Southampton 2-2 Bristol City: Saints unbeaten run extended to 20
· Yahoo Sports
Promotion hopefuls, Southampton, were held to a 2-2 draw by Bristol City at St.Mary’s this evening, a result that sees the Saints extend their recent unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions; their last loss came to Hull City in January.
The Robins opened the scoring inside five minutes, when Ryan Manning turned the ball into his own net following a brilliant cross from Scott Twine. Manning somewhat made up for his error on the half-hour mark, though, when his free-kick found Cyle Larin, who picked out the bottom corner from close range. Bristol City academy graduate Sam Bell regained the lead for his side in the 63rd minute, a flicked header finding the far corner from a set-piece.
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However, Ross Stewart made all the difference just minutes after he was subbed on, rising highest in the Bristol City box to head home from close range.
As It Happened
Bristol City boss Roy Hodgson made three changes to his starting side for tonight’s game, following the Robins’ 4-2 defeat at home to Norwich last time out. Those changes saw Tomi Horvat, Delano Burgzorg and Sam Bell introduced from the start, with Emil Riis and Mark Sykes dropping to the bench, whilst Adam Randell missed out through injury. Tonda Eckert also made three changes to his Southampton team following a dramatic win over Swansea this past weekend.
Burgzorg flew clean through on goal in the opening minutes, but the Dutchman couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet in time and saw his shot saved by Daniel Peretz. The travelling Robins fans didn’t have to wait long for the opener, however, when Twine’s cross saw Manning head the ball into the back of his own net, whilst under pressure from Bell at the back post.
Shea Charles was shown the first yellow card of the game shortly before the half-hour mark following a full-blooded tackle on Horvat, a sixth yellow card of the season for the Northern Ireland international. The Saints found the equaliser moments later, when Larin poked home from close range off the back of a delightful free-kick delivery from Manning, somewhat avenging himself for his earlier own goal.
Burgzorg and Morsy took aim from range before the break, but neither player could find the target, drawing an interesting first half to a close. Radek Vítek was called into action instantly in the second half, denying Cameron Archer with a great save to his left-hand side.
Eckert turned to his bench on the hour mark, withdrawing Archer and Kuryu Matsuki in favour of Tom Fellows and Léo Scienza. The Robins regained their lead through Bell just a few minutes later, when the academy graduate’s flicked header found the bottom corner off the back of Horvat’s corner.
Southampton made another double change following the goal, with Ross Stewart and Casper Jander replacing Finn Azaz and James Bree in the hope of the hosts finding a leveller. Bell was also withdrawn at the same time, in favour of Mark Sykes.
The changes worked instantly for the Saints, with Stewart scoring an equaliser less than five minutes after coming on. The Scot rose above Noah Eile, which is no easy job, and headed home. Cameron Pring was shown a yellow card shortly after the goal for a sliding challenge on Larin.
Twine was brought down 25 yards out with just 10 minutes of regular time remaining, but his delivery was cleared away. Rob Dickie returned to action for the first time since January shortly after, when he replaced Horvat to deal with the threat of Stewart.
Vítek made a superb save in the closing minutes of regular time, this time denying Charles from ten yards out. Cameron Bragg was brought on in place of Flynn Downes for the final moments, in which Sam Morsy was booked for a foul on Jander.
The Saints nearly found a winner in the dying seconds of the match, but Stewart didn’t manage to get enough purchase on his acrobatic attempt. The final act of the game saw Rob Dickie receive a yellow card.