Jeers for Jones as Saints slide
IF YOU listened carefully amid the cacophony of boos and jeers at St Mary’s, it was possible to hear a delirious and rapturous away end toasting their first Premier League away win since May 1999.
They’ve had little to cheer about on the road but the south-coast sea breeze carried and amplified their jubilation after Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half strike secured victory and lifted Steve Cooper’s side out of the relegation zone.
It came at the expense of Southampton, rock bottom and yet to pick up a point under Nathan Jones. ‘Sacked in the morning,’ sang the away end to Jones.
He will be given time but last night’s disjointed performance made Saints’ Premier League status look in terminal danger after an 11-year stay.
Southampton look leaky at the back and it is hard to see where the goals will come from. Two of the starting front three are yet to score in the league this season.
As for Forest, their stellar start to 2023 continues after a point against Chelsea on New Year’s Day. Their star man was Brennan Johnson, who was not born when Forest last won away in the top flight at Blackburn in 1999 — with goals from Dougie Freedman and Chris Bart-Williams. The 21-yearold gave Saints a headache all match, assisted Awoniyi’s goal and was unlucky not to score himself.
This match was the first battle of two Welsh managers in the Premier League — Jones and Cooper — since Tony Pulis’s West Bromwich played Mark Hughes’s Stoke of in 2017. With Forest promoted and Jones’s Luton qualifying for the play- offs against all odds, this pair were the Championship’s best coaches last term.
But the young bosses came into this match facing a new challenge in a desperate fight for survival. And both arrived with their teams struggling to score — Forest had just one away goal all season and Saints had not scored more than twice in a match since August, winning just one game in 12 since beating Chelsea that day.
Their lack of potency was telling early on, with both sides missing clear- cut chances in the first 15 minutes. First, Che Adams was sent through on goal but pulled his shot wide from close range.
At the other end, Ryan Yates’s scuffed effort fell to Johnson, who should have scored but rattled the crossbar from the corner of the six-yard box.
Johnson’s next involvement, though, was to assist Awoniyi for a tap-in to fire Forest ahead. It came after a schoolboy error from Lyanco, whose pass to Mohammed Salisu was undercooked and intercepted by Johnson, who stormed through and squared to his Nigerian team-mate to score.
It was a landmark night for the Sikh community as Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first SikhPunjabi assistant referee in the Premier League. His elder brother Sunny is the country’s highestranked South Asian heritage referee, while his father Jarnail was also in the officiating business.
There were empty seats at St Mary’s — a rarity, though understandable given train strikes — but the crowd’s frustration was bellowed out as Southampton passed from side to side and rarely looked like penetrating Forest’s defence. One hopeless long ball went straight to Forest keeper Dean Henderson and was greeted with a chorus of boos.
As the clock ticked down, the severity of Southampton’s situation became evident. Of their front three, Sekou Mara has never scored in the Premier League, Adams has scored one top-flight goal since February and Mohamed Elyounoussi struck just twice in the whole of 2022.
Yesterday marked a year of Sport Republic’s ownership and there is a feeling long-term thinking — a policy of signing unproven but promising talents — has led to short-term peril. Boss Jones is yet to win in the league.
Fans voiced their anger at his lack of substitutions, with Stuart Armstrong remaining on the bench until the 85th minute.
Jones looks on borrowed time already. It is a long way back for him and Southampton now.
SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-3): Bazunu 5; Lyanco 4 (S Armstrong 86), Bella-Kotchap 5 (Caleta-Car, 34, 6), Salisu 5; Walker-Peters 6.5, Lavia 6 (Aribo 64, 6), Ward-Prowse 6, Perraud 6 (Edozie 64, 6); Elyounoussi 5, Adams 4, Mara 4 (A Armstrong 64, 6). Booked: Perraud. Manager: Nathan Jones 5. NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-3-3): Henderson 6.5; Aurier 6, Worrall 7, Boly 6.5, Lodi 6.5 (Toffolo 84); Yates 7, Freuler 6.5, Mangala 6 (Colback 60, 6); JOHNSON 7.5 (Williams 84), Gibbs-White 6.5 (Scarpa 70, 6), Awoniyi 7 (Surridge 71, 6). Scorer: Awoniyi 27. Booked: Freuler, Johnson. Manager: Steve Cooper 7. Referee: Thomas Bramall 6.