Report: Fernandes strikes to secure cup progress
Mateus Fernandes marked his first start of the season with the only goal of the game as Southampton secured a place in the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 1-0 victory at Northampton.
Saints struggled to find their rhythm for much of the first half, although Yukinari Sugawara and Damion Downs both had glorious chances to open the scoring before Fernandes’s clinical finish three minutes into the second period.
Sugawara later rattled the post with a sumptuous strike from distance, but Saints saw the job through with few alarms, the loudest of which was a free header from a corner that Northampton substitute Michael Forbes sent over the bar.
Will Still made eight changes to his Saints side that made a winning start to the Sky Bet Championship campaign in dramatic fashion with two late goals against Wrexham at St Mary’s.
Sugawara, Ronnie Edwards and Shea Charles were the only players to keep their places, as Downs made his full debut up front supported by Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Díaz, who was promoted to the starting line-up at late notice due to illness to Ross Stewart.
Both teams exchanged chances inside the first three minutes in a lively start. Edwards, operating as Saints’ left-sided centre-back, curled one wide from the edge of the box, before Northampton’s Cameron McGeehan seized on a loose pass from Downs and forced a fine sprawling save from Alex McCarthy down to the keeper’s left.
Cameron Archer goes for goal in the first half at Sixfields
Edwards was the first player booked when another stray ball, this time from Brereton Díaz, encouraged Joe Wormleighton to drive forward and win a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, from which Dean Campbell first struck the wall, and then fired straight at McCarthy.
The Saints keeper was grateful to captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the 18th minute, as Campbell’s wide free-kick was dropped into the path of Jordan Willis, whose instinctive shot was cleared off the line by the covering skipper.
Having been below their best for most of the first period, Saints pieced together two flowing moves late in the half that should really have resulted in a lead at the interval.
First Ryan Manning’s low cross picked out Sugawara at the far post, who just could not direct the ball on target from the right corner of the six-yard box as he arrived at pace.
But an even better chance would fall to Downs two minutes later. When Brereton Díaz was released down the left, his square pass was begging to be finished by the USA international, but he lost his balance and could not connect cleanly from six yards. Even after that, Fernandes looked set to bury the rebound, but saw his follow-up blocked on the line.
Northampton might have stolen a half-time advantage of their own when Elliott List met a left-wing cross with a fine header that had McCarthy diving full length to his left, grateful to see the ball sail inches wide.
Mateus Fernandes sells a dummy en route to scoring the only goal of the game
The Cobblers made a double change at half time, but it was Saints who came flying out of the traps.
When Archer surged into Northampton territory, Fernandes made a typically lung-busting run in support, overlapping the striker and then jinking inside the last defender before planting a left-footed shot high into the net for a beautifully-constructed opener.
With the 1,520 Saints fans still serenading the Portuguese midfielder, Brereton Díaz saw a 20-yard effort deflect narrowly wide, before Sugawara hit a rocket from range that crashed against the post with goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons rooted to the spot.
Still made a triple substitution on the hour, giving a rest to Harwood-Bellis, Charles and Downs, as Charlie Taylor came on for his first minutes of the season, Flynn Downes assumed the captaincy and Kuryu Matsuki arrived for his Saints debut with the best part of half an hour still to play.
Former Saint Sam Hoskins, nowadays Northampton captain and closing in on 100 goals for the club, threatened to draw the hosts level with a snapshot that whistled wide, before substitute Forbes had a glorious chance from a corner, but sent his header down into the ground and bouncing over McCarthy’s crossbar.
Ryan Fraser and Adam Armstrong were both summoned from the bench in the final 20 minutes, with Fernandes and Brereton Díaz replaced, on a night where Still was able to learn a little bit more about his squad and oversee a first clean sheet as Saints boss.
Northampton: Fitzsimons, Perkins, Dyche, Willis (Forbes 64), McCarthy (Burroughs 45), Fornah, Campbell, Wormleighton, McGeehan (Taylor 64), Hoskins (c), List (Wheatley 45).
Unused substitutes: Burge, Ireland, Evans.
Booked: McGeehan, Wormleighton.
Southampton: McCarthy, Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis (c) (Taylor 63), Wood, Edwards, Manning, Charles (Downes 63), Fernandes (Fraser 71), Archer, Downs (Matsuki 63), Brereton Díaz (Armstrong 81).
Unused substitutes: Bazunu, Moody, Stephens, Robinson.
Goal: Fernandes (48’).
Booked: Edwards, Fernandes, Harwood-Bellis, Downes.
Referee: David Rock.
Attendance: 4,381 (1,520 Saints fans).
