Southampton made a dramatic return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon.
After three straight defeats, the Saints travelled to St Andrew’s to face relegation-threatened Birmingham City.
With that run having seen them drop to 4th in the Championship table, it was vital Russell Martin‘s side got back to winning ways quickly.
Anything less than three points would have risked Southampton being cut adrift of the automatic promotion race.
In the end though, they would get that victory, even if they left it very, very late to do so.
Joe Aribo the Southampton hero
Things did not start well for the Saints in the Midlands. After Adam Armstrong had cancelled out Koji Miyoshi’s early opener, Jay Stansfield struck late in the first half to give the Blues a 2-1 half time lead.
Southampton then rallied after the break. David Brooks and Che Adams struck to give them a 3-2 lead.
With Dion Sanderson then being sent off just past the hour-mark, the visitors will have been hoping for an easy end to the match.
However, Juninho Bacuna fired home with 77 minutes on the clock to make it 3-3.
This time though, Southampton would not be denied, as substitute Joe Aribo turned in a corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. That was enough to secure a crucial three points for the Saints.
It may arguably, have also given Martin a tough call to make over how to use Aribo when Preston North End visit St Mary’s on Wednesday.
Russell Martin left with tough Joe Aribo decision
Following his winner at Birmingham City, there does seem to be something of a trend developing with Aribo.
In his last two substitute appearances for Southampton, the midfielder has found the back of net. Those goals have come against Hull City, and now Birmingham City.
The midfielder has started the two matches his side have played between those matches, in the league against Millwall, and the FA Cup at Liverpool.
When he has started those matches however, the Nigeria international has been unable to find the net, or indeed provide an assist.
That could therefore leave Martin with something of a selection dilemma. With Aribo having made these sort of contributions for Southampton, there may be a sense that he now deserves another chance in the XI.
Indeed, as with any player, that is where Aribo himself will surely want to play most of his football from.
However, right now it also seems as though the midfielder is proving most effective, when coming off the bench.
Southampton need every advantage they can get in what will surely be a tightly contested promotion race. He may therefore be reluctant to lose that impact man from the bench that Aribo appears to be.
Ultimately, while that may not be what Aribo wants, Martin’s top priority is to do what is best for Southampton as a whole.
As a result, it could yet turn out that Aribo’s heroics may yet end up making a case for him not to return to the starting lineup.