Saints play out five-goal friendly on St Mary's return

Saints rallied from 2-0 down to level the scores against the Premier League side as new manager Russell Martin sampled his first taste of St Mary’s.

Two goals in two minutes early in the first half, scored by Dango Ouattara and Ryan Christie, left Martin’s men with work to do.

But home debutants Ryan Manning and Shea Charles combined to pull a goal back on the stroke of half time, as Manning’s free-kick was powered home by the 19-year-old.

Saints substitute Stuart Armstrong rifled home an equaliser within three minutes of coming on for his first pre-season appearance, but David Brooks was put through on goal and made no mistake to win the game four minutes from time.

Martin handed first starts to summer recruits Manning and Charles alongside one another on the left side of Saints’ back four.

In front of them featured Sam Amo-Ameyaw in a central midfield role, having previously featured on the wing thus far in pre-season.

It was from his traditional wide berth that the 17-year-old helped carve out the first chance, as he fed the ball into Ché Adams, whose lay-off was hit first time by Moussa Djenepo, who did well to dig out the shot from under his feet but found goalkeeper Neto equal to it.

Sam Amo-Ameyaw started in a central role against the Cherries

Bournemouth responded with a couple of long-range efforts that tested Alex McCarthy, captain for the night in the Saints goal.

First he tipped Milos Kerkez’s 20-yarder over the bar, before having to push aside Ouattara’s drive, struck from even further out with even more velocity.

Saints were not as dominant with the ball as they would like, but still holding their own until Bournemouth struck twice in two minutes.

The opener came from a corner that was initially headed clear by Adams, but Christie’s return cross caught Saints too deep, and Ouattara peeled away at the far post to score with a precise header back across McCarthy’s dive.

Soon after, from a Saints goal kick, Charles’s pass into Roméo Lavia was pounced upon by Ouattara, and Dominic Solanke’s square pass across goal was gleefully put away by Ryan Christie from close range.

Saints’ best chance of the first half arrived in similar fashion, winning the ball high up the pitch before Carlos Alcaraz slipped in Adams, whose shot was hit well enough, low and hard across Neto, but the keeper made a fine save down to his right.

The Cherries might have extended their advantage on the counter-attack when Jaidon Anthony spread the play to Ouattara and received the return pass in the box with time to set himself, only for McCarthy to keep Saints in the contest.

The hosts’ reprieve arrived a minute before the interval, when the new boys combined to deadly effect, as Manning swung in a teasing delivery from a free-kick wide on the left that was met by Charles with a thumping header at the back post.

Shea Charles heads past goalkeeper Neto to mark his home debut with a goal

Martin introduced Kyle Walker-Peters and Will Smallbone at half time, and the latter soon made his mark with a goal-saving block to thwart Solanke, who thought he had an easy tap-in.

A similar intervention from Manning kept the score at 2-1 when Bournemouth had a spare man in Ouattara, before the goalscorer saw a header from a corner well held by McCarthy.

Martin made five changes at the hour mark, including a first pre-season appearance for Armstrong, whose impact was immediate.

Driving forward from midfield, his pass to Jayden Meghoma resulted in a foul on the left touchline.

To the youngster’s credit, he saw the chance to get on with it quickly, before Kyle Walker-Peters found Armstrong on the edge of the box, who spun sharply and hit a low shot that caught out Neto at his near post.

Both teams pushed for a winner in a lively encounter, with substitute Nathan Tella only denied by an improbable last-ditch block off the trailing leg of Illia Zabarnyi shortly before Brooks snatched victory, racing away from the Saints defence to finish in front of the travelling fans.

Saints: McCarthy, Bree (Walker-Peters 46), Lyanco (Ćaleta-Car 62), Charles (Doyle 69), Manning (Livramento 62), Amo-Ameyaw (S. Armstrong 62), Lavia (Smallbone 46), Alcaraz (Stephens 62), Djenepo (Tella 69), Adams (A. Armstrong 69), Edozie (Meghoma 62).

Subs not used: Bazunu.

Goals: Charles 44, S. Armstrong 65.

AFC Bournemouth: Neto, Smith (Hill 78), Mepham (Zabarnyi 68), Senesi, Kerkez (Greenwood 78), Cook (Rothwell 78), Billing (Traorè 68), Ouattara (Brooks 68), Christie (Kilkenny 78), Anthony (Kluivert 68), Solanke (Moore 68).

Subs not used: Randolph.

Goals: Ouattara 15, Christie 17, Brooks 86.

Yellow cards: Christie 60.

Referee: James Linington.

Attendance: 13,049.