Mark Hughes was left shaking his head again after Southampton slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Monlineux, and knows the team can earn results if they just grasp hold of games better.
With the Saints sitting 15th in the Premier League table on just five points, owning just a single win on the season, Hughes believes the team has to start earning results befitting of the 90-minute performances.
“As an away team, as an away performance, I thought it was a good performance,” Hughes said. “But, when you’re in games like that, you’ve got to get the key moments and details of the game right, and you’ve got to make sure you take something out of a game you’ve played a big part in and for long periods dominated. On too many occasions we’ve done ok in away games, but not got what we’ve deserved, and that was an example today.”
Wolves wasn’t exactly the better team over the course of the 90 minutes on Saturday, and Southampton owned a slight advantage in both possession (51%-49%) and shots (17-14 total, 6-6 on target). Mohamed Elyounoussi was dangerous at times, and Danny Ings came into the match in good goalscoring form.
It’s not the only time this season Southampton struggled late in games. They slumped to a 2-2 draw late against Brighton & Hove Albion after conceding a 2-0 lead, and coughed up a 1-0 lead to Leicester in a 2-1 loss.
“I think frustration is the key element of the dressing room,” Hughes said. “We were quite comfortable at half-time. We had the majority of the play, good possession, we kept the ball away from them well.”
“I think we’ve had more possession, more shots on goal, so it’s not as if we’ve sat back and waited for our fate to be decided. We’ve come here with good intention and a positive attitude, and I feel if we’d have scored first we would have won the game. But goals change games. They got the second while we were trying to get back on level terms, and that can happen, but disappointed in the manner we conceded.”
It won’t get any easier for Saints, who host Chelsea at St. Mary’s next weekend followed by a visit to 9th placed Bournemouth after the international break.
