Southampton manager, Russell Martin has praised Gavin Bazunu following a dramatic last-gasp draw against Preston.
Travelling to Deepdale on Wednesday night, Southampton were unbeaten in their past four games.
Coming up against fourth-place Preston North End represented a tough test for Russell Martin’s side but they seemed ready.
The Saints took the lead through a Kyle Walker-Peters stunner. Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts scored second-half goals to put the hosts in front.
The clock was ticking and with the last chance, Bazunu went up for a corner. The ball bounced off Ched Evans and in as the Irishman rolled away in celebration.
His performance on the night was quality and he maybe deserved the goal he came so close to scoring.
What has Russell Martin said about Gavin Bazunu?
There has been some criticism of Bazunu since his signing from Manchester City. With that being said, Martin has always backed his man.
This confidence paid off against Preston as he saved 1.49 xG across the 90 minutes.
Discussing his keeper with Hampshire Live, Martin said: “He’s a brilliant young man with a great mentality. He shouldn’t concede two goals tonight, we have to help him.”
In spite of some good defensive performances, the Saints manager believed that his back four could have been better.
Discussing the defence, the manager added: “Nobody showed enough for him in the 10 minutes on either side of halftime.”
With that being said, he didn’t want to take away from the performance of his goalkeeper.
Discussing Bazunu further, Martin added: “He is growing all the time, he has the mentality and courage. Now he’s got a goal as well.
“Gavin was outstanding when called upon.”
What could never be accounted for is the Irishman as a goalscorer. Despite not being registered with the goal, we all know whose goal it is.
Asked about the goal, Martin said: “Then he scored which was obviously amazing. He asked to go up so we gave him permission and told Wee Man [Ryan Fraser] to wait to take the corner.”
An amazing moment, always great to get a late goal to rescue a point. He may have hoped for a win but in the circumstances, a happy point.