Report: Saints share the spoils with league leaders

In an opening 45 minutes that saw both teams exchange blows, the Sky Blues’ persistence paid off a minute before the break as Ephron Mason-Clark headed home break the deadlock.

Facing an uphill challenge after the restart, the hosts were boosted on 47 minutes when Jay Dasilva was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Welington, bringing their fragile lead into doubt.

In fact, Saints were level just eight minutes later when Nathan Wood headed in his first goal for the club, as the hosts desperately looked for a statement win and fifth straight victory at St Mary’s.

A winner wasn’t to come, however, as Tonda Eckert’s side had to share the spoils with the league leaders.

The first of four festive fixtures in just 12 days, Eckert made two changes to the side that lost out at Norwich a week ago.

Flying wing-back Tom Fellows was only fit enough to return to the bench after missing the trip to Norfolk, with Welington preferred to Ryan Fraser who took a seat alongside Fellows.

Welington started his first match since October (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)

The only other swap also came in defence, with Joshua Quarshie taking captain Jack Stephens’s spot on the left-hand side of the back three as the league’s best travellers arrived in SO14.

With more wins on the road than any other team in the division, Frank Lampard’s side quickly settled on the south coast, teasing at an early opener when Welington narrowly beat Mason-Clark to Milan Van Ewijk’s low ball across the six-yard box.

After a nervy moment at one end Saints fired their first warning a minute later, as the lethal duo of Finn Azaz and Adam Armstrong combined; the former playing in the latter who dragged a shot wide of the target from 18 yards.

After that exchange of chances, it was the Sky Blues who took control of possession under the blue skies of St Mary’s, although it was the hosts who came closest to scoring inside the opening 20 minutes.

Quarshie’s persistent press on Jack Rudoni inside Coventry’s half led to a deflected pass that set Leo Scienza racing through on goal from the left, but the Brazilian was denied by the outstretched leg of Carl Rushworth.

That chance sparked a change in momentum, as red and white shirts suddenly filled the half attacking the expectant Northam Stand, although Rushworth was not to be tested further as the half-an-hour mark came and went.

In a game of ebb and flows, the visitors then felt they should have had a penalty on 33 minutes, when Haji Wright was set free by Rudoni with only Gavin Bazunu to beat.

Having stormed into the box, Taylor Harwood-Bellis recovered to put pressure on the striker just as he prepared to pull the trigger, with the pair ending up in a heap on the floor which offered no interest to referee Adam Herczeg.

After their protests passed, Lampard’s side stayed on the front foot as the break approached, with Josh Eccles forcing a smart save from Bazunu who pushed the midfielder’s curling shot from the edge of the box out for a corner.

Back in the ascendancy, the league leaders finally showed their potency on the stroke of half time; Victor Torp’s cross was stood up invitingly for Mason-Clark, who guided a header back across goal and into the far corner for a fifth goal of the season.

Jay Dasilva was dismissed early in the second half (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)

If the first half ended brightly for Coventry, the second got off to a disastrous start, as Dasilva was dismissed for a dangerously high tackle on Welington on the halfway line.

Lampard responded by sacrificing Eccles in midfield for defender Jake Bidwell, but defensive reinforcements couldn’t stop their lead being wiped out on 55 minutes.

Recycling possession from a corner, Armstrong swung in a cross from the left that was perfect for Wood, who had stayed up from the set-piece, to help on its way into the bottom corner to restore parity.

Roared on by a raucous St Mary’s crowd, the comeback was almost complete just three minutes later when Ryan Manning picked out Azaz on the edge of the box, but the Irishman’s low shot was well saved by Rushworth as Saints poured forward.

Sensing the opportunity to topple the table toppers, Eckert looked to his bench in the form of Fellows and Cameron Archer, opting for fresh legs against their stretched opponents.

It was Archer’s strike partner who had the game’s next chance, however, as Armstrong drilled a low shot through a box full of bodies that Rushworth watched well to claim.

Into the closing stages, Lampard made a triple substitution in a bid to protect a point, setting up a tense final 10 minutes.

Nathan Wood opened his account for the club (Photo: Matt Watson)

Unable to get in behind Coventry’s rear-guard action, Scienza looked to find the far corner from distance after cutting in from the left, but the attempt was too close to Rushworth.

Running out of time, Saints were boosted by the fourth official signalling there would be an additional nine minutes, swiftly followed by Manning fizzing a strike that took Rushworth two attempts to gather.

Penned in the visitors’ half, a flurry of corners teased at late drama, fuelled by Bazunu racing up to join those in the Coventry box.

Saints fans weren’t to get an early Christmas present, however, as the points were shared at St Mary’s to sign off on home soil for 2026.

Southampton: Bazunu, Welington (Fellows 63’), Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Quarshie, Manning, Downes, Jander (Archer 76’), Azaz, Scienza, Armstrong (c).

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Stephens, Romeu, Bragg, Aribo, Fraser, Robinson.

Goals: Wood (55’).

Booked: Harwood-Bellis.

Coventry City: Rushworth, Van Ewijk (Kesler-Hayden 81’), Woolfenden, Latibeaudiere, Dasilva, Grimes (c), Torp (Allen 82’), Eccles (Bidwell 49’), Rudoni, Mason-Clark (Brau 59’), Wright (Simms 82’).

Unused substitutes: Wilson, Perry, Shepherd, Andrews.

Goals: Mason-Clark (44’).

Booked: Grimes.

Red card: Dasilva.

Referee: Adam Herczeg

Attendance: 30,584