Eckert: Not our best game but we showed character
Tonda Eckert admitted to feeling a sense of disappointment after Southampton’s eight-match winning run came to an end against Bristol City.
Saints started slowly at St Mary’s and fell behind twice on the night – firstly inside five minutes, and then from a second-half corner – but responded well on both occasions to draw level.
The head coach praised the character of his side, who pushed hard for another late winner, but provided an honest assessment of the performance as a whole.
“I think it wasn’t the best game we’ve played all season, but I think with the amount of games in April it’s tough to always be at the peak of your performance,” Eckert said.
“There was one situation after 60 seconds where the ball gets played over the top and we don’t really defend that well, so we didn’t have the best start to the game, but it just shows the character that we are always able to come back.
“I think in the second half there were still two big moments that we had to win the game, but just like every other game we need to put this one to bed and on to the next one.
“We always play to win and that was exactly the same today. Taking one point today in a home game needs to be, with the ambitions that we have, a little disappointment for the day, but we put the game to bed and we keep going.”
Saints’ night started badly with captain Jack Stephens having to be withdrawn from the starting line-up, replaced by Nathan Wood.
“I just heard before the game that he struggled a little bit his calf towards the end of the warm-up, so we made a late change,” Eckert explained, before looking ahead to Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley, where Saints are set to be backed by around 36,000 fans.
“I think it’s the best game to come up now. We will put tonight to bed and have full focus from tomorrow onwards to prepare for the game.”
