Armstrong: We showed character
Trailing on three separate occasions, Adam Armstrong praised Saints’ character to earn a 4-4 draw with Norwich in a pulsating first home game of the season.
Behind after just seven minutes through Josh Sargent’s strike, three goals followed in seven frantic first half minutes.
Jan Bednarek equalised with 17 minutes on the clock, swiftly followed by Armstrong’s first penalty of the afternoon, before Gabriel Sara silenced the home crowd on 23 minutes.
A Jonathan Rowe header just before the break restored the Canaries' lead, with Ché Adams’s strike after the restart looking like being in vain when Christian Fassnacht struck with just six minutes remaining.
Up step Armstrong, who, seven minutes into stoppage time, sent former Saint Angus Gunn the wrong way from 12 yards to rescue a point and conclude an eight-goal thriller.
“We knew we gave sloppy goals away,” the two-goal hero admitted. “I thought we played brilliantly with the ball and at the end of the day, we didn’t get beat.
“We said in the changing room after the game that we should have taken the three points, but the main thing is not to get beat and we did that so it’s one of those things, we’ll look back on the game and go again next week.
“We showed the character that we’ve got and the fans got behind us towards the end and if we can keep doing that at home and cut out the sloppy goals, it will be a joy to watch this season.”
With a brace at St Mary’s, Armstrong sits on three goals in two games but is putting team success ahead of personal form.
“It’s always good to score goals but like I said before, the team comes first and if we can cut out the sloppy goals, I know it’s only the second game of the season, I think we’ll be more than fine.
“I’m used to taking penalties and it’s something that I enjoy. I had to keep my cool and put it in the back of the net.”
