LUNDULU LULU NOT THE TONIC COTT NEEDED
STEVE COTTERILL watched from a hospital bed as his Shrewbury side failed to deliver the tonic he needed.
Premier League Southampton booked a fourth-round clash with Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime at St Mary’s thanks to youngster Dan N’lundulu’s smart early goal and James Ward-prowse’s second in the final minute.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl had his brush with coronavirus weeks ago, having to selfisolate when his wife tested positive. But Cotterill has been hit far harder.
The Shrewsbury boss, 56, came out of intensive care only on Sunday. And his men, 17th in League One, were playing for the first time since December 29 after their entire squad was hit by the virus. The rustiness showed because they never really threatened an upset.
Former England Under-16 forward N’lundulu, 21, put Saints ahead in the 16th minute on his full debut for the club. The French-born striker is another promising product of the famed Saints academy after moving to Britain at a young age.
Saints, who gave three players their full debuts against the League One strugglers, could have gone ahead early on but Shane Long saw his shot pushed over by Shrews goalkeeper Matija Sarkic. But it didn’t take long for N’lundulu, who had come off the bench seven times before last night but never started, to make his impact.
Ward-prowse sent a probing ball into the area, and Caleb Watts neatly controlled it on his chest before laying off for N’lundulu to drill his shot low past Sarkic. Ward-prowse then curled a free-kick just over the angle as the Premier League side pressed, but Shewsbury were not having their tummies tickled – and Shaun Whalley fired just over.
Shrewsbury sat deep for long periods and Saints found it hard to break them down. Sarkic produced a fine save from Jack Stephens, blocking his effort at close range after a corner was only half-cleared, to keep the League One side in the game.
Then the Shrews goalkeeper pushed away a Watts drive and Aaron Pierre somehow managed to clear off the line.
Shrewsbury refused to lie down, and Saints had some anxious moments as they defended their narrow lead.
The League One threw everything at their Premier League opponents in the final stages but lacked the firepower.
Che Adams missed a sitter after rounding the keeper but Ward-prowse sealed the victory with a late free-kick after
Ibrahima Diallo had been sent sprawling on the edge of the box.