters the area but blooters a shot from a tight angle into the stand.
70 min: A slight lull, which is in Midtjylland’s favour. As things stand, this is a much better result for the Danes than the Premier League side.
68 min: Mane in a little space down the right. He attempts a slide-rule pass down the inside-right channel for Pelle, and very nearly releases his man, but the astonishing Sviatchenko slides in to intercept.
65 min: Midtjylland so nearly hoist by their own petard. Ward-Prowse whips a glorious free kick into the area, right onto Caulker’s head, six yards out. Caulker batters a header goalwards, but it’s tipped over spectacularly by Dahlin. The corner comes to nothing, Sviatchenko unconventionally launching the ball clear from a crowded box by thrusting out his nipples.
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64 min: Sisto needlessly clatters into Targett down the left wing. The young full back was going nowhere. A chance for Saints to load the box and give Midtjylland a taste of their own medicine.
61 min: Targett, on another determined gander down the left, whips a cross onto the head of Mane. The striker’s on the edge of the area, though, and can’t contort his neck muscles to Nicol-Suarez the ball into the net. It floats off harmlessly to the right of goal. But this is good stuff from Saints right now. The home side didn’t let the shock of Sparv’s late first-half strike unsettle them. If anything, they’ve looked inspired.
59 min: Midtjylland look to have responded well to conceding. A nice period of possession in the Saints half. But then a loose pass, and Saints go on the quick break. Mane makes good down the middle, and loops a pass forward for Rodriguez. Sviatchenko, who has been excellent tonight, steps in just as it looks as though the goalscorer is going to receive the pass and break clear into the box.
58 min: St Mary’s is bouncing after that equaliser.
GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Midtjylland (Rodriguez 56 pen)
Rodriguez sends the keeper the wrong way in whipping a shot into the left-hand portion of the net. Saints deserved that equaliser for their determined play since the restart.
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Penalty for Southampton!
55 min: Pelle, on the edge of the box, heads down a cross from the right. Ward-Prowse takes a touch into the box, and is upended by Hansen. One of the clearest penalty kicks you’ll see.
53 min: Saints have the wind in their sales. Rodriguez zips down the left and floats a cross into the area. Pelle twists in mid-air and guides a header goalwards, but not with the required amount of power. The St Mary’s faithful are appreciating Southampton’s ratcheting up of the tempo.
51 min: Saints look determined. Pelle turns on the edge of the area and has a fine shot deflected out on the left. From Ward-Prowse’s corner, Caulker rises on the edge of the six-yard box and heads down and into the goal. But it’s disallowed - amid some confusion, it must be said - for a spot of pushing. Probably the correct decision, though the referee needs to be a wee bit more demonstrative, because nobody knew what was going on for a minute there.
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49 min: It’s an end-to-end start to the half. Hansen throws another long one into the Saints area from the left. Sviatchenko nearly gets a header on target, but Caulker heads clear. Mane goes up the other end, and is in acres down the right, but his cross is dismal.
47 min: From the set piece, a bout of head tennis. Rodriguez, level with the right-hand post, hoicks one over his own head towards the top left, but Rasmussen heads behind for a third corner in quick succession. Fonte is over-excitable as he battles for that one, and the referee blows up for a free kick. Before the first corner, as Yoshida crossed, there was a coming together of Hansen and Pelle in the area. A small shout for a penalty that didn’t look like much; the claim wasn’t sustained.
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We’re off again! Saints get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. Mane makes good down the right. He pulls the ball back up the wing for Yoshida, who curls a cross into the box. Sviatchenko hammers out for a corner on the left, then eyebrows the set piece out for another Saints corner on the right.
Half-time entertainment:
“A winner is a loser who evaluated himself.” That’s Midtjylland chairman and Brentford co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen there, coaching up your life. If Brendan Rodgers ever said something like that, Twitter’s servers would start whirling around like Catherine wheels.
HALF TIME: Southampton 0-1 Midtjylland
That’s the very last act of the half. Sparv made a point of not celebrating the goal, even though he was clearly fairly happy with the sweetest of strikes. He never played for the Southampton first team, but to be fair spent plenty of time at the club as a youth-team player, so it’s not such a ridiculous non-celebration. And it’s a crucial away goal for the Danish champs. At least Ronald Koeman can get to his team immediately, and build up their spirit again. That’s stunned St Mary’s. It’s going to be an interesting second half now.
GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Midtjylland (Sparv 45)
Jo Inge Berget for Malmo at Celtic last night; Tim Spav tonight. Lauridsen crosses from the left. It’s no good. Fonte heads clear. But it’s met by the former Saint youth player Sparv, who takes one touch and arrows a heatseeker into the bottom left! Stekelenburg had no chance!
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43 min: Targett again makes good down the left. His curling cross is headed out for a corner by the spectacularly diving Sviatchenko. From the set piece, taken short, Ward-Prowse curls a dangerous ball in from the left wing. It’s headed clear, but only to Romeu, who takes a touch, shifts the ball inside, and looks to curl one into the top right. It’s a decent effort, but gathered by Dahlin.
41 min: Young Targett has gone on a few determined attacking runs down this left flank. He’s playing well. He wins a throw right by the corner flag, and finds Pelle, who dinks the ball on to Mane. Mane’s shot is on target, but not particularly powerful, and deflected away from danger. But this is better from Saints, who are soon coming back at the visitors. Wanyama whistles a shot straight down Dahlin’s throat.
39 min: Wanyama hustles in the middle of the Midtjylland half, and wins a ball he never should have won. He feeds the ball forward for Romeu, who takes a snap shot on the edge of the area. It takes a wicked deflection off Romer, and for a second looks like looping absurdly over Dahlin and into the top right. But the keeper is able to gather.
37 min: Targett goes on a romp down the left. It’s a beautifully direct run, and he reaches the byline, pulling a dangerous ball back into the area. It’s deflected out of the area by a panicked Midtjylland leg. Wanyama, rushing to the edge of the D, lashes a shot goalwards. It just about stays in the stadium. A good run by Targett there, but Saints need to up their collective game.
35 min: Rasmussen turns Caulker with ease down the right. Andersson takes up possession and runs at pace towards Fonte, who doesn’t know whether to retreat or close his man down. He retreats, with not much conviction, and Andersson enters the box. Will he shoot, or return the favour to Rasmussen, who has kept up with play and is in space to his left, with Saints once again light at the back? He does neither. He falls over. What a stroke of luck for Southampton, who were all over the place there.
33 min: Yoshida gets on the end of a Pelle head-down. He flays a shot miles wide right from 25 yards. Meanwhile our old pal Charles Antaki is - oh sweet serendipity - in central Jutland this evening. “On Danish TV the commentary is admirably understated. Admittedly I’m not understanding a word of it, but the tone and timbre remains me, oddly enough, of Richie Benaud in his prime. A moment here of a Midtjylland shot on goal… then back to calmness and restraint. Is Alan Green watching?”
32 min: Sisto embarks on a speed ramble down the left. He leaves Fonte for dead. He’s got folk to find in the middle, but seems to forget what it is he’s trying to achieve, and runs the ball out of play just to the left of the goal. Southampton have enjoyed most of the possession, but it’s Midtjylland who have looked the more dangerous.
31 min: Another corner for Midtjylland down the right. Andersson takes, whipping into a packed box. Ward-Prowse does well to flick a header out on the other side. The corner from the left causes a mild scramble in the Saints six-yard box. Romeu wallops clear.
27 min: Sviatchenko puts a stop to Ward-Prowse’s gallop down the inside-right channel. It’s a fairly obvious body check, but he’s not getting booked. Ward-Prowse takes the free kick, lumping into the mixer. Wanyama rises on the penalty spot, but can only weakly head over.
26 min: Romeu has a belt from the best part of 35 yards. It’s absurdly optimistic, but it’s absurdly good, too, nearly whistling into the top-right corner. The keeper was out of the game, but the ball’s just a touch to the right and high.
24 min: Romer wanders down the right wing, and wins a corner off Targett. It was fairly obvious that Romer was far more interested in earning the set piece than beating his man or whipping a cross in. Sisto takes the set piece, and it’s eyebrowed away from danger by Fonte. But only at the cost of a throw on the other side. Hansen goes over and flings it in. Ward-Prowse clears. And then it’s another throw. A short one. Midtjylland mixing it up there, quite the entertainers. But it’s working. A fourth throw, and this one finds the head of Sviatchenko, ten yards out, after a flick on by Sparv. He powers a header towards the top right, but it’s clawed away by Stekelenburg.
