West Ham deserve their victory. Sebastien Haller scored the only goal, while his strike partner Michail Antonio was immense for the first hour of the game. Southampton put them under increasing pressure in the last half an hour, with Danny Ings hitting the bar and having a fine goal disallowed, but the West Ham keeper David Martin barely had a save to make. Thanks for your company - goodnight!
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Full time: Southampton 0-1 West Ham
Peep peep! Manuel Pellegrini should still have a job at Christmas thanks to this excellent victory.
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90+5 min Martin is going to continue, though he is clearly struggling. Southampton should shoot from anywhere if they get the chance.
90+4 min Now Martin is down with what looks like a thigh injury. West Ham have used all their subs, so an outfield player may have to go in goal for the last few seconds.
90+4 min Martin is booked for timewasting.
90+3 min Nothing happens from the corner. Southampton are running out of time.
90+2 min Djenepo wins a corner for Southampton. Just before that, Adams dithered in the area and allowed Ogbonna to stab the ball to safety.
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90+1 min There will be four added minutes.
90 min Ward-Prowse’s free-kick goes straight into the loving embrace of David Martin
89 min Balbuena is penalised for a challenge on Djenepo just outside the area on the left. I’m not sure there was any contact, and West Ham will be fuming if this leads to an equaliser.
88 min Another West Ham change: Issa Diop replaces Mark Noble. I’m surprised Antonio is still on the pitch, because he ran himself into the ground in a blistering first hour.
87 min Southampton’s last chance - Cedric off, Che Adams on.
86 min Cedric’s cross flashes across the face of goal before being half cleared to Hojbjerg, who screws a half-volley just wide from 12 yards. Martin had it covered. Southampton have been much better in the last 20 minutes. The improvement has probably been fuelled by desperation as much as anything.
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84 min Southampton make their second change, with Stuart Armstrong replacing Shane Long.
81 min Another chance for Southampton. Stephens, picked out nicely by Hojbjerg’s cut-back, slices miles wide from 15 yards.
80 min The goalscorer Sebastien Haller is replaced by Carlos Sanchez.
79 min Yarmolenko misses an excellent chance, lobbing over the bar with his right foot after a neat West Ham move.
77 min This game has come to life. McCarthy makes a brilliant save, plunging to his left to tip Haller’s smart header round the post.
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76 min: Ings has a goal disallowed! He was penalised for fouling Yarmolenko moments before he lashed a spectcular long-range shot past Martin. That looks a bit soft, though VAR can’t intervene in such incidents.
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74 min This is Southampton’s best spell of the match, with West Ham looking a bit rattled for the first time all night.
73 min Andriy Yarmolenko replaces Robert Snodgrass for West Ham.
72 min: Now Ings hits the post! He had been flagged offside, though it looked very tight and might have been overturned by VAR had he scored.
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70 min: Ings hits the underside of the bar! That was the closest Southampton have come. He pulled down a cross from Djenepo, waited for the ball to bounce up and slammed a left-footed shot that beat Martin and clattered off the underside of the bar. It rebounded to Long, who slammed the loose ball into the side-netting. He should have got it on target, though I suspect Cresswell would have blocked it had he done so.
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69 min Although Southampton have dominated possession in the second half, West Ham still look the more threatening side.
67 min If West Ham win they will move up to 15th - but they would be only six points behind Sheffield United in fifth place. I can’t remember the last time the middle of the Premier League table was so tight.
66 min Djenepo curls over the bar from 23 yards.
65 min “No lack of energy and effort from Southampton,” says Mary Waltz. “Serious lack of a plan to produce a goal.”
Yes, they do look a wee bit witless.
64 min Djenepo, who looks Southampton’s biggest threat in open play, wins a corner. It’s headed away to Hojbjerg, who splatters a long-range half-volley into Row O.
