September 02, (THEWILL) – Southampton’s unbeaten start to the English Championship season came to an abrupt end, as Russell Martin’s side were thrashed 5-0 by a rampant Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Goals from Jack Clarke, Pierre Ekwah, Bradley Dack and Chris Rigg, saw Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats deliver their best performance of the season so far. They raced into a two goal lead inside the first 10 minutes through Clarke’s back post header and a deflected long-range strike from Ekwah. That was before Southampton settled after their nightmare start and enjoyed a good spell of possession, but could not find the goal to get back into the game.
Ekwah added a brilliant third for Sunderland on the stroke of half-time after capitalising on an error from Saints debutant Mason Holgate. The visitors made two changes at the break, bringing on Che Adams and Ryan Fraser, but it made little difference as Dack added a fourth for Sunderland just four minutes after the restart.
Joe Aribo was introduced into the game with 18 minutes of regulation time left but his sole shot, a left footer from the right edge of the box, was blocked and he could do nothing to affect the result. 16-year-old substitute Rigg rounded off the rout deep into stoppage time, heading home fellow sub Jewison Bennette’s cross.
The emphatic win sees Sunderland extend their unbeaten run to three games, while Southampton’s bubble has burst after their impressive start to life back in the second tier. On the anniversary of his appointment, Black Cats boss Mowbray will be delighted with his side’s ruthless performance ahead of the international break.
About the Author
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.
