October 30, (THEWILL) – Southampton earned a crucial three points at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon, defeating Watford 1-0 with William Troost-Ekong in the centre back position, the only one of the trio of Nigerian players in the Watford squad in the starting XI.
The Saints dominated the first 20 minutes and were rewarded a minute later when Che Adams selected his spot and curled a beautiful strike into Ben Foster’s top corner. Soon after, Adams had an opportunity to double the advantage, but his downward header went wide.
The Hornets were completely overrun in the midfield by their opponents, and they were fortunate to only be a goal down at halftime. Ismaila Sarr almost brought them level, but Kyle Walker-Peters blocked his effort on the line.
Southampton got the better start in the second half, and Adam Armstrong had a chance to score, but he missed the target. Despite the fact that they needed a goal to get back into the game, Watford failed to put Alex McCarthy to the test, as the visitors’ defence held firm.
Claudio Ranieri’s side attempted a late comeback, but Southampton’s defence repelled everything they threw at them, and McCarthy made a stunning late stop to deny substitute Ashley Fletcher.
Ralph Hasenhuttl earned a critical victory, but Watford suffered a humiliating defeat in their fight to avoid relegation.
Despite the fact that their offensive stance made the difference in this game, Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu performed admirably at the back. He may have been booked for bringing down Sarr later in the second half, but Salisu finished the game with a team-high four tackles, six clearances, and three interceptions.
Southampton moved two places above Watford in the table with this win, and are now in 14th place. The Hornets are only three points above the relegation zone, and with their next five games against Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester City, Chelsea, and Manchester City, it will be a near-miracle if they do not fall further down the table.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
