Ward-Prowse makes Albion pay a high price for giving away cheap freekicks
Danny Welbeck 2, Mohammed Salisu (OG) 44
James WardProwse 45+4, 54
James Ward-Prowse produced a pair of stunning strikes as Southampton battled back from two goals down to claim a thrilling 2-2 Premier League draw at midtable rivals Brighton.
Saints skipper WardProwse expertly curled home the 14th top-flight free kick goal of his career just before the break before lashing his team level early in the second period.
Danny Welbeck’s early close-range finish and an own goal from Mohammed Salisu looked to have set Albion on course for an overdue first home win since Boxing Day – but they could not hold on.
Substitute Pascal Gross thought he had restored the Seagulls’ lead late on before his low strike from range was disallowed for him being marginally offside in the build up. A memorable comeback for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s visitors was slightly overshadowed by Tino Livramento – who hit the woodwork at 1-0 – being carried off on a stretcher in the 37th minute after twisting awkwardly. Both sides retain hopes of top-half finishes and, while this result does little to significantly boost either in that regard, Saints will undoubtedly be the happier.
They sit a point and two positions below their 11thplaced hosts following the crucial contribution of influential England midfielder WardProwse.
After the game, Potter revealed he warned the players not to give away cheap free kicks with WardProwse on the pitch. He said: “They don’t live in a cave you know. They are aware of him and they are aware of the dangers. But that’s football and it can happen.
“You don’t want to give away free kicks there and we did a couple which was not ideal. At the same time Southampton do it well. They play vertically and use the strikers well.
“And they get people in that inside channel and you have to defend that. But we are disappointed with that first goal.
“There’s a big difference in going in at 2-0 and 2-1. We probably deserved the 2-0 in the first half and it gave them a lift.”
Ward-Prowse said Southampton’s players will give Livramento all the support required to return ‘bigger, better and stronger’ from his horror knee injury.
England under-21 defender Livramento received oxygen and was carried off on a stretcher after collapsing to the ground in the first half of Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw at Brighton.
Saints are still waiting to discover the full extent of the problem, which manager Hasenhuttl described as appearing ‘very, very serious’.
“I think everybody was a little bit shook up and shocked from what we saw,” Ward-Prowse told the club website.
“Of course we don’t know the extent of the injury at the moment but I think that moment spurred us on in the game and we wanted to get back in the game for him.
“When he joined the club in his first few weeks, he didn’t say a single word to anyone and I was thinking, ‘oh, come on’. But he’s really come out of his shell.
“His performances have excelled everybody’s expectations, I think.
“It’s a real big shame but it’s up to us now to get behind him and support him and give him everything he needs to come back bigger, better and stronger.”