 Away Saints: Davis, James, Perry, Svensson, Surman, Schneiderlin, Gillett, Thomson, Lallana, Holmes, McGoldrick. Subs: Bialkowski, Thomas, Wright-Phillips, Wotton, Dyer. Referee: SW Mathieson On a day of change for Southampton, one thing remained consistent; it was raining in Cardiff! Saints took to the field at Ninian Park in atrocious conditions, led by new captain Michael Svensson. The Swedish defender was marking a remarkable recovery after 991 days on the sidelines, and a sense of optimism hung over the terraced away section.
Jan Poortvliet handed first-team debuts to Lloyd James and Jake Thomson along with new summer signings Morgan Schneiderlin and Lee Holmes, as a youthful side got the 2008-09 Championship campaign up and running. With Simon Gillett also making his first League start, the new look side were all set, and 'running' was perhaps the key word, as Saints worked their proverbial socks off in the hunt for an early opener. Slick passing was never going to be easy in such wet conditions, but Saints made several good early forays forward with Svennson heading over after good work from Lallana. The visitors kept up the early pressure well and Cardiff's new keeper Tom Heaton, on loan from Manchester United, was equally tested by his own side with a series of suicidal back-passes. Saints came close to capitalizing on the Welsh side's weaknesses, with both Schneiderlin and Thomson winning corners and McGoldrick waiting to pounce on the loose ball, but the visitors couldn't quite find the break through they needed. After an extremely positive first half hour, the Bluebirds began to get their own game back together and the dangerous looking McCormack kept Kelvin Davis on his toes. The Saints 'keeper was on top-form and kept his side in the match with a string of fine saves as the half progressed. The pick of Davis' acrobatics came on 38 minutes to deny Whittingham, and was a prelude to Steve Thompson's opener two minutes later. The former Rangers striker initially headed down well to set up McCormack, but when his strike partner's shot was blocked Thompson fired home into the bottom right corner from close range. Thankfully Saints were quick to respond and leveled just before the break with a well worked piece of play. Gillett started the move with a deep cross that Lee Holmes delivered to Surman. The England Under-21 star then drove on towards the byline and pulled the ball back quickly for McGoldrick to open his account for the season. The second half was a somewhat more staid affair, with Davis again spreading well to deny Johnson from point-blank range on 57 minutes. The rising threat of Joe Ledley also posed a new challenge for the Saints defence, but they held firm with Svensson leading by example and Perry also doing well. Poortvliet then brought on Dyer for Thomson, but it was the introduction of Jay Bothroyd that injected a further element of threat up-front for the home side. Svensson dispelled any doubts that he was easing himself back into Championship football with a crunching tackle on the new Cardiff signing and things looked to be heading for a well-fought draw. However it wasn't to be, and Cardiff scored the winner in a last minute despite Davis' best efforts. With Ledley downed on the edge of the Saints area, McPhail whipped in a free-kick and Johnson rose to head it goalwards. Kelvin Davis initially appeared to have hooked the ball off the line at full stretch, but the referee judged it to have crossed the line and Saints were forced to return home empty handed. The result may not have been the one Saints fans wanted, but Poortvliet's young side were by no means overawed by last season's FA Cup finalists and should travel to Exeter in confident mood. Saints Official site |
