Saints’ rebirth continues as Redmond leads the charge to sink despondent hosts
The last time Southampton replaced a British manager with an overseas import in mid-season, it worked out rather well. While it is too early to compare Ralph Hasenhuttl with Mauricio Pochettino, the Austrian is certainly making himself at home in England.
He has only been in the job 2½ weeks but is already getting far more from his players than Mark Hughes could. In what was expected to be a tight, tense relegation encounter, Southampton swatted aside Huddersfield with relatively little fuss. Nathan Redmond scored just his second goal of 2018, before Danny Ings rolled in a penalty for his third in two matches.
“It was a deserved win,” said Hasenhuttl. “We were fantastic in the first half. It was a very important win for us to see how far we are in our development. It’s an important step for us.”
The 15th-minute opening goal was the result of speedy thinking and quick feet. Ings rolled the ball past Alex Pritchard before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg slotted through for Redmond to outpace the home defence and lift a shot over advancing goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
The home crowd let out a collective sigh, as if resigning themselves to a fifth successive defeat there and then – perhaps even to relegation.
David Wagner, their head coach, was despondent. “The first half was the worst we have been in a long period,” he said. “It looked like recent results affected us. We looked nervous, rushed. We were not brave enough on the ball.”
Huddersfield’s problem last season and this has been scoring. They have managed just 10 league goals at home this year; none of the club’s senior strikers have scored this season.
Steve Mounie, recalled after a threematch suspension, looked short on confidence, misdirecting a tame header from around eight yards after Southampton’s defence had failed to clear a throw-in from Philip Billing.
His team were soon 2-0 down. Ings exchanged passes with Redmond, then tumbled over Mathias Jorgensen’s challenge as the defender took a loose touch attempting to clear. The Southampton striker sent Lossl the wrong way with the penalty, rolling the ball in for his eighth goal of the season.
Huddersfield did improve. Billing scored with a swerving shot from outside the penalty area just before the hour mark, although Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy could argue he was unsighted, defender Jan Bednarek blocking his view.
That revived Huddersfield hopes, with McCarthy beating away an angled drive from Isaac Mbenza, but Redmond soon ended them. The winger whipped the ball away as Christopher Schindler tried and failed to find a way out of trouble, then crossed low for teenage substitute Michael Obafemi to steer in his first senior goal.
“When you look at the table, we are now a little bit higher, and that was absolutely necessary, because our fixtures next week include games against Manchester City and Chelsea,” said Hasenhuttl.