Southampton vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance29,751.
Report and free match highlights as Charly Alcarez scored his first goal for Saints on his full PL debut; Mario Lemina was dismissed for two bookable offences; Jan Bednarek scored a comical own goal - his fourth such offence; Joao Gomes struck late to give Wolves crucial win
Saturday 11 February 2023 20:45, UK
Southampton were undone by a sensational second-half comeback from 10-man Wolves at a hostile St Mary's, with Joao Gomes scoring a late decider to pile more pressure on under-fire boss Nathan Jones - who has lost seven of his eight league games in charge.
Gomes' clinical strike arrived 15 minutes after Jan Bednarek's own goal cancelled out Charly Alcaraz's opener for the hosts, who remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table - four points adrift of safety.
Jones, who went immediately down the tunnel at the full-time whistle, commended his side post-match for an "excellent 60 minutes", which he subsequently identified as "the best we've played at home."
Saints wrestled initial control of the tie during two manic first-half minutes, where Alcaraz broke the deadlock with a sweet strike that went in via the inside of the post (25) and Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina was dismissed for a second bookable offence (27).
But the visitors rallied triumphantly after the break, sparked by the half-time introduction of Adama Traore, who played his part in rescuing the tie for Julen Lopetegui's rejuvenated side by forcing a game-changing mistake from Bednarek to level the scores (72).
Fellow substitute Gomes then fired an 87th minute winner, catching Lyanco napping, who simply spectated as the Brazilian stroked the ball into the top right corner of the net. "We settled for a sucker punch," the Saints boss said of the deciding goal.
Jones will undoubtedly face further scrutiny over his position in the coming days with choruses of boos ringing around St Mary's at the final whistle and disgruntled supporters aiming a secondary chant of "get out of our club" at the beleaguered Welshman.
"Fortunately the players show that they have a big heart and a lot of fight," opposite number Lopetegui concluded.
A week on from Jones' bizarre post-Brentford defeat rant, in which he claimed he had "compromised principles" since taking over at Southampton, the mood on the south coast has somehow worsened.
The goals Saints conceded were a comedy of errors. Bednarek was unable to untangle his feet before sticking the ball through his own net for the first, while Ainsley Maitland Niles and Kamaldeen Sulemana collided to present the ball to Gomes for the second.
Jones' move to hand full debuts to new arrivals' Paul Onuachu and Sulemana - Saints' brightest spark on the day - showed bravery but they lacked enough guile to get over the finish line, despite playing with an extra man for over an hour.
Perhaps more disturbing was the home side's apparent lack of ambition. On two occasions, once in the first period and once in the second, set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse was offered presentable opportunities to test Jose Sa with a trademark free-kick. In both instances the captain negated to shoot, instead opting to play the ball short. Neither entry worked.
Referee Jarred Gillett also played his part by showing former Saints midfielder Lemina two yellow cards - for a late challenge which was quickly followed up by a show of dissent - but even that couldn't provide the hosts with the competitive edge they needed to outwit their Midlands counterparts.
Lopetegui's side, conversely, are clearly vastly improved under the Spaniard's tutelage, and are now five points clear of the drop zone after starting out bottom when the 56-year-old first took over in early November.
Southampton manager Nathan Jones:
"Tough afternoon. For 60 minutes we were excellent - the best we've played at home. We had to go after the second goal. We did. If we make it two we go on to win the game. We settled for a sucker punch. We lost control second half. They scored using the ounce of quality needed to get the second goal.
"You are always susceptible to counter-attacks [against Wolves] because they've got pace and quality. We've got to deal with situations far better. We had enough situations to score again.
"It was more what we want to be. We were aggressive, we did have territory. We had our tails up and were front-footed. We did lose an ounce of intensity. We've got to get that second goal."
Speaking about heading straight down the tunnel at the full-time whistle, he added: "I've never done that before - 390 games I've not done that. But I'm not sure going around clapping would have showed respect, so that's why I did that."
Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui:
"We play 70 minutes with a player less. It was very difficult. Fortunately, the players show that they have a big heart and fight a lot. We knew that if we could arrive at 70 minutes without conceding again we had a chance.
"A very good win for us. The referee told us that he [Mario Lemina] has talked something. For me it's an unfair decision. In the end they are judges, they have to be balanced. It's not easy, this work, I know that, but maybe he can be more calm in these moments.
"I am happy with the character. It's a good thing they can overcome a lot of difficult things today. It's a good way for us, it's a good reason to be happy today."
At this stage, it's difficult to put an argument forward for Nathan Jones' position being tenable. He came out swinging last week, and this week he's missed again. How many strikes until you're out?
The fact that he walked down the tunnel immediately at the final whistle says a lot about the Welshman's pressure point - it must be close to its ceiling. Certainly, the fanbase's rage has reached boiling point. For the second time in seven days, impassioned Southampton supporters chanted "get out of our club". They seem to mean it.
Jones was far more measured in his post-match address, explaining that he thought applauding the crowd after another damaging defeat would have lacked "respect". Perhaps, this late into a campaign, another managerial change carries as much risk as Jones staying on.
Ultimately, Saints have 16 games to save their season, or their 11-year run in the top flight is over. The outlook gets gloomier by the week.
"I have no idea," Jones answered when asked if this had been his last match in charge. Suspect it won't be long before we find out.
Southampton are on the road next weekend with a visit to Chelsea on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Wolves look to make it three home wins on the spin as Bournemouth are in town also on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
