Southampton At Cambridge United The Verdict Wednesday, 24th Aug 2022 15:46 A very professional and workman like performance from a much changed Saints team, saw them earn a deserved win with two promising debuts putting the shine on a good day out for 1,500 Saints supporters. Only Moi Elyounoussi and Adam Armstrong were in the starting line up at Leicester on Saturday and again for the trip to the Abbey Stadium as a much changed team saw some of the fringe players get a game along with debutant Lewis Payne at right back and it was Payne himself who put in a decent cross for Che Adams to poke the ball home from close range on 16 minutes to give Saints the lead.
Adams had already had the ball in the net after only 3 minutes on the clock but it was chalked off for handball, a look at the replay showed it was perhaps 50/50 on that call, but it clearly showed that Adams was having his shirt tugged before he allegedly handled and fired home. It was a dominant first half display from Saints who moved the ball around well and rarely gave Cambridge a sight of goal, the lead could easily have doubled and Adam Armstrong had the best of the chances, but his run of bad luck continued, he did everything right, but as a defender scrambled back a trailing foot behind him somehow scrambled the ball off the line. The start of the second half saw the U's rally for the first 10 minutes, but it was Adams again making it 4 goals in 4 days and doubling the lead with 55 minutes on the clock.
Saints were good money for the lead, but as long as the score remained only 2 goals between the sides there was always the danger of a goal pulled back and a 2nd half comeback. In truth that rarely looked like being the case and that was down to Saints work rate and keeping their shape with Ralph making 3 changes on 66 minutes to bring on fresh legs and keep the minds focused. On 75 minutes it was one debutant for another in the 4th change of the evening, Lewis Payne who had had an excellent game and had not looked out of place in the side, defending well and also pushing forward to support the attack, he looked composed and able to use the ball well and wasn't overawed by the occasion. The 2nd debutant of the evening for Saints was Dominic Ballard and he looked lively and got a decent goal with 2 minutes left to kill off the game, he had a decent shot from around 12 yards well saved by the keeper but was alert enough to follow in and nick the ball over the keeper and into the net.
That capped off the night and Ralph Hasenhuttl although not seeing another rout as a year ago at Newport County will be pleased with his squad who got the job done and made sure there were no upsets. Although the scoreline was 3-0 that perhaps does not reflect the Saints domination, 62% possession, 18 shots on goal with 9 of those on target as well as 8 corners, the busiest man on the night was Cambridge keeper Will Mannion, himself usually the reserve keeper for Cambridge, he made several smart saves to keep the score down. Up at the other end Alex McCarthy had a quiet night with the home side only having 5 attempts on goal with not a single one on target. So another step forward for Saints and they can go into Saturday's game with Manchester United with a little more confidence than they had a week ago, aside from being able to put out a decent starting XI now, we can supplement that off the bench with some experienced players as well as some very promising youth players. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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