Southampton vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance30,158.
Report as Aston Villa claim 1-0 win at Southampton; drone flying over St Mary's delayed first half by nearly 10 minutes; James Ward-Prowse goal disallowed for soft foul after VAR review; Ollie Watkins scored winner to move Villa 11 points above relegation zone; Saints remain bottom
Monday 23 January 2023 09:24, UK
Ollie Watkins' second-half header earned Aston Villa back-to-back victories under Unai Emery for the first time as they sealed a 1-0 win over Southampton at St Mary's.
Hopes would have been high among the home fans of moving out of the relegation zone after their side's crucial win at fellow strugglers Everton last weekend, but the hosts mustered just one shot during a tepid first half.
A nine-minute delay caused by a drone flying over the stadium just before half-time was arguably the most entertaining thing to happen during the first 45 minutes, but things looked like they had finally livened up when James Ward-Prowse's deflected shot looped over Emiliano Martinez to put Southampton ahead just after the hour.
However, referee Michael Salisbury disallowed the goal for a soft foul on Jacob Ramsey by Mohamed Elyounoussi after being advised to review the incident by VAR, and Villa rubbed salt into Saints' wounds when Watkins nodded in Douglas Luiz's free-kick in the 77th minute to condemn the hosts to their fourth consecutive Premier League home defeat.
Nathan Jones had finally got up and running as Southampton manager in the fortnight preceding Villa’s visit after overseeing three straight wins in three different competitions, but that momentum was snuffed out during a dispiriting afternoon against Emery’s side.
The visitors racked up more than 70 per cent possession during a dominant first half but went into the break goalless thanks to some wasteful finishing, with Ramsey shooting straight at Gavin Bazunu when one-on-one with the Saints goalkeeper, before Leon Bailey slashed the rebound over the crossbar.
Ramsey was then unfortunate to win a penalty after Mohammed Salisu tripped him from behind, while Saints’ only threatening attack saw Kyle Walker-Peters denied by the offside flag after he bundled the ball home.
A drone flying over the pitch then saw the players return to the dressing rooms, but Villa remained in the ascendancy once they returned, with Bailey again wasteful, shooting tamely at Bazunu after the ‘keeper gifted the ball to the visitors.
But Southampton thought they had taken the lead against the run of play when Ward-Prowse struck for the fifth time in his last five league games, only for the captain’s celebrations to be cut short when referee Salisbury was advised to take another look at the build-up.
The official spotted a foul on Ramsey by Elyounoussi - and things went from bad to worse for Jones and his team when Watkins was left unmarked in the centre of the area to head in Luiz’s inviting free-kick to continue Villa's impressive form under Emery.
After winning five of his first seven Premier League games in charge, it's fair to say Emery has made a highly impressive start to life at Villa.
The wins at home to Manchester United in his first game in charge and at Tottenham on New Year's Day stand out, but the former Villarreal boss may take even greater encouragement from Villa's past two results.
After being held at Villa Park by Wolves and then suffering a shock home defeat to Stevenage in the FA Cup, Emery told Sky Sports that he wanted his side to "improve with the ball" against sides who were happy to concede possession.
Leeds - Villa's opponents last Friday - and Southampton did just that, but Villa found a way to take maximum points from both games.
Emery can now claim to have a team capable of winning games when they spend more than half of the game out of possession - such as against Man Utd and Spurs - and when they have to take the initiative, such as at St Mary's.
They may remain 11th in the Premier League, but Emery's team are now just five points behind fifth-placed Spurs. The sky's the limit during the second half of the season.
Emery urged his side to take pride in their work after they took three points and a clean sheet back to Birmingham, saying: "I think we played very good in the first 45 minutes, controlling the game and not conceding chances.
"But in the second half, to keep it up is very difficult and the challenge was to be consistent. We suffered in some moments but we were positive to win. We competed very well. After the work the players did, I think we deserved it.
"We have to be proud of our work and our supporters - they were again with us."
Emery also revealed he is still working to improve the Villa squad before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, saying: "We are looking for something in the transfer window, but we are only going to add some players if they can improve us. If not, we are going to wait.
"My idea is to improve the squad. Some players, they are going to leave, and we will want to add players for the best balance in each position."
Jones was not only unhappy with the officials’ performance but also the way his side defended the free-kick from which Watkins scored the winner.
“It's frustrating,” said the Southampton boss when asked about Ward-Prowse’s disallowed goal. “Is it a clear and obvious error? I'm not sure.
“I felt the referee couldn't wait to give free-kicks. He blew up at every opportunity. We have a bit of umbrage with that but it's one of those things.
"It's a different story if we defend the set-play better - that's all we need to do. We showed naivety and that's happened in a few games this season.
“We have to defend that better. The performance level was good, in terms of limiting a really good side to very little.
"It's just a frustrating afternoon. We can't let two players get in between us from a free-kick, we showed real naivety in that. That's the stuff we need to stamp out.
"We should get a point. We were the team in the ascendancy. We made all positive changes, we wanted to go after the game. It was not like we needed to hang on, we wanted to win the game.”
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
Aston Villa snaffle victory at St Mary's after a debatable VAR decision. We've been here before. Another game marred by controversy and one that was ultimately not settled on the pitch, but 70 miles away at Stockley Park.
Southampton were toppled 1-0 by Villa under similar circumstances back in January 2021 - when Ralph Hasenhuttl was manager - where VAR was once again in the spotlight after refusing Saints a blatant penalty.
In this instance, video assistant referee Richard West instructed on-field referee Salisbury to consult the monitor after Ward-Prowse established Saints' lead, directing him towards a supposed foul on Ramsey by Elyounoussi in the preamble.
The incident looked innocuous. Certainly not enough to be deemed a "clear and obvious error" but less than a minute later, the goal had been chalked off. Whose to say whether Jones' side would have held onto their advantage, should the goal have stood, but odds are they wouldn't have finished the day empty-handed.
Saints have now won fewer home points (six) than any other side in the top four tiers of English football this term.
It's a desperate state of affairs on the south coast. "The referee blew up at every single opportunity, he couldn't wait to give free-kicks," Jones said afterwards. The irony is, on the occasion in question, the referee's whistle stayed silent - unfortunately for Southampton, VAR did not.
Southampton turn their attention away from the Premier League with a trio of cup fixtures to contend with. The Saints host Newcastle on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, live on Sky Sports - kick-off 8pm.
Southampton then host Championship side Blackpool in the FA Cup fourth round next Saturday - kick-off 3pm - before the return leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday January 31, live on Sky Sports - kick-off 8pm.
Their next Premier League game is a 3pm kick-off away at Brentford on Saturday February 4.
Aston Villa's third-round exit from the FA Cup means they have next weekend off. Their next Premier League game is a Midlands derby at home to Leicester on Saturday February 4 - kick-off 3pm.
