Dynamo Kyle puts Saints in the hat
RALPH HASENHUTTL said seeing Armando Broja hobble off took the gloss off Southampton’s dramatic comeback win over Coventry.
Saints looked like being on the wrong end of an upset before
Stuart Armstrong’s wonder strike and Kyle Walker-Peters’ extra-time winner spared their blushes.
But the victory came at a cost as on-loan Chelsea ace Broja struggled to walk off the pitch after damaging his knee.
Saints boss Hasenhuttl, whose side face back-to-back Premier League away games at Tottenham and Manchester United, said: “Broja’s injury is the top of the knee. We’ll have to see how serious it is.
“In an FA Cup game you cannot really control what happens. They are always so tight and so tough, especially against a team as organised as Coventry.
“In the first half we were missing good touches to speed up the situation.
“That was the reason I made changes at half-time. We got our reward with patience. It’s good to go through.”
A brave Sky Blues performance deserved more..
The Championship side were much the better side in the first half and well worth their one-goal lead, given to them by Viktor Gyokeres.
The goal came as Ben Sheaf played a one-two with Gyokeres before the Swedish striker finished clinically into the far corner.
A blue flare lit up the away end as
Mark Robins’ team were roared off by the large travelling support at the break, contrasting with a chorus of boos from home fans.
Hasenhuttl made the most of the five subs in the FA Cup and on came eventual match-winners WalkerPeters and Armstrong.
The pattern of the game changed in Southampton’s favour when Armstrong lit up St Mary’s with a 25-yard rocket into the far corner.
No goals in the first period of extra-time, but with eight minutes left in the second, Walker-Peters scored into the corner.
Coventry boss
Robins was gutted his side’s bold bid to cause a shock came to nothing. He said: “I think the team that probably created the best chances lost.
“The first thing I need to say is how proud I am of the supporters and the players. A brilliant performance just tinged with a bit of disappointment and sadness really.
“We’ve got to try and take a lot of positives from that into the rest of the season.”
SOUTHAMPTON: Caballero 7; Valery 6, Lyanco 6 (Redmond 34, 6), Stephens 6; Livramento 6 (Romeu 90, 6), Ward-Prowse 7, Diallo 6, Small 5 (Walker-Peters 45, 7); Walcott 5 (Broja 64, 6), Long 6, A Armstrong 5 (S Armstrong 45, 7).
Subs not used: Lewis, Adams, Redmond, Salisu, Elyounoussi. COVENTRY: Moore 6; Hyam 6, Rose 7, Clarke-Salter 7; Eccles 7 (Kane 73, 6), Hamer 7 (Waghorn 73, 6), Sheaf 8, Bidwell 6 (Allen 73, 6); O’Hare 8 (Jones 89), Gyokeres 7, Maatsen 7 (Shipley 64, 6). Subs not used: Wilson, McFadzean, Tavares, Howley.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ben Sheaf. Tireless in the Coventry midfield for 120 minutes and did not deserve to be on the losing side.
REFEREE: Tony Harrington 7.