INGS KEEP GETTING BETTER FOR SAINTS
REVENGE is a dish best served cold and, amid biting wind and swirling rain, Southampton exacted theirs on Leicester City.
It was not a 9-0 victory, the humiliating scoreline they suffered in October’s reverse fixture, but this narrow and deserved triumph will taste just as sweet for Ralph Hasenhuttl and his resurgent Saints.
Danny Ings was the match-winner with an ice- cool finish nine minutes from time, upstaging birthday boy Jamie Vardy and leading his team in celebration in front of fans who have now witnessed three straight away wins.
Such a run — t hey are also unbeaten in five — would have been unimaginable in the wake of their autumn drubbing by the Foxes. You wouldn’t have bet on Hasenhuttl being around for Bonfire Night following that result, never mind seeing the New Year fireworks.
But the Austrian admits that evening triggered a fair degree of soul-searching and the upshot has been a run which has taken them eight points clear of danger. ‘We never spoke about revenge,’ said Hasenhuttl.
‘But it is a little bit of payback. We will never forget the result of the first game but the second part of the story was about us.
‘We should be thankful for that result we got in the first game. We wanted to show them we can play much better, and we did. This team has changed since then. That game changed everything: the behaviour; how we create chances; everything.’
One thing that has not changed is that Ings is still scoring goals. His 14th of the season means he now trails Vardy by just three in the Premier League and it would be foolish were Gareth Southgate to ignore the Saints striker.
‘I speak about Danny every week and I’ll do it next week if he wants,’ said Hasenhuttl. ‘In the first half he was very unlucky, he could have scored three goals. But when he has a chance in the box he is always there. It’s no coincidence he gets so many chances at the moment.’
Brendan Rodgers’ side are now without a win in three on home turf but they remain second in the table and, Liverpool apart, have been the most exciting team in the country this season.
‘ We weren’t at our best today. Expectation has grown and I have to support that,’ said Rodgers. ‘I don’t want to use tiredness as an excuse. If we wants success going forward we need robustness and strength to keep going. The players have been brilliant to this point but today was a sore one.’
Given the 11 English starters on show you would have thought Southgate would be in attendance but he was at Leeds v Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.
Two of those Englishmen combined for the game’s first chance on six minutes. Leicester’s Harvey Barnes errant pass set the striker clear only for Kasper Schmeichel to save.
Leicester’s opener on 14 minutes came a little against the run of play. Ayoze Perez started the move with a quick free-kick over the top and, as he does, Vardy gave chase with those in pursuit rendered spectators. There was still much work to be done and the 33-year-old striker served up the most inviting cross for a grateful Dennis Praet to turn the ball in at the far post.
The lead lasted five minutes and parity was deserved for Saints, even if Stuart Armstrong’s leveller was somewhat fortuitous, his 20yards hot deflecting beyond Schmeichel off the back of James Maddison.
But such luck expired approaching the break when Ings struck the crossbar twice in the space of 60 seconds. Their fortune did not improve after half- time as Lee Mason pointed to the spot when Caglar Soyuncu bundled over Shane Long, only for a VAR check to reveal a marginal offside against the Irishman. Minutes later VAR confirmed a clever back- heeled goal from 58th-minute substitute Kelechi Iheanacho was offside.
Saints pressed forward and Ings scampered clear before tucking the ball beneath Schmeichel on 81 minutes. Jonny Evans thought he had headed an equaliser but VAR, correctly, ruled it out for offside.