Southampton 1-0 West HamMaya Yoshida 9
Another clean sheet and, most importantly, another win for Southampton. Victor Vanyama’s avoidable sending off in the 54th minute meant they had to withstand a barrage of West Ham pressure but the resurgence of Ronald Koeman’s team since the turn of the year shows no sign of abating thanks to Maya Yoshida’s early goal.
This victory made it 13 points from the last 15 and suddenly the top six is in Southampton’s sights. They have still not conceded since Fraser Forster made his return from injury against Watford five games ago and for all the talk about Jack Butland competing with Joe Hart for England’s No1 shirt, the Saints keeper has surely wrestled his way back into the reckoning.
West Ham arrived still looking for a first win at St Mary’s but five of their previous six visits here had ended in stalemate, the past two without a goal being scored. Slaven Bilic’s team had also lost just once since November and everything looked aligned for another tight encounter. But this is the season where the seemingly obvious rarely comes to fruition and the game was open and frenetic from the outset. Saints started like a team on a mission and were deservedly in front after nine minutes. They could have broken the deadlock a minute earlier when Adrián brilliantly denied Cédric Soares’s header after the wing-back ghosted in unnoticed to meet Shane Long’s cross from the left.
The goal, though, was worth waiting for. Jordy Clasie overhit a corner on the left and the ball was retrieved by Wanyama on the opposite flank. An intricate passing triangle with José Fonte and Saido Mané developed before Wanyama fed a low ball towards the six-yard box. It took a slight deflection but Yoshida was on hand to tuck home from close range.
Southampton’s pace and width was causing West Ham plenty of trouble and a Soares cross was headed wide by Pellè after 12 minutes. Ryan Bertrand was equally lively on the left, added proof that Koeman’s change in system was working a treat.
West Ham have had a tendency to start games slowly; it was a similar story here, the visitors taking almost half an hour for a sight of goal, only for Forster to produce an outstanding reaction save to deny Winston Reid from five yards.
Enner Valencia did have claims for a penalty waved away by Mark Clattenburg a few minutes earlier after being clipped by Yoshida, but the ball had been rolling out for a goal-kick before contact was made.
Reid glanced a Dimitri Payet corner wide approaching half-time and Valencia was denied from a tight angle by Forster six minutes into the second half but when Wanyama stupidly scissored through Payet seconds later, receiving a straight red card, the initiative was very much handed to the visitors.
The Kenyan had been doing a superb job in keeping West Ham’s star player quiet, restricting his influence to set-piece deliveries, but after losing control of the ball he also lost his head and swung in needlessly from behind with his studs up. There was no malice but it was certainly careless and Payet was lucky to escape without serious injury.
It meant the attacking threat of Mané was immediately sacrificed for the protective qualities of Oriel Romeu and soon after Andy Carroll, who came off the bench in the reverse fixture and scored a late winner when coming from behind, was brought on for the ineffective Victor Moses.
Yet Long could have easily have made life a lot easier for Southampton when capitalising on James Collins’s misjudgment of a long ball, racing into the area under little pressure only to sky over.
From that juncture West Ham’s pressure was relentless, only for Southampton’s blockade to remain impenetrable. Alex Song swung tamely wide twice, Emmanuel Emenike, making his debut from the bench, headed off target and Valencia had an effort blocked by Carroll.
Southampton remained a potent force on the counterattack and Charlie Austin should have wrapped things up three minutes from time when fed by Romeu, instead scuffing wide of Adrián’s bottom left corner. Entering added time, Soares almost hooked the ball into his own net but the ensuing corner was cleared and the hosts held on.
Guardian
