Long finally scores as 10 man Southampton battle to 2-1 win over Leicester City

Leicester 1 : 2 Southampton

Shane Long scored his first goal under Ralph Hassenhuttl to give Southampton all three points despite playing 45 minutes with just 10 men.

Long has struggled for form in front of goal and his record has come under serious scrutiny from fans the media. In fact, the last four goals the Irishmen has scored have come under four different manager, a damning statistic to have his name attached to.

Claude Puel opted to bring Jamie Vardy back into the fold, having missed the FA Cup defeat to Newport County last week. The recently recalled Harvey Barnes earned a place on the bench, after an impressive stint on loan at West Bromich Albion in the Championship.

Puel started the day unbeaten in four against his former side, with both teams scoring in each of the three wins the Frenchman has over Southampton. So it was no real surprise when Southampton opened the scoring. Stuart Armstrong played a ball over the defence for Long to latch onto, after a poor kick by Kasper Schmeichel. The forward cleverly used his body to shield the ball from Napalmys Mendy, who naively pulled Long down by his neck to give away a penalty just 10 minutes in.

In the absence of Danny Ings to injury, Southampton youth product James Ward-Prowse stepped up to the plate, confidently dispatching the ball into the top corner. Ward-Prowse has scored all three of his Premier League penalties for the Saints.

The game was aggressive, with Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu relishing the midfield battle. However the most intriguing clash of the game was between two young full backs. Leicester’s Ben Chilwell and Southampton right back Jan Valery who clashed on several occasions. A flash point  came in 34 minutes when Chilwell reacted to a risky challenge by the young Frenchman. Both were booked for the melee that followed, and the home crowd immediately got on the back of the inexperienced Valery.

As half time approached, Leicester had continued to dominate the ball but Southampton threatened on the counter attack, with the industrious Armstrong and Nathan Redmond causing havoc on the break. But Southampton found themselves down to 10 men before the break when Valery was given a second yellow card and his marching orders. The writing seemed to be on the wall for the south coast side, as Leicester ended the half with a flurry of corner kicks.

But with the last play of the half, Alex McCarthy launched the ball up the field for Shane Long to bully his way past Mendy and side foot the ball past Schmeichel, via the Danish keeper’s own gloves giving Southampton a 2-0 lead going into the break.

The second half was nothing short of domination from the home side. Leicester City used the man advantage to stretch the Southampton side, moving them from left to right and back again, central defender Harry Maguire marauding forward to pin Saints in their own half.

Barnes and Demerai Gray were introduced to give some width and pace to the side, as Southampton dropped deeper and defended narrower, gaps out wide were forming. Leicester continuously crossed the ball into the area trying to put the defence under pressure and maybe force a mistake.

They eventually breached the backline of Southampton when the impressive Ricardo Pereira broke down the right hand side and crossed for Wilfred Ndidi to bundle the ball home in an unorthodox fashion.

The Foxes continued to pepper the Southampton box and goal, the second half saw them take 92% possession, with 20 attempts at goal, but just five of those forced McCarthy into action. The crowd grew frustrated at the sides lack of penetration, increased by the lack of a penalty given to Vardy when he went down in the area.

Leicester became desperate as Maguire and Schmeichel got forward for late set pieces, but the defensive trio of Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestegaard and Jack Stephens stood strong to see out the victory.

Claude Puel spent his pre-match press conference defending his position at the club, after media speculation around his future. This result will pile more pressure on the Frenchman as the fanbase becomes increasingly disgruntled at the lack of urgency he instills into his team.

Hassenhuttl meanwhile, will be thrilled as Southampton climb out of the relegation zone, with upcoming home games against Everton and Crystal Palace an opportunity for them to try and build a run of positive results.