62 min “When it’s cold, you can wrap up, McMahon,” says Matt Dony. “Last night, S4C showed a glamour tie from the Welsh Premier League, Barri v Y Seintiau Newydd. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw such a wet game of football. The fact that it was played on a 3G pitch prevented it from becoming a mud bath, but it gave the pitch a surreal bright green sheen. Proper football.”
I’ll show you proper football. Wait for the kick-off.
60 min Snodgrass’s corner is flicked on at the near post and flashes across goal.
59 min Antonio rampages down the left wing, leaving Cedric in his slipstream, and hits a cross that is put behind for a corner by Stephens. Snodgrass will take it...
56 min Fredericks is booked for a late tackle on Djenepo.
54 min It would have been a memorable goal from Antonio. He rumbled straight through two defenders and whistled a half-volley into the bottom corner. He has been immense today, the perfect personification of the phrase “on one”.
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NO GOAL! Southampton 0-1 West Ham
That’s fair enough, as he accidentally controlled the ball with his hand as he ran through.
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VAR check I think this will be disallowed for handball.
GOAL! Southampton 0-2 West Ham (Antonio 52)
If ever a man deserved a goal...
49 min Cedric’s booming cross from the right is headed up in the air by Ward-Prowse and reaches Djenepo beyond the far post. His attempted cross is put behind for a corner. Nothing comes of it, but that was more promising for Southampton.
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46 min: Fine save from McCarthy! Fornals almost makes it 2-0 after 31 seconds of the second half. Haller lobbed the ball towards the edge of the box, where Fornals ran round the ball and swished a rising half-volley towards goal. McCarthy thrust out his left hand to tip it over the bar.
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46 min Peep peep! West Ham begin the second half. Southampton have made a half-time change, with Oriel Romeu replacing Nathan Redmond. That means a switch to 4-2-3-1, with Djenepo on the left wing and Long on the right.
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Half-time reading
Half time: Southampton 0-1 West Ham
Peep peep! West Ham have been the better team and deserve to lead through Sebastien Haller’s goal. The star has been his strike partner Michail Antonio, who has embodied West Ham’s greater intensity and desire. See you soon for the second half.
45+2 min Snodgrass is booked for pulling back Bertrand.
45 min Two minutes of added time.
43 min A decent chance for Hojbjerg, who heads well over the bar from Cedric’s cross. He was unmarked, 12 yards from goal, and should probably halve done better.
42 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I see JR’s Southampton v West Ham anti-glamour tie, and I raise him an Arbroath v Dundee United at Gayfield this afternoon. It was what I imagine football would be like if they dropped in a pitch at the North Pole and had polar bears up against arctic foxes, with a wolverine as referee. But colder. And the North Pole has better toilets.”
39 min Michail Antonio looks like he’s on a one-man mission to keep Poppa Pellegrini in a job. He is roaming the green with furious, almost deranged intent.
That was a fine move. The outstanding Antonio zipped past Bednarek on the right and just managed to keep the ball in play before guiding it back to Snodgrass. He stood up a deep cross to Fornals, who cushioned a careful header back towards Haller, 12 yards from goal. He didn’t connect cleanly with his left-footed shot, but it bounced past McCarthy and went into the net off the far post.
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GOAL! Southampton 0-1 West Ham (Haller 37)
West Ham take a deserved lead!
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37 min Hojbjerg is booked for a foul on Haller.
35 min “The amount of pointless running about is extraordinary,” says Stephen Carr. “I’m not sure the players would notice if there wasn’t a ball on the pitch.”
34 min Antonio is getting very frustrated with the refereeing. I’m not surprised - three or four decisions, including the penalty appeal, have gone against him for no apparent reason.
33 min A nice bit of play from Southampton. Djenepo slides a pass infield from the right towards Ings, who slides to scoop a cross from the byline that is just too close to Martin.
28 min “So the ol’ MBM is bringing people together now is it?” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Thought that was what Soulmates was for. Let’s try Pawmates. Since my dear border collie Stella passed away I’ve been looking to re-home similar to no avail. If any doggy devoted MBM readers want to make an only slightly eccentric writer happy, send said pooch. Extra-long walks on holiday mornings and every Saturday is sausage day. Cheers!”
