Martin: The togetherness is growing
A third late goal in as many games left Southampton manager Russell Martin reflecting on a tale of two halves following victory at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
After a frustrating first half that was stop-start in nature and reinvigorated Saints side took a deservedly early second half lead through Nathan Tella's sweeping effort from the edge of the box.
But the lead only lasted 90 seconds, Ryan Hardie levelling for the hosts as Martin cut a frustrated figure on the touchline.
His side went on to gain control of the game as the half wore on, getting their deserved winner through Ché Adams, his third in three, on 94 minutes.
"I was really proud of the players, the supporters made an incredible atmosphere and it’s obviously very important that we win," dissected the manager.
"I’m really annoyed about the first half. The players know that as well and I think they’ll be annoyed at it. We fell into the trap of playing with a lack of aggression and a lack of intensity. We paid for that because Plymouth had too many moments.
"We started the second half really brilliantly, the only disappointment is that we concede. I think we deserve it in the second half, we were some dominant, it was how the game should’ve looked and we shouldn’t concede a goal.
"I’m really proud of the character, [especially] after the disappointment of last season. You cannot underestimate how tough that was for people last season. So to get a disappointment so quickly after scoring then come back from it again as we did last weekend. It’s [shows a] really brilliant character.
"The togetherness is growing, the connection with the supporters is growing, I really enjoyed that. So I’m proud of the players and I think we deserved to win. In the second half we could have scored a few and we should have done."
