Report: Saints comeback bid falls just short at Forest
Southampton were the latest team to suffer at the hands of high-flying Nottingham Forest, as their late rally fell just short in a 3-2 defeat at the City Ground.
It was a tall task for Saints against their third-placed opponents, who are mounting an unlikely Premier League title challenge, while they also had the advantage of an extra two days of rest coming into the game.
First-half goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood gave them a stranglehold on the contest before the visitors mounted a big response after the break, but goals from Jan Bednarek on the hour mark and Paul Onuachu in added time weren't quite enough for Ivan Jurić’s team to rescue the match.
With a short turnaround between fixtures, the Saints manager made three changes to the starting line-up from Thursday night’s game at Manchester United, as Lesley Ugochukwu and Kamaldeen were named as substitutes, while Tyler Dibling missed out through the ankle injury he picked up at Old Trafford, which is likely to sideline him for four to six weeks.
In their places came Cameron Archer, Adam Armstrong and Flynn Downes, who was making his first start since Boxing Day after returning to fitness.
Flynn Downes returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Boxing Day (Photo: Matt Watson)
Forest, who had former Saints captain James Ward-Prowse on their bench, made only one alteration from the side that drew at home to Liverpool on Tuesday, with Nicolás Domínguez replacing Ryan Yates.
It was a quiet opening at the City Ground, with neither side creating anything, but that all changed on 11 minutes when Forest scored with the first shot of the match.
The goal came from a throw-in midway inside the Saints half, with Morgan Gibbs-White receiving it and flicking it inside first-time, sending the ball into the path of Anderson, who powered towards the edge of the area and sent a low shot just inside the near post.
Saints almost responded moments later, as Yuki Sugawara got into space on the right and fizzed a low ball into the box, with Archer looking set to pounce at close range, only for Forest defender Murillo to get there inches ahead of him and divert it just wide of the post.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis during the first half (Photo: Matt Watson)
Jurić’s side continued to probe away, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Mateus Fernandes and Downes all seeing efforts blocked, but they fell further behind shortly before the half-hour mark.
There was a self-inflicted element to it, as Saints got into a muddle with James Bree’s pass into Bednarek 25 yards out, allowing Hudson-Odoi to swipe it off the latter, drift into a central area and whip a shot past Aaron Ramsdale and just inside the post from the edge of the box.
It was then 3-0 on 41 minutes, as Ola Aina sent in a cross from a deep position on the right and Wood bounced a precise header from 12 yards across goal and into the far corner.
Jurić made one change at the break, bringing on Ugochukwu for Downes, who had been booked late in the half.
Still, though, it was Forest who were in control, and they almost added a fourth on 55 minutes, only for Ramsdale to make an excellent save to deny Anthony Elanga before Bednarek made a fantastic clearance to keep out Gibbs-White from the rebound.
Jurić followed with a triple change, sending on Ryan Manning, Onuachu and Kamaldeen for Sugawara, Archer and Armstrong.
Moments later, Saints pulled one back, as an angled free-kick towards the edge of the box was knocked down by Onuachu, with Ugochukwu’s subsequent shot flicking off the feet of Bednarek and looping past Matz Sels in the Forest goal.
Lesley Ugochukwu's shot that led to Jan Bednarek's goal (Photo: Matt Watson)
The hosts thought they had restored their three-goal lead almost immediately, when Ramsdale spilled a Milenkovic header into the net from an Elanga free-kick, but Saints got a VAR reprieve with Wood in an offside position and judged to have interfered as he went for the ball too.
Soon after, Wood probably should have scored from a Jota Silva knock-down, but he diverted it over from inside the six-yard box, keeping some hope alive for Jurić’s men.
That grew even further in the first of 12 added minutes when Onuachu met a Fernandes corner at the near post and thumped a header into the top corner to make it 3-2, with the goal marking his first for the club.
Saints almost then equalised in the fifth minute of added time when another Fernandes corner was met by the head of Bednarek, only for Aina to clear off the line with Sels beaten.
Jurić's men continued to press for the third goal, but time unfortunately ran out on them, with referee Anthony Taylor's final whistle ending their comeback bid.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina, Anderson, Domínguez (Yates 83), Hudson-Odoi (Silva 38), Gibbs-White (captain) (Sosa 83), Elanga (Morato 74), Wood (Awoniyi 83).
Unused substitutes: Miguel, Moreno, Boly, Ward-Prowse.
Goals: Anderson (11’), Hudson-Odoi (28’), Wood (41’).
Southampton: Ramsdale, Sugawara (Manning 58), Bree (Smallbone 86), Bednarek (captain), Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters, Downes (Ugochukwu 46), Fernandes, Aribo, Archer (Kamaldeen 58), Armstrong (Onuachu 58).
Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Wood, Bella-Kotchap, Fraser.
Goals: Bednarek (60’), Onuachu (90'+1).
Booked: Downes, Walker-Peters, Aribo, Ugochukwu.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
