Here’s Ben Fisher’s report from St Mary’s.
Some Will Still words after that dramatic win:
“We conceded a bit of a silly pen. And then we sort of floated for about five, ten minutes, trying to get back up to speed and find out, find our bearing again, but after that, I thought we we definitely created enough chances to get back in the game, but that’s probably the Championship for you. It’s two set pieces that sort of unlock it and then a scramble at the end.
“It was difficult, it was tough, the conditions. The pitch was a bit sticky, you know, I early season syndrome, but, you know, it was important, I think I think we know where you go with that, so it’s good.
“The thought does cost your mind, you just got you just got to stay positive, I think, I think you’re pragmatic and you’ve got to find ways to win games. And we, yeah, we got there in the end.”
On Fernandes: That’s a million dollar question. A good player’s, there’s definitely going to be interested there for him. There are other good players in the squad that there there’s interest for. I think Matt wasn’t quite ready to start, which is why we had to bring him on in the game.
On Tyler Dibling: “He’s just, you know, just wasn’t in a sort of headspace where he was able to play and give us something. So I prefer to, you know, prioritise a team, We’ll see what comes of it and if nothing happens and he stays then good for us. “
Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “NastyLeeds fan here, happy to have ascended to glory last season. But I will be glued to the Championship as much as the Premier League, because it is what it is, the hardest League to get up from in the world. And it really is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyway, need to keep an eye on it, we might be back again in a year’s time....”
Mary Waltz: “Lampard looks so forlorn on the bench as his side can’t score.”
Jack Stephens speaks to Sky:
I was actually shattered and Trolls told me to go up and obviously Ryans’s been whipping in 25 crosses and the last 10 minutes, so there’s always a chance to see on the end of it, so, yeah, I’m really pleased.
“We admitted as players as we were, we weren’t good enough, which is pretty obvious, but, you know, it takes long to admit that, and we were grateful to the fans and I mean, they’ unbelievable today come in and support and now and hopefully this is the start we need to have a successful season.”
Scores elsewhere in the Championship:
Charlton 1-0 Watford
Coventry 0-0 Hull
Full-time: Southampton 2-1 Wrexham
The Championship, the cruellest league in the cruellest sport, just showed Wrexham how there’s no such thing as scripted reality. They could have been four goals up but got mugged by a team trying to win and going for broke. What a start for Will Still. St Mary’s is a picture of joy for the first time in a long time.
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Goal! Southampton 2-1 Wrexham (Stephens, 90+6)
One last push from Saints. The ball breaking down the left, and Longman lets Manning go, Archer fresh-airs and Stephens smashes home. Stick that in your streaming documentary series!
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90+4 min: After a Smith miscue down one end, there’s another Saints corner…it bounces off the back Manning and Archer fails to read the flight of the ball.
90+3 min: Manning’s corner is poor. But Saints go again. There are six added minutes to win it. Ward claims the ball and lies down on it, trying to kill time.
90+1 min: Wrexham tempers fray. James McLean involved as he blocks off Ryan Fraser. Yellow card waved, and now a free-kick chance for Saints. They win a corner.
Goal! Southampton 1-1 Wrexham (Manning, 90)
Saints get a corner clear and then win a free-kick. Deep breath from Ryan Manning, and he zips and dips it beyond Ward. What a goal!
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88 min: Saints pile on but Robinson’s header is no threat. Saints lacking a cutting edge….and down the other end, Hardie has space to charge on and shoot, but Bazunu makes a fine save. That’s stopped the three points being fully Wrexham’s.
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86 min: Another Quarshie throw and Danny Ward claims well, his Leicester woes seem thankfully behind him.
84 min: Liberato Cacace, the wonderfully named Kiwi, leaves the field as James McLean comes on, the former Ireland man sure to be up for the fight to protect Wrexham’s lead.
83 min: Danny Ward clings gratefully for a ball that’s pinged in, as Wrexham again clear a number of crosses. They shall not pass? They probably have 10 minutes to see out.
81 min: Quarshie’s long throw is employed again, but Wrexham hold firm. Saints just can’t get through the wall of yellow shirts.
79 min: More fine skills from Robinson who’s tall and rangy but he ended up losing the ball. Ross Stewart comes on, another attacking change, as Ronnie Edwards departs.
78 min: Ref rage from Saints fans. Rightfully so. Sam Smith had full grasp of Quarshie’s shirt. That was an attacker’s challenge.
75 min: Ryan Longman is on for Wrexham, by the way. And Wrexham could have finished it, O’Brien given too long to think when clear on goal. Jack Stephens puts him off, and O’Brien was looking for the card.
74 min: Jack Stephens climbs to head a corner, and again it’s straight at Danny Ward. Needed neck muscles like a traction engine to smash that in.
72 min: Cameron Archer is on for Saints, as is Ryan Manning, with Downes off and Wellington, too. Ryan Hardie has replaced Windass for Wrexham.
70 min: Conor Coady is down, so is Wellington. Losing Coady and Moore, the two veterans, would be a blow to Phil Parkinson.
