Match-winner Armstrong hails Saints' togetherness
Adam Armstrong hailed the togetherness of the whole club after Southampton dug deep to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 2-1 win over West Brom at St Mary’s.
Saints made a flying start, scoring inside the first five minutes through Will Smallbone, but came under pressure from fellow promotion contenders Albion, who drew level on 65 minutes through Kyle Bartley, before Darnell Furlong headed against the crossbar.
Two minutes after that narrow escape, Armstrong struck the winner for Saints, who showed impressive resilience to hold on for a third straight victory ahead of the international break.
“Huge, especially just before the break as well,” the skipper reflected. “The last seven games have been excellent, and we knew today we had to be right at it against a good team.
“I thought first half we were excellent, stuck to the game plan, and played through them quite a lot. It was just speeding it up in the final third – when to make the runs in behind and when to create chances.
“The second half, it’s not like us, we usually start fast second half. For some reason we didn’t do that, we made it hard for ourselves, but what a group, what characters in that dressing room to see the win [out], and Gav pulled off a great save at the end.
“It just shows the togetherness of the club at the minute and the lads, everyone together, and when you’re going through good stages, good things happen. What a win.”
Armstrong’s 79th-minute winner from Ryan Fraser’s cross took him to nine goals for the season, as Saints yet again showcased their ability to score decisive late goals.
“I’ve seen Ryan out wide and I knew he was going to cross it because that’s what he’s good at doing, and it’s just being in the right positions in the box. I’ve seen it quite late, coming over the heads, but it was nice to put it away,” he said.
“It’s definitely not a coincidence – you see the way we play, we stick to the game plan from the first minute to the 90th minute.
“It’s not a coincidence we’re scoring late goals because of how relentless we’re being during the games, and that was another tough game today, but the main thing is the three points before the break is huge. The lads get a little rest now, it’s quality.”