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22 min: Saints are still enjoying the lion’s share of possession, but they’re not doing an awful lot with it.
19 min: Pelle flips a ball down the left channel to release Rodriguez, and appears to have done so. But Rodriguez miscontrols, and he’s offside anyway. The visitors go up the other end, Poulsen in plenty of space down the inside-right channel. He’s got Rasmussen on his inside, with only Caulker anywhere near the action. A good pass, and the striker’s in. Saints in trouble. But Poulsen’s pass is a risible nonsense, slipped straight to Stekelenburg, too pacy and in the wrong direction. Rasmussen doesn’t bother to hide his displeasure. That was a great chance for Midtjylland to take the lead.
17 min: Wanyama and Stekelenberg confuse each other on the edge of their own area. Another chance for Hansen to loop a long throw into the area. Saints are palpably nervous, having failed to deal with the earlier throw. But this one causes no bother, Sparv penalised for shoving Yoshida in the six-yard box before the throw can come back down from the sky.
14 min: And having said that, Sisto shows a lovely turn of pace down the left and is upended by Romeu, crashing in from behind. That’s a no-brainer of a yellow card. And a free kick for the Danes. Royer curls it in. Stekelenburg punches out, but only to Hansen out on the right. Hansen curls it back in. Caulker heads out, but only to Andersson on the left of the D. He volleys the dropping ball, and connects sweetly, his shot only just fizzing wide of the left-hand post. Not sure Stekelenburg was getting to that one. Midtjylland very close to a precious away goal there.
13 min: Saints stroke it around the middle of the park awhile. After that bright start, the Danish champs haven’t done much lately. They’re struggling to gain any sort of meaningful possession.
10 min: Hansen shoves Pelle in the back as the pair contest a ball in the middle of the Midtjylland half. The tables turned, let’s see how well Midtjylland deal with a set-piece lifted into a loaded box. And it’s not particularly well. Ward-Prowse pitching-wedges one straight down the middle of the pitch, the ball dropping towards the man near the penalty spot. It’s Caulker, heads and shoulders above everyone else. He guides a decent looping header towards the top right, but it’s a little high and wide. Not a bad effort though. Had that been on target, it’s not clear Dahlin would have got back to claw it out.
7 min: But Saints are beginning to find their rhythm. Rodriguez, operating down the inside-left now, flicks a clever reverse pass down the channel to send Mane into space. Mane, from the edge of the box, just to the left of the D, skelps his shot straight at the keeper Dahlin. A lovely, brisk move by the Saints.
6 min: Rodriguez races after a long hoick down the right by Fonte. With one touch to control and a turning on of the jets, he’s clear! He strides into the area and looks to lash one into the bottom left. It’s well wide of the left-hand post. A poor effort, truth be told.
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5 min: Lauridsen is booked for pressing his studs into Ward-Prowse’s chest. That’s a pretty agricultural lunge, and he’s lucky the referee isn’t in a bad mood. It’d have been a harsh red, but you’ve seen them given.
3 min: Hansen flings it long, to the near post, and it causes Saints a little trouble. The ball’s inexplicably allowed to bounce in the six-yard box, and with Rasmussen lurking, Pelle sticks another leg out. It deflects into Stekelenburg’s chest, and the keeper can snaffle. That’s not a backpass, a total shank.
2 min: This is a brisk start by Midtjylland. A ball looped down the inside-right channel. Andersson nearly bursts clear into the area. Fonte comes across to slice the ball out of play on the right, near the corner flag. The first chance for Hansen to Delap one into the box.
And we’re off! The visitors get the ball rolling. It’s a rare old atmosphere in St Mary’s tonight. A promising start for the Danish champions, too, as they spend 40 seconds passing up and down the right wing, Sisto threatening at one point to blaze past Targett. But eventually possession is lost and the hosts get their first touch of the ball.
The teams are out! Southampton are in their famous red-and-white stripes. Midtjylland are in their first-choice black strip. Not such a well-known shirt, but then let’s be fair, the club are only 16 years old. We’ll be off in a minute!
Let’s quickly pop into the club megastore before kick off. And what-ho! Here’s a young fan with a brand-new purchase!