69 min: Fernandes’ shot is saved by Ward. Saints are now full of danger.
67 min: Quarshie does far better in blocking off a Sam Smith run, and Saints go again. Robinson dips and weaves and forces a save from Ward. Who’s Tyler Dibling again? Robinson, 18, looks full of talent.
65 min: Josh Windass goes down, buying some time, and a free-kick. Quarshie almost makes a mess of that, and Saints clear with some relief.
63 min: Conor Coady is being asked to marshal the Wrexham defence, and soak up that Saints pressure, which is being poured on and on.
61 min: Those changes have lifted the home noise. Wellington is baulked and the Saints fans, already taking Howard Webb’s name in vain, want a penalty. It would be harsh.
59 min: Armstrong and Sugawara will depart, and on comes Mateus Fernandes and new boy Damian Downs, formerly of Köln, and of the USMNT. Fernandes is linked with West Ham, poor sod.
57 min: Some great vision from Downes and Armstrong whips his shot wide. Saints beginning to carve into the game, and Wrexham will miss Moore. Changes imminent, too.
55 min: Moore goes off for treatment, and on comes Sam Smith, a January signing from Reading. He’s almost immediately involved as the offside trap is triggered and he wins a corner.
53 min: Looks like Big Kieffer is done, having been such a major force in this game.
Joe Pearson gets in touch: “On the commentary for yesterday’s Birmingham - Ipswich clash, they mentioned that the Blues had become accustomed to winning as they played their way into the Championship, while the Tractor Boys had become accustomed to losing in their futile relegation battle. Are we seeing something of the same dynamic today?”
Feels a bit that way, definitely.
51 min: Adam Lallana and the Saints staff in conference with Will Still. Will Fernandes come on? Saints look short of firepower. Moore limps off, towering over the physio.
50 min: Big Kieffer Moore in down, and it looks painful, the result of a block tackle, often the cause of big problems. His ankle is sore.
48 min: This being the Championhip, Southampton go down the other end, and Charles shoots. Did that come off Cleworth’s hand? It looked it. That’s a let-off. Next, as the ball loops in, Armstrong misreads the angle and heads wide.
Back away we go
46 min: Josh Windass is alert and ready, and tries to fox Gavin Bazunu almost from the get-go.
It’s 0-0 between Coventry and Hull, and the same between Charlton and Watford.
Mary Waltz is here too: “John, greetings from still pitch black California. Great to have Championship MBMs back. CBS has given us Hull v Coventry to watch. Lampard’s side is controlling the match so far but are finding the Tigers hard to break down, still nil nil.”
Jon Collin: “Tyler Dibling… isn’t playing. You mentioned him a couple of times but he’s busy wanting away, no?
Ah yes, some confusion here. Mine, mostly. Fernandes is in the squad, Dibling not as he would like to go to Everton. There was a long delay in the teams coming on the wires but to repeat, he is not playing.
Half-time: Southampton 0-1 Wrexham
A highly entertaining half, Wrexham look to the Championship manor born. Saints are full of decent play but maybe lacking a cutting edge and confidence. They might have fallen two or three behind but had the Disney club on the ropes by the end.
45+2 min: Armstrong smashes the post with a volley, meeting a fine ball, and Coady’s nous forces the striker to embrace the wide angle. Wrexham bundle away for a corner that’s cleared for one last run for Moore. The striker’s radar fails him; Windass was waiting.
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45 min: We are told that Rob and Ryan aren’t here today. Josh Windass leaves the field, and comes back on.
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44 min: Long throw into the Wreham box but there looks to be a head injury. Windass was actually hit on the thigh. He’s receiving treatment.
42 min: Wrexham being pinned back, and look to Moore but he’s offside….and Ward has to make a save when Fraser scoops a ball that looked to be going out. Both teams attacking whenever opportunity arises.
40 min: Saints fans want a penalty – twice over, make that thrice. Robinson was knocked over, then Downes, then finally a free-kick, outside of the box, is won.
38 min: Saints coming back into the play but struggling to piece together something….Downes hustles through and Adam Armstrong shoots, but straight at Danny Ward.
35 min: The home fans seem to think James Bell is against them. The truth is that Wrexham are playing better; O’Brien steps in to stop Robinson having a chance to shoot from Armstrong’s pass.
33 min: Fraser commits a foul chasing down a long ball. No target man for Saints, Tall Paul Onachu is at Trabzanspor these days.
32 min: Phil Parkinson is booked for some touchline remonstrations. Will make for good content….
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30 min: Close again for Wrexham! Will Still pictured on the sidelines. He’s got work to do. Kieffer Moore is fouled again; he resembles a rugby player winning penalties at the line-out. O’Brien’s free-kick and Brunt should have made it two.
28 min: Wellington seems have to recovered from his earlier muscle issues.
26 min: Windass bursts beyond the Southampton line. This time he’s offside but the high line Saints employ invites on their opponents. Last year in the Premier League it proved fatal.
25 min: “Up the Football League we go,” sing the Wrexham fans. Can they do four in a row? They also sing for Joey Jones, a European Cup winner for Liverpool in 1977.
23 min: It was Ronnie Edwards who made the last-man foul on Moore. Was he playing the ball? There’s the possibility he could have been red-carded there so some relief for Saints.
Goal! Southampton 0-1 Wrexham (Windass, 22 pen)
Windass lashes the ball beyond Bazunu, low and hard.
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Penalty to Wrexham!
20 min: Wellington seems to have an issue, and suddenly Wrexham are away. The ball is soon sent by Windass to Moore, and suddenly, he’s brought down.
18 min: Saints move the ball quickly, and suddenly Downes has a chance, and it takes Coady throwing himself at the shot to stop it flying in. Good, doughty defending, as you would expect from Coady.
16 min: Joshua Quarshie, signed from Hoffenheim, lurches forward. Hard not to think of Nigel Quashie, to be quite honest.
14 min: Flynn Downes and Ryan Fraser running the show in midfield. Both fine players at this level for whom the Premier League was maybe too large a step. That’s no disgrace, they’re fine players, and Fraser has been decent in the PL. Downes is still young, too.
12 min: Chance now for Wellington on the burst from wing-back, but he boots wide….at the other end Josh Windass launches the Windass special, beloved of father and son, and forces a fine save from Bazunu. We are so back.
11 min: Fraser’s ball goes to the back post but Jay Robinson is too wide of an angle. Was there a foul on Tyler Dibling? He’ll be a marked young man for however long he remains in the Championship.
9 min: Saints, as you would expect under Will Still, play an attractive style, a modern style, high press and all that jazz.
7 min: Wrexham, after that slow start, are in gear. Phil Parkinson-ball in full effect…Conor Coady volleys over after a short corner. That was well worked. The training ground in full effect. Coady might have done better from Windass’ ball.
6 min: Lewis O’Brien, once of Nottingham Forest, is penalised for a foul. Yes, it’s the Champo and we are in full thud and blunder mode already. What did we do without it?
4 min: First Wrexham attack, Josh Windass runs on, and Kieffer Moore is the target. Afternoon, grapple fans, he tussles with Ronnie Edwards but no dice; he rather flopped to the floor.
2 min: Shea Charles, loaned to Sheff Wed last season, is to the fore for Saints. Wrexham having to defend deep and in numbers.
Away we go!
1 min: Phil Parkinson takes a seat on top of the drinks bin as he awaits kickoff. The weather – pretty decent. Lots of noise from those who travelled all the way from North Wales. Ryan Fraser, a fine player at this level, sets off on a mazy run.
Fernandes being in the Saints squad reminds there’s much of the transfer window to come; what will these teams’ lineups look like in Southampton.
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The teams take to the field, and there’s two Tifos. In the Wrexham end, a celebration of the late club legend Joey Jones, and in the home end, a large banner that features Matt Le Tissier in the centre.
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Six new signings start for Wrexham: Ward, Coady, Cacace, O’Brien, Windass, Moore all feature. Ryan Hardie, a summer arrival from Plymouth, starts on the bench.
A back five for Southampton. Mateus Fernandes is on the bench with Everton target Flynn Downes fit to start. Adam Armstrong leads the line with Ryan Fraser and Jay Robinson on either side of him.
The teams
Southampton: Bazunu, Sugawara, Edwards, Stephens, Welington, Downes, Charles, Fraser, Robinson, Armstrong, Quarshie. Subs: McCarthy, Wood-Gordon, Manning, Matsuki, Fernandes, Brereton Diaz, Archer, Stewart, Downs.
Wrexham: Ward, Cleworth, Coady, Brunt, Barnett, Dobson, Matty James, Cacace, Windass, O’Brien, Moore. Subs: Okonkwo, O’Connell, McClean, Hardie, Evans, Smith, Lee, Ashfield, Longman.
Referee: James Bell (Yorkshire)
That doesn’t prevent us linking to Ben Fisher’s Championship preview.
The Championship is already underway, with last night’s rather stodgy affair.
Interview with Will Still, the new Southampton manager, someone with a very different background.
Couple of stats here to show how far Wrexham have come. They haven’t played in the second tier since 1982.
This is the first meeting in any competition between Southampton and Wrexham since the 1979-80 League Cup second round, when Saints won 5-0 at home and 3-0 away in a two-legged tie.
The last league encounter between Southampton and Wrexham was in April 1960 in the third tier, with the Welsh side winning 2-1 through goals from Ron Harbertson and Bernard Evans.
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Preamble
Welcome to Southampton, welcome to the Championship, Wrexham. Here comes the latest season, as Disney visits Southampton, as it regularly does with cruise ships. Southampton are under the new management of Will Still, the club’s latest appointment of a progressive manager. Phil Parkinson is in charge of Wrexham, and he’s added a few players to the cast list you may – or may not, depending on your streaming package – you recognise. Saints aim to return to the Premier League after being all but relegated by September last season. For Wrexham, the Premier League represents a season finale on the level of Game of Thrones Red Wedding or Big Pussy’s ride on Tony Soprano’s boat. It all starts here.
Kick-off at 12.30pm. Join me.
