Report: Saints come unstuck at Norwich

Saints spurned the chance to take a first-half lead when Adam Armstrong’s 27th-minute penalty was saved by Vladan Kovačević, having already hit the crossbar through Leo Scienza’s 25-yard free-kick.

But it was the struggling hosts who edged in front three minutes into the second half when Jovon Makama’s near-post finish broke the deadlock.

Saints were not behind for long, as Ryan Manning’s fourth goal of the season, another impressive strike from distance, restored parity, but Makama bundled the ball home with his hand on the hour mark, and this time Saints could not bounce back.

Tonda Eckert made two changes to his Saints side that won a fourth straight home game on Tuesday night, with in-form wing-back Tom Fellows unable to recover from the knock that forced him off late on against former club West Brom.

Ryan Fraser took his place on the right flank, with captain Jack Stephens also recalled in place of Joshua Quarshie.

Ryan Fraser made his first start under new head coach Tonda Eckert

Flying starts have been a hallmark of Saints’ recent upturn, and Scienza was inches away from giving Eckert’s team the lead inside two minutes.

When the Brazilian was fouled on the edge of the box, the travelling fans chanted the name of Manning, but it was Scienza who stepped up to hit a sublime set-piece that crashed against the underside of the crossbar and only just stayed out.

There was still another chance for Flynn Downes to score on the rebound, but the ball had bounced up off the turf and the midfielder could not generate sufficient power to beat stricken Norwich keeper Kovačević.

The hosts responded by forcing a first save from Gavin Bazunu through Amankwah Forson’s low drive, but Saints were soon back on the attack.

Armstrong wanted a penalty when Pelle Mattsson barged the Championship’s leading scorer to the ground, before Nathan Wood’s shot from a Saints corner veered fractionally wide, clearly taking a deflection on the way through that was not spotted.

The defender had to go back to the day job and use his strength to hold off Makama and deny the striker a close-range chance from Kenny McLean’s low cross, while Finn Azaz underlined his self-belief by trying to catch out Kovačević with a 40-yard chip that sailed over.

It had been a very confident start, but perhaps Taylor Harwood-Bellis was too confident when he saw his pocket picked by Oscar Schwartau, whose dangerous low ball across goal nearly forced an own goal from Jack Stephens, who was grateful to see the ball spin off his foot and over the bar.

Finn Azaz tries his luck from just inside the Norwich half

It looked as if Saints had played themselves into trouble when Downes’s backpass required emergency action from Bazunu on his own goal line, but from there the visitors constructed a brilliant move to break free of the Norwich press and cross the halfway line at pace.

When Azaz fed the run of Scienza, he was clean through on goal, accelerating away from last man Harry Darling.

With Scienza poised to strike, Darling desperately lunged in and caught the attacker, who did get his shot away, which angered the home fans when referee James Bell subsequently pointed to the spot.

Up stepped Armstrong, who took a similar penalty to his last spot-kick at Millwall, but this time found the keeper equal to it, as Kovačević sprung to his left to turn it aside.

The striker had another chance from the resulting corner, seeing his snapshot brush the sidenetting, but Kovačević’s save had brought the home crowd to life.

Their team improved as a result, as Makama lashed at a good chance to open the scoring, while Forson and Jacob Wright both spurned inviting crossing positions.

The last chance of a breathless first half saw Scienza arrow a low shot just past Kovačević’s right-hand post, but Saints were going to have to win this game in the second period rather than the first.

Ryan Manning celebrates his 57th-minute equaliser

Instead the visitors found themselves behind within three minutes of the restart. Having struggled to defend corners against West Brom, Saints cleared Norwich’s initial delivery, but were undone by Wright’s low cross as he picked out Makama’s dart to the near post for a traditional striker’s goal.

The hosts had their tails up but were quickly silenced by Manning’s fourth goal of the season, as the left wing-back plucked a high ball out of the sky and caught out Kovačević with a 25-yard drive hit with minimal backlift that beat the keeper down to his right.

Determined to push on and turn the game on its head, Armstrong was thwarted by Kovačević when the Bosnian rushed from his line to dive at his feet, before Norwich retook the lead in controversial circumstances.

Another goal conceded in the seconds following a corner, this time a cross from the left was headed back across goal by Darling and bundled in by Makama, with replays confirming the striker used his hand to beat Bazunu.

Saints were right to feel aggrieved, but may have got away with one when substitute Emiliano Marcondes had the ball in the net midway through the second half, only for Makama to be penalised for a soft foul in the build-up.

By that point Eckert had already turned to his bench to send on Cameron Bragg and Welington in place of Caspar Jander and Fraser, while Jay Robinson was also summoned in place of Stephens in an attacking change that saw the youngster operate as a right wing-back with Welington as a left-sided centre-back.

But Saints were unable to rediscover their first-half thrust, and could not fashion a chance to exploit the nervousness inside an anxious Carrow Road as the hosts saw out seven added minutes to claim victory.

Norwich City: Kovačević, Fisher, McConville, Darling, Chrisene (Córdoba 66), Mattsson, McLean (c), Forson (Springett 80), Wright (Marcondes 66), Schwartau (Mundle-Smith 90+3’), Makama (Kvistgaarden 90+3’).

Unused substitutes: Grimshaw, Medić, Jurásek, Slimane.

Goals: Makama (48’, 61’).

Booked: McConville, Fisher.

Southampton: Bazunu, Fraser (Welington 63), Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Stephens (c) (Robinson 74), Manning, Downes (Romeu 84), Jander (Bragg 63), Azaz (Archer 84), Scienza, Armstrong.

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Quarshie, Edwards, Aribo.

Goal: Manning (57’).

Booked: Downes.

Referee: James Bell.

Attendance: 25,627 (1,500 Saints fans).