Harwood-Bellis targeting more set-piece goals
Taylor Harwood-Bellis hopes he can continue to be a goal threat in the opposition box this season, saying it’s something he’s been working hard to improve.
The defender has already matched his two goals last term by scoring twice in Saints’ last three matches, adding to his equaliser at Everton in the Carabao Cup with his first Premier League goal in Monday’s defeat at Bournemouth.
Whilst that personal milestone was overshadowed by the result at the Vitality Stadium, Harwood-Bellis revealed it is a target of his to score more regularly this season.
“It doesn’t really feel like I’ve scored tonight but it’s something that I’ve been practising – trying to lose my man and score goals,” he said, speaking after the Bournemouth game.
“I’ll keep doing it and hopefully I can do it when it’s 0-0 and not 3-0 down.”
The 22-year-old is one of many in the Saints squad embarking on his first Premier League campaign, but spoke with maturity beyond his years following the Bournemouth loss.
Labelling the reaction to conceding the first goal “horrific” after an encouraging start to the game, he outlined how Saints must improve their response to setbacks in matches.
“I think it’s just about taking ownership as players, doing your bit and not going inside yourself, not playing a solo game,” he explained.
“It’s just about sticking together and if you need to take a hit for the next ten minutes, worse comes to worst we go into the half 1-0 down.
“We cannot be 3-0 down with the quality and characters we’ve got in that group, we cannot be. And that’s obviously including myself.”
