Eckert hails "mature" Saints
Tonda Eckert praised “a very mature 90 minutes” from his Southampton players as Saints cruised to a statement victory at promotion rivals Wrexham in the Sky Bet Championship.
Saints leapfrogged the Red Dragons to return to the play-off places in style with a thumping 5-1 win in North Wales.
Racing into a two-goal lead inside 22 minutes, Saints saw their advantage cut to 2-1 before half time, giving the hosts renewed hope at the start of the second period.
Cyle Larin’s expertly-taken third on the hour took the game away from Wrexham before late goals from Ross Stewart and Finn Azaz added to first-half strikes from Kuryu Matsuki and Flynn Downes.
“I think we had a very good start to the game, total control in possession and against the ball,” Eckert said.
“Obviously with the goal we conceded you always need to overcome some moments, and the dynamic that comes from the stadium, but I think we also did that quite well. The second half was a little bit different, but overall a very mature 90 minutes.
“I think it was more about the structure we had in possession today. We tried to give them a challenge – we were not quite sure how they were going to react to that.
“I think that worked quite well at the beginning of the game, but you always need to materialise on those moments when you come out on top. I think we could’ve done that even earlier, but in the end not too much to complain about tonight.”
Eckert was particularly pleased with the way his side stood up to the shift in momentum as Wrexham pushed for an equaliser after Josh Windass halved the deficit.
“You know how it is when you come out after half time and it’s only a one-goal game at this very moment – we know that it lives off moments,” he added.
“It’s a very narrow pitch here, there are many goals scored off set-pieces, so we needed to be switched on for that, and I think we’ve done that very well – and put one in the back of the net at the other end, so I’m very happy.”
Saints are back in action at St Mary's on Saturday when play-off rivals Derby County are the visitors (3pm BST). Tickets start from £25 for Adults and £15 for Juniors.