Look how happy he is! A picture of youthful innocence and joy. And no wonder. He’s got a lovely new scarf, and he’s made up with it. A 100% wool memento that’ll remind him of this evening at St Mary’s for the rest of his life. Great stuff. Cynics and fundamentalists who keep harping on about how half-and-half scarves are somehow ruining the fabric of football, and that anyone who buys one isn’t a Proper Fan, can jog on. Hopefully to find they’re sat in a seat behind someone taking selfies all evening.
Southampton make four changes from the weekend, then. Oriol Romeu makes his first start for the Saints, replacing Steven Davis in the middle of the park, while Steven Caulker comes in for Cedric Soares at right back having recovered from a sinus infection. Meanwhile James Ward-Prowse and Jay Rodriguez step into the shoes of Shane Long and Dusan Tadic. No great surprises for the visitors. In their midfield, the raking Finn Tim Sparv, once of the Saints youth set-up and presumably hoping to play the role of Jo Inge Berget to Southampton’s Celtic.
Tonight's team sheets
Southampton: Stekelenburg, Yoshida, Caulker, Fonte, Targett, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Mane, Rodriguez, Pelle.
Subs: K Davis, Cedric, Long, S Davis, Tadic, Martina, Juanmi.
Midtjylland: Dahlin, Romer, Hansen, Sviatchenko, Lauridsen, Sparv, Sisto, Poulsen, Royer, Andersson, Rasmussen.
Subs: Andersen, Pusic, Urena Porras, Olsson, Banggaard, Onuachu, Hassan.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
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Hej!
This Europa League qualification play-off promises to be quite the clash of styles. In the red-and-white corner, Southampton, who on their day play some of the prettiest and most expansive football in the Premier League. In the grey corner, Midtjylland, the Danish champions who scored nearly half of their goals last season from set pieces, and whose main attacking threat is a defender with a long throw.
Stoke City used to get pelters for this sort of carry-on back in the day. See also, to varying degrees of abuse through the years: Charles Reep, Wimbledon, Watford, Gary Neville. But this is happening in the Danish Superligaen, and the backroom staff keep banging on about parsing data and identifying transfer-market inefficiencies, so it’s all being presented as a vision of a bright and radical tomorrow. Perhaps it is. Though here’s another picture of the future: imagine an Excel spreadsheet scrolling in front of a hipster’s face - forever.
To be fair to Midtjylland, they’ve done what they’ve had to do to win their first-ever Danish title. They’ve already established a healthy lead in the early stages of their defence of it, too. And while much of their threat is analytics-driven - loading the box at corners, the Rory Delap-isms of Kian Hansen - they’ve also been occasionally caught playing some slick and skilful one-touch football. Not enough of it to stay in the Champions League - they were bundled out of that in the qualifiers by Apoel Nicosia - but enough to give Saints pause for thought this evening. Pione Sisto, the young Danish-Ugandan winger already on Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona’s radar, certainly has what it takes to trouble the sort of defence capable of shipping three at home to Everton.
Not that Saints boss Ronald Koeman is overly impressed by it all. When pressed on Midtjylland’s tactical approach, his reply qualified as a haughty sniff. “It’s using the qualities. I don’t like to mention it as tactical. You use the qualities if you have tall people and tall players and you have somebody who throws in like the distance of a corner kick.” And as for their grand philosophy? “Midtjylland are working the model, but I don’t believe always in stats. I believe in my feeling, my eye on the pitch.” Did you expect a straight-talking Dutchman schooled in the ways of Ajax, Barcelona and the Oranje to say anything else?
Saints are strong favourites tonight, despite that awful capitulation against Everton last Saturday. They put five past Vitesse Arnhem in the third qualifying round, while Graziano Pelle, Shane Long, Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane have all been in the early-season goals. But it’ll be interesting to studiously analyse sit back and enjoy Midtjylland at close quarters. Can they shock Saints and land another blow for Moneyball? Or will Koeman’s XI - expected to be strong, as he insists “I don’t pick the team with Sunday’s game in mind” - continue their excellent start to life in the Europa League? We’ll soon find out. It is, according to all the available data, on.
Kick off: 8pm on the docks of Southampton, 9pm back in Jutland.