27 min The more you see that appeal, the more it looks like a penalty. It’s precisely the kind of foul that defenders won’t be able to get away with when video technology is introduced.
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VAR decision: no penalty West Ham aren’t happy. I thought the appeal was for the challenge on Haller, but replays suggest West Ham had a far better claim for a foul by Bednarek, who had his arm round the neck of Antonio.
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25 min Cresswell crosses deep towards Haller, who goes flying after a little shove from Bertrand. Martin Atkinson says no penalty, but this may be given by VAR.
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25 min Cedric cuts infield onto his left foot but lashes high over the bar from 25 yards.
20 min “Yup I like Antonio up front in a two, or on his own with two behind,” says Ian Sargeant. “He’s been likened for a fully loaded shopping trolley heading downhill with a broken wheel. No one knows what’s going to happen - least of all him - but more often than not he comes off.”
18 min Nothing much to report at the moment. West Ham certainly don’t look like a team who want a change of manager.
14 min “A different look at this match,” says Mary Waltz. “High quality? Probably not. High drama? I say yes. Two managers fighting for their job. Do the players match this desperation or do they prefer a new gaffer? Relegation battles always have a car crash quality to them. You can’t help but stare.”
13 min After a slow start, Southampton are starting to have more of the ball. Hojbjerg crosses from the left towards Long, whose looping header is comfortably saved by Martin.
9 min A question for West Ham fans. Whenever I see Antonio play up front he is really impressive, an unpleasant handful for defenders. Have I just caught him on a few good days or should he start at centre-forward more often?
8 min West Ham have started really well and almost took the lead a moment ago. The impressive Antonio drove a speculative low cross on the turn from the right. It reached Fornals, whose stabbed shot on the run deflected off Cedric and dribbled just wide of the far post.
7 min ... and bugger all will eventuate from it.
6 min It’s rare to see a match in which both teams are playing with a front two. Michail Antonio, who has started with considerable intent, wins a corner for West Ham. Snodgrass will take it...
3 min “Hey Rob,” says JR in Illinois. “I’m not really intending to insult anyone but this game wouldn’t be referred to by anyone as a ‘glamour tie’, would it? In fact, I’d say this game is the opposite of a glamour tie, whatever that is called. Ah well, maybe I’ll watch a bit. It will help pass the time until the second session of the darts is on.”
I trust you saw Humphries v Wattimena this afternoon? Blistering stuff.
2 min: Disallowed goal for West Ham! Antonio turns smartly on the left wing and is fouled by Stephens. Snodgrass’s excellent free-kick is headed in confidently by Rice - but he’s fractionally offside. The assistant raises the flag, and VAR confirms it was the correct decision
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1 min Peep peep! Southampton kick off from right to left.
The players emerge from the tunnel, all looking ready for business. It’s a glorious night on the South Coast. Little brisk.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Felipe Anderson is out with a stomach problem, so Sebastian Haller returns to the West Ham side. Southampton are unchanged.
Southampton (4-2-2-2) McCarthy; Cedric, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg; Djenepo, Redmond; Long, Ings.
Substitutes: Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Romeu, Armstrong, Adams, Obafemi.
West Ham United (4-2-2-2) Martin; Fredericks, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Rice; Snodgrass, Fornals; Antonio, Haller.
Substitutes: Roberto, Zabaleta, Diop, Masuaku, Sanchez, Yarmolenko, Ajeti.
Referee Martin Atkinson.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Southampton v West Ham from St Mary’s. Christmas is a time of giving, and the word is that West Ham will give Manuel Pellegrini a freshly printed P45 should they lose today. Their recent form is desperate, with seven defeats in the last nine games, whereas Southampton have shown since of improvement since that fiasco against Leicester at the end of October. If they win today, they will move out of the relegtation places - and above West Ham.
Kick off is at 5.30pm GMT.
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