Bree demands more clean sheets after derby defiance
Match-winner James Bree hopes Southampton’s clean sheet in Sunday’s south coast derby triumph will prove to be the first of many in the Sky Bet Championship this season.
Bree etched his name into Saints folklore with the only goal of the game in the 20th minute at St Mary’s, controlling Finn Azaz’s perfect lofted pass in an instant before steering the ball home via the inside of the far post.
But Saints were forced to do more defending in the second half following the 44th-minute dismissal of Cameron Bragg, testing the resolve of a team previously without a Championship clean sheet since the play-off semi-final first leg stalemate at Middlesbrough back in May.
Bree admitted their defensive record had been a key talking point during Saints’ three-week break from competitive action in the build-up to the Portsmouth clash, and now wants the hard-fought shutout to set the tone for future defensive displays, starting with Tuesday's trip to Norwich (7.45pm BST).
“I’m absolutely buzzing about it,” Bree said of the clean sheet. “We’ve had plenty of time and we’ve spoken about it over the last couple of weeks about needing to get that first clean sheet, and how much it breeds confidence.
“Hopefully we can go on a little run and not concede many goals again, because I think that was massive for us at the end of last season.
“If we can bring that into this season I think we’ll be in a good place because the front line is absolutely firing, so we need to start helping them out a little bit as well.
“I think it would be massive for all the boys, it’s always nice to get the clean sheet.”
