Southampton dropped points for the first time in four games against Huddersfield, with manager Russell Martin calling into question his side’s mentality after the game.
Adam Armstrong’s opener was cancelled out by Ben Jackson’s goal in the 87th minute, as Southampton struggled once again to put a game to bed.
This felt like a familiar story to Saints fans, who saw their side fail to make their dominance pay against a similarly relegation-threatened side when drawing to Rotherham United at the beginning of October.
The inability to add to their lead meant the game became nervy after half-time, with Huddersfield getting joy on the counter-attack and piling on the pressure before eventually scoring the late equaliser.
Southampton’s struggles with 1-0 leads continues
This failure to secure three points when the game seems in almost total control in the first half is becoming a problem that Southampton need to fix if they are to push for promotion this season.
Post-game, Martin lamented his side’s mentality in games, particularly when it comes to being 1-0 up. The ex-Swansea City boss was quoted saying: “We have a bit of a problem at 1-0 up, at the minute. Everything we spoke about in the break, the opposite happened really”.
Martin did praise his side’s first half performance, calling Southampton “brilliant” but added that “the difference between the first-half and the second-half was too big.”
What did Russell Martin say after the game?
Martin will rightfully see this as two points dropped rather than one gained given both the fact Southampton sit fourth in the Championship and Huddersfield are 21st, but also that his side were so comfortable in the first half.
Martin himself recognised the parallels between this game and the aforementioned Rotherham draw, explaining that: “It’s really similar to the Rotherham game so maybe the players felt this is nice, this is easy – but it is never easy”.
The good news for Southampton is that they have a chance to put things right on Wednesday and there will be no place for complacency.
Martin will be looking for a reaction, having said that he has “told the players I am really angry”.
Given this, and the fact Southampton have three games in seven days, it would come as no surprise to see some of the players that started against Huddersfield replaced for Wednesday’s game against Bristol City.