U23 Report: Saints 2-0 Man City

Dave Horseman’s side shaded the first half, while City came on strongly in the second, but ultimately the visitors had no answer to Saints’ purple patch either side of the half-hour mark.

Callum Slattery calmly rolled the hosts in front from the penalty spot after Christian Norton was fouled, before Norton picked himself up to dispatch a brilliant instinctive volley to complete the scoring.

Ben Knight came closest for City, rattling the underside of the bar in the second half, but Saints could reflect on a job well done and a hard-fought clean sheet.

The game took a while to warm up on a cold night in Totton, where City’s Gavin Bazunu was the first keeper to be tested, as Kazeem Olaigbe tested his handling with a crisp low drive from the edge of the box.

Gradually Saints began to take control, and Norton gave referee Matthew Russell a decision to make when he went to ground just inside the area, giving Slattery a chance he never looked like passing up, as the skipper sent Bazunu the wrong way to break the deadlock.

Before City had time to take stock, Norton was doubling Saints’ lead in some style. Benefiting from some good work by Kornelius Hansen down the right wing, the striker was alert as the ball bounced his