Southampton vs Sunderland match report: Jay Rodriguez salvages Saints a point with late strike
Southampton 1 Sunderland 1: Jermain Defore looked to have handed the visitors all three points after converting from the spot before Jay Rodriguez struck a late hammer blow to equalise
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Your support makes all the difference.August is still the cruellest month for Sunderland. Before yesterday, they were without a Premier League win before the first international break of the season since 2010, when a last-minute penalty by Darren Bent beat Manchester City.
That looked as though it would change when they took the lead after 78 minutes, also from the penalty spot, Jermain Defoe scoring after he had been fouled by Southampton captain Jose Fonte.
But Saints substitute Jay Rodriguez levelled five minutes from time when his shot squirmed under the body of Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
It was Rodriguez' first Premier League goal in over two years in which he has frequently been sidelined by knee and ankle injuries, and could be his last Southampton goal for a while as he is likely to be loaned to West Bromwich Albion if Saints sign a striker before the end of the transfer deadline.
But it was also a bad moment for Pickford, 22, born in Washington, County Durham and a boyhood Black Cats fan, who had pulled off a series of good saves yesterday and seemed set for a clean sheet until his late error. He was standing in for Vito Mannone, who will be out for at least three months with an elbow injury, and David Moyes, the Sunderland manager, expects to bring a more experienced replacement in next week.
“I told Jordan he played really well,” Moyes said. “He said he was sorry about the mistake but this is the dilemma when you play young players. The media wants to see young English players but you have to accept that they will make mistakes. We'll need to bring in another goalkeeper, no doubt.” Might Joe Hart be under consideration? “I never name names. But I've got a good young goalkeeper in Jordan and we need to look to the future.”
In some ways the match was a re-run of last season's fixture, when Sunderland took a late lead through Jermain Defoe only to be pegged back even later. The upshot is that two teams under new management are both feeling their way tentatively towards a first victory.
Southampton have yet to make sense of manager Claude Puel's diamond midfield, while further forward Nathan Redmond looks lost, while Charlie Austin spent most of the yesterday's match running offside. It was only when the introduction of Shane Long and Rodriguez forced them into a more direct approach that they looked likely to score.
“The first 20 minutes we were fantastic,” said Puel. “After that it was difficult. I'm happy for Jay to score after his injuries and it was important that we came back , but for the moment it's a disappointment. It was two points lost.”
In those first 20 minutes Dusan Tadic sent a 20-yard half-volley inches over the angle of post and Austin, receiving from Tadic, shot from 20 yards only to see Pickford leap to his right to save at full stretch. But Lamine Kone should have scored with a close-range header after 24 minutes.
In the second half, Pickford saved well from Long and a deflected effort by Redmond, but Sunderland were still in it and Defoe was brought down by Jose Fonte's trailing leg as he turned onto Lens' low cross and got up to smash home the penalty.
Defoe had created the situation by getting in front of Fonte then turning him and Moyes believes that he would deserve a call-up to Sam Allardyce's first England squad when it is named today. “I wouldn't be surprised,” Moyes said. “He's a goalscorer and can score out of very little. Sam knows him better than me. He's a good pro and is certainly not just seeing out his career. And I'd love to have a Sunderland player in the England squad. And then two and then three. We want our club to be talked about.”
People might have been talking about their first three points under Moyes but seven minutes later, Rodriguez tried his luck from 22 yards and Pickford, perhaps unsighted and seeing it late, allowed the ball to roll under his body.
Southampton (4-1-2-1-2): Forster; Soares, Fonte, Vvan Dijk, Targett; Romeu; Hojbjerg (Ward-Prowse 82), Davis; Tadic (Long); Redmond, Austin (Rodriguez 74).
Not used: McCarthy, Yoshida, Clasie, Bertrand.
Booked: Redmond, Davis.
Sunderland (4-1-4-1): Pickford; Manquillo, Ddjilibodji, Kone, Van Aanholt; Rodwell; Borini (Watmore 64), Gooch (Love 77), Pienaar (Lens 67), Januzaj; Defoe.
Not used: Stryjek, Khazri, Lens, McNair, Asoro.
Booked: Pienaar, Rodwell.
Referee: Lee Mason
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