It is on such moments, seasons are defined. James Ward-Prowse had already performed his celebratory golf swing and soaked up the adoration of St Mary’s. It was not his sweetest of strikes, but it mattered little: yet again, the man Southampton rely upon had proved his reliability.
But when referee Michael Salisbury was directed to the touchline monitor, there was an inevitability to the outcome. Sure enough, Mohamed Elyounoussi was determined to have trodden on Jacob Ramsey’s heel and the match remained level.
“I’m not quite sure it’s a clear and obvious error,” said the Southampton manager Nathan Jones. “And if it’s not a clear and obvious error, it’s a big call to make.”
When you are bottom of the league things tend not to go your way and with 13 minutes remaining Ollie Watkins headed a winner from Douglas Luiz’s free-kick. Yet again, Southampton’s inability to defend set pieces proved costly as the Premier League’s bottom club’s mini-revival came to a shuddering halt.
“We defend three or four no problem and go to sleep on one,” explained Jones, who was at least spared home jeers. “We’ve just got to be disciplined. We ask for discipline; aggression; boldness; clinical. That’s the four things we ask for constantly. And the discipline today let us down.”
Unai Emery was understandably gleeful to see Watkins secure the points having allowed Villa’s leading goalscorer Danny Ings to join West Ham on Friday. “It is a very good pressure for him if he is feeling it,” Emery said of Watkins. “If he is scoring, he will take confidence. But it is not only his responsibility to score.”
With half-time approaching, Salisbury noted a drone floating overhead with protocol dictating the players leave the field. It is a tad unkind to say the absence of footballers barely altered the entertainment on offer, but the drone’s presence was amongst the afternoon’s highlights.
The match was at least tactically fascinating. Villa hogged possession and were determined to pass their way through the centre. A flat midfield four became a diamond in possession, and, to counter this, Southampton’s wide forwards tightened around their midfield. The result was two teams largely cancelling each other out.
Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was a relieved man early on when his hesitancy turned Jacob Ramsey’s chase from ‘lost cause’ to ‘close race.’ A VAR check confirmed Bazunu had conceded a corner rather than a penalty.
Southampton created little, although Che Adams bundled in Lyanco’s inch-perfect cross having initially stumbled. Kyle Walker-Peters inexplicably added his own finishing touch despite the ball heading in. Fortunately, for him, Adams had also strayed offside. Through gritted teeth Jones admitted it was correct.
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Ward-Prowse’s disallowed effort came immediately after Jones had made a triple substitution that prompted Southampton’s brightest period. Adam Armstrong forced Emi Martínez to save smartly with his legs.
Despite victory, Emery spent much of the second-half lunging on the edge of his technical area in a beginners yoga pose. He knows this project remains in its infancy. “I am so proud of our work,” he said. “We played with good control, with ball possession and good positioning. It was a key match in how we can break (from) where we were.”
• This article was amended on 23 January 2023. Douglas Luiz was mistakenly referred to as David Luiz.
