Sweet redemption for Southampton
It was a match that may not have particularly caught the eye, but one of the most significant results in the Premier League last weekend came at Leicester City’s King Power stadium where visiting Southampton grabbed a 2-1 win over the hosts.
This was no ordinary away win. Only 12 weeks before, Southampton had been humiliated at their own St Mary’s stadium being thrashed 9-0 by the Foxes, leaving the Saints in the relegation zone with their confidence shattered.
It was the club’s worst ever loss and the biggest home defeat recorded in the Premier League. They looked doomed.
Last Saturday’s result must have felt like redemption for Southampton, especially for their Austrian coach Ralph Hasenhuttl.
After the 9-0 disaster, few thought Hasenhuttl would survive the week. Kudos must go to the Southampton board who would not have faced any criticism if they had promptly sacked the manager. But they stood by him and it has produced dividends.
Since that shocking defeat, Southampton have enjoyed the fourth-best form of all Premier League clubs, with six victories in 12 games which now sees them in a healthy 12th place, on the same number of points as Arsenal.
This run included two particularly impressive wins against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Leicester are perhaps regretting having played a video of their 9-0 win at the stadium shortly before last week’s kick-off.
If ever a team came out totally motivated to beat their opponents it was Southampton and they did it in style, with even Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers acknowledging their performance.
“I always felt this would be a dangerous game and it proved to be that,” he said.
For his part, an overjoyed Hasenhuttl commented: “We wanted to show how much our team has changed since our last meeting.”
Hasenhuttl, who jokes that his name means “rabbit-hutch”, is perhaps the least-known manager in the Premier League.
He was a useful centre-forward in his playing career, mostly in the Austrian League after which he moved to the German Bundesliga as a manager.
When he took over from the sacked Mark Hughes at Southampton in Dec 2018, it is fair to say few English fans knew anything about him.
He had a good reputation as a manager in Germany and was known for encouraging a freeflowing football. His attacking play took Leipzig to an impressive second place in their first season in the Bundesliga.
His immediate task at Southampton, who were in the relegation zone when he took over, was to keep the Saints in the Premier League. It wasn’t easy but he did enough to see the club finish last season in 16th place.
The first half of this season was of course dominated by the awful 9-0 hammering. The players were so upset at their performance they donated their wages to the Saints Foundation.
Hasenhuttl was shocked by the terrible display and apologised to the fans. “I take 100 per cent responsibility for what happened,” he said.
He went to a great effort to placate the supporters.
“I’m proud of the fans — they stayed in the stadium until the end of the game. It was not easy to watch,” he said.
He did not turn things around immediately. In November there were two more Premier League losses followed by a spirited away draw against Arsenal.
There followed wins against Watford and Norwich and an encouraging Christmas with victories over Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Just how Hasenhuttl and his team have turned things around is not entirely clear but a key factor is the outstanding form of striker Danny Ings since his arrival from Liverpool.
Since the October thrashing, Southampton have played 12 games and Ings has scored 10 goals, including the winner against Leicester. He totals 14 for the season.
Because of a recurrent knee injury, Ings had suffered a frustrating time at Liverpool making just 14 appearances for the Reds in four years.
“I’m enjoying my football at Southampton,” Ings said last week. “Any striker will tell you that when they are enjoying football and having fun, it brings out the best in you.”
Ings also had praise for strike partner Shane Long, who though not a prolific scorer has been very effective. “He’s been unbelievable,” Ings said.
Southampton’s problems this season — and frankly it’s hard to imagine a bigger problem than a 9-0 home defeat — is a timely reminder that it is not the biggest of clubs.
They became known as the Saints, having started life as a church football team. The club’s main claim to fame came when, as a second-tier team, they beat hot favourites Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final.
They reached the top flight for the first time in 1966. Although the Saints were relegated after eight years, they quickly bounced back.
In 1984 they even finished runners-up to Liverpool in the league, with a fine team which included Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball and Peter Shilton.
Two years later Matthew Le Tissier joined the Saints and he went on to score 161 goals, many of them quite spectacular. Alan Shearer also made his name with the club, scoring a hat-trick in his full debut.
When Southampton were relegated from the Premier League in 2005, it ended a 27-year spell in the top flight, a fine record for a small club.
They were back in the top flight in 2012 and have been relatively successful despite a high turnover of managers and players.
Hasenhuttl’s immediate task is to maintain the momentum and wipe out any lingering relegation threats. They seem to be in a confident mood — the Saints know they are no longer the sinners.