
Southampton continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw against Championship side Brentford at Griffin Park.
Lasse Vibe opened the scoring for Dean Smith's men five minutes before half-time when he converted Sergi Canos' low centre.
But that was cancelled out when a mix-up in the Bees' defence allowed Charlie Austin the sort of opportunity he rarely spurns, duly placing the ball under Dan Bentley to make it 1-1.
Austin struck again on the hour mark to complete the turnaround when he swept home Sam McQueen's low cross with his left foot.
There was another twist to come though, when Brentford substitute Josh Clarke's deep cross found its way beyond Fraser Forster under pressure from Neal Maupay.
Saints had their first real chance when Dušan Tadić’s corner found the head of Austin, who saw his effort tipped over smartly by Bentley.
On 13, Bentley was called into action once more. Austin’s deep cross from the left was met by Shane Long, who rose above Rico Henry, only to be denied by another fingertip save.
It was then Brentford’s turn to test the Saints defence ten minutes later, when a super solo run from Jota was almost rewarded. The diminutive playmaker drifted in from the right, beating two, before pulling his low shot wide.
But the Bees found their sting just before the break to open the deadlock. Canos’ run down the left resulted in a low cross which Vibe applied the finishing touches to from point-blank range.
After the interval, Saints responded well and when Romaine Sawyers and John Egan went for the same ball, it fell kindly for Austin to tuck home the equaliser from 12 yards.
It was to be another for Austin when McQueen's run down the left picked the forward out and he made no mistake with his left foot, sending a piledriver high beyond the keeper.
With eight minutes remaining though, the Championship outfit earned a share of the spoils when Clarke's cross flew in.
Brentford
1 |
Dan Bentley (GK)
|
---|---|
2 |
Maxime Colin
Neal Maupay (66′)
|
3 |
Rico Henry
Ollie Watkins (66′)
|
4 |
Kamo Mokotjo
Florian Jozefzoon (66′)
|
5 |
John Egan
Harlee Dean (77′)
|
6 |
Yoann Barbet
Andreas Bjelland (77′)
|
7 |
Sergi Canos
Josh Clarke (77′)
|
8 |
Romaine Sawyers
Tom Field (66′)
|
9 |
Lasse Vibe
Henrik Dalsgaard (66′)
|
10 |
Josh McEachran
|
11 |
Jota
Ryan Woods (66′)
|
Substitutes
13 |
Luke Daniels |
---|---|
12 |
Neal Maupay |
14 |
Ollie Watkins |
15 |
Andreas Bjelland |
16 |
Harlee Dean |
17 |
Ryan Woods |
18 |
Henrik Dalsgaard |
19 |
Tom Field |
20 |
Josh Clarke |
22 |
Florian Jozefzoon |
Southampton
1 |
Fraser Forster (GK)
|
---|---|
26 |
Jérémy Pied
Alfie Jones (77′)
|
6 |
Jan Bednarek
Jack Stephens (46′)
|
3 |
Maya Yoshida (C)
Florin Gardos (77′)
|
18 |
Matt Targett
Sam McQueen (46′)
|
8 |
Steven Davis
Manolo Gabbiadini (60′)
|
14 |
Oriol Romeu
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (60′)
|
7 |
Shane Long
|
11 |
Dušan Tadić
Will Wood (60′)
|
19 |
Sofiane Boufal
Tyreke Johnson (70′)
|
10 |
Charlie Austin
Sam Gallagher (60′)
|
Substitutes
13 |
Paulo Gazzaniga |
---|---|
28 |
Stuart Taylor |
5 |
Florin Gardos |
12 |
Sam McQueen |
15 |
Sam Gallagher |
23 |
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg |
24 |
Jack Stephens |
17 |
Alfie Jones |
25 |
Will Wood |
30 |
Tyreke Johnson |
21 |
Ryan Bertrand |
20 |
Manolo Gabbiadini |