Tottenham Hotspur 3 Southampton 2: Sherwood 2 Pochettino 0

Article by e-Southampton Correspondent Samuel Wilkes

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Saints let a two goal lead slip as Tottenham scored a 90th minute winner to seal what looked like unlikely victory.

Southampton came into the game having won three of their last four away games and the confidence showed from the start.

Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana put the away team ahead within half an hour with neatly taken finishes, Rodriguez pouncing on a Naughton mistake to slot home calmly and Lallana placing well after being fed by Rickie Lambert.

Southampton had been the stronger team for the majority of the first half and deserved their lead. The high-pressing and quick closing down that has come to epitomise Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure was again in evidence and Tottenham struggled to get hold of the ball.

However, Christian Eriksen pulled one back straight after Nathaniel Clyne missed a challenge and the Danish midfielder was presented with a simple tap-in. Eriksen was also denied a first half double as some neat play with Roberto Soldado led to a point blank save from Artur Boruc.

Eriksen, however, would soon get his first ever brace as the second half started in the worse possible fashion for the visitors. The normally reliable Dejan Lovren tried to shepherd a long and hopeful ball behind for a goal kick, only to be robbed by Soldado who was taking his chance in place of the injured Emmanuel Adebayor. Soldado found Eriksen surging into the box to finish from close-range.

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Southampton began to tire as the hosts pushed for the winner and Eriksen almost completed his hattrick. The introduction of Gylffi Sigurdsson at half time for the ineffective Moussa Dembélé gave Spurs more presence in central midfield where Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin were sorely missed.

It was the Icelandic international’s winner as the game headed toward a probable draw which broke the hearts of the travelling fans and once again it came from defensive ineptitude. A long clearance from Hugo Lloris was met by Jose Fonte but he could only head tamely into the path of Eriksen who played in Sigurdsson smash a low shot home from the edge of the area.

This is second time that Tim Sherwood has triumphed over Pochettino – both by a score of 3-2. Considering that Sherwood has been painted as gung-ho rookie whilst astute tactician Pochettino is being lined up to replace him, these results make it hard to understand.

With Tottenham crashing out of the much maligned Europa League on Thursday this fixture contained two teams who now have little to play for and are struggling for direction. Saints are in a mini-league for 8th and 9th place with Newcastle while Spurs look out of the Champions League spots for another season.

It sets up an intriguing summer for the South coast club.

Southampton have kept hold of manager Pochettino but lost Chairman and mastermind of the Liebherr-era transformation, Nicola Cortese. He has now been replaced by Olympic Gold medallist, International coach and scouting consultant Ralph Krueger. Unfortunately, all these achievements are in Ice Hockey – a sport as alien to football as Clive Woodward was when Rupert Lowe tried to modernise Harry Redknapp’s old school ways with disastrous consequences.

All of which leaves fans pensive about the future. After fielding a very weak team and losing a very winnable FA Cup game against SunderlandPochettino has explicitly stated that he did not want the drain on playing, financial and operational resources that trips to Kuban Krasnodar and Sheriff Tiraspol bring.

45 points and 43 goals at this stage is the best performance in the Premier League by any Southampton side and for that, everybody associated with the club should be proud and thankful to those who have made it happen. The big question is - what happens next?

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