Mark Hughes concedes Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg went down easily for dismissal in Leicester loss
Saturday 25 August 2018 20:04, UK
Mark Hughes admitted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg went down "a little bit easily" after the midfielder received a second yellow card for diving in Southampton's 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester.
Southampton looked on course for a first win of the season after Ryan Bertrand thundered his side into a deserved lead seven minutes in the second half at St Mary's.
However, following on from Demarai Gray's equaliser, Leicester's task was made easier after Hojbjerg was sent off for a second yellow card, with referee Jonathan Moss adjudging the Saints midfielder to have dived.
The hosts looked to have held on for a point, but Harry Maguire had other ideas, as he drilled a winner home in stoppage time, to inflict a second successive defeat on Saints.
"The first yellow card was harsh, it was just a coming together, it wasn't even a foul," Hughes said of the Hojbjerg incident. "However, if you are in that situation, Pierre knows he has to be careful.
"He did get a clip just prior to going down. That affected his momentum and at one point. I think he thought he could get a shot off, and when he thought he couldn't, he then did go down a little bit easily. Mr Moss was on the spot to send him off very quickly.
"It did change the game. I thought we were excellent from start up until the sending off. First half was arguably one of the best performances we have had, certainly at St Mary's. We should have gone two or three goals to the good coming into the half-time period.
"We came out for the second half and it was more of the same, and we scored a fantastic goal. At that point, I thought there could be only one winner, and that was us."
Hughes, though, after seeing his side have the better of much of the encounter on the south coast, insisted he can still take some positives.
"The winning goal was a real hammer blow as we did not deserve it on the strength of our performance," Hughes said. "I thought we were excellent in all departments. We just needed that bit of luck.
"I am pleased as I can be given we have lost a home game. We talked about the things we wanted to do, and they have done that to the letter."
