Eckert: The character of the team is spot on
Tonda Eckert praised his side’s character after Southampton secured a memorable 2-1 victory over Arsenal to reach the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals.
Saints went toe-to-toe with top-flight opposition at St Mary's, producing a performance full of belief and quality to book their place at Wembley.
“I think it was well deserved,” Eckert said. “This was not a smash and grab. You always need some moments in there, especially on the ball. You can’t just defend for 90 minutes against a team with the quality that they have.
“I think we had some good spells, especially in the first half.”
The contest opened up after the break, with Arsenal introducing fresh quality, but Eckert felt his side adapted to the challenge well.
“In the second half, the game opened up at some points,” he said. “As soon as they started making substitutions, obviously there was some quality coming on.
“We knew that we needed to be able to react to that and I think we did that quite well.”
Saints looked threatening on the counter-attack throughout, something the boss credited to both preparation and the players’ execution.
“I think we have quality when the spaces do open up,” he said. “In the Championship, sometimes you don’t see that as much because we are more on the ball, but we prepare for those moments.
“In the end, it comes down to the quality of the players and I think we did that well.”
Eckert also highlighted the mentality of his squad, who responded strongly after Arsenal threatened a comeback in the second half.
“I think it’s been shown over the weeks now that the character of the team is spot on,” he said. “I think that we are becoming more resilient.”
The victory means Saints will head to Wembley for the semi-finals, but Eckert was quick to keep the focus on the challenges ahead.
“It’s nice to enjoy the evening,” he said. “But we need to close that page very quickly and open up Championship football again tomorrow.”
With the club marking a significant FA Cup anniversary, Eckert also acknowledged the inspiration drawn from Saints’ history.
“It’s a big FA Cup year for us as a football club and we just need to make sure we keep going,” he said.
Saints are back in action at St Mary's next Saturday when play-off rivals Derby County are the visitors (3pm BST). Tickets start from £25 for Adults and £15 for Juniors.
