The impending FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City represents a stern test for Southampton but they have shown they can raise their game to match superior teams. What it looked like was desire without composure to score an equaliser, which did not favour effective decision-making as Watford ran down the clock.
We did not have our highest level with the ball or against the ball and so it looks like this”. But chances came and went, defined by Hasehuttl’s post-match summary that “our decision-making is driven from stress, impatience, not waiting for the right moment. Thankfully for the St Mary’s crowd, there was a marked improvement in the second half following the introduction of Armando Broja, who added more heft up front, as Oriol Romeu dropped into the back line to make a steadier back three. As fast as they picked up points at the start of 2022 and battled through to the FA Cup quarter-finals, they now risk dropping away just as quickly. The choice of Tom Petty’s Freefalling played over the speakers at half-time seemed apt given the week that has seen them lose three with a goal record of 8-2, having enjoyed a spell of seven games unbeaten before that. What does it mean for Southampton and their place in the league hierarchy if they miss out on the top 10 or suffer cup defeat this year? Those questions will still be asked, though, especially if they lose to City in six days.
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Mohamed Elyounoussi’s goal, prodded home from a free kick flicked on by Che Adams, to reduce the arrears came as a surprise just before the break and was just enough to delay existential questions among fans for another 45 minutes. It was as much as his side could do to connect a string of passes as Watford unsettled centre-back pair Salisu and Jan Bednarek who, judging by their manager’s frantic presence in the technical area, were not moving the ball upfield quickly or confidently enough.
The Austrian said Watford’s “cleverness” where “every action needed one minute laying on the ground” stopped Southampton from finding a rhythm but there was little evidence of them finding that even before the visitors took the lead. Southampton players look dejected against Watford (Photo: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images) Murmured discussions between fans on the walk down to the stadium highlighted the key question that will be levelled at Hasenhuttl’s side for the rest of the season - in the run-in, will they compete against teams that have much more to play for? The second came after a catalogue of mistakes - first, Salisu allowed Watford to recycle the ball from the byline to the top of the box, where Juraj Kucka had time to deliver a cross as Hernandez, again unchallenged, struck at the back post. The first, from a haphazard back pass from Mohamed Salisu to Fraser Forster, was easily cut out and turned in by Cucho Hernandez. Watford’s two first-half goals came as a result of poor defending and proved costly. The players looked mentally jaded and easily panicked - a far cry from the swashbuckling team that refused to lie down when they came from behind to beat Tottenham a month ago. The nature of being a mid-table Premier League club means success is hard to define but however you look at it, Southampton looked a very long way away from it in the first half at St Mary’s. Inconsistency has plagued Southampton this season and it is the defining feature that threatens to prevent them from achieving a top-10 finish as their season hangs by a thread. Sunday’s 2-1 loss at home to relegation-threatened Watford marked three defeats on the spin for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side but the nature of the performance as much as the result will be cause for concern with Manchester City lying in wait in the FA Cup. Southampton must improve if they are to prevent the season from getting away from them.
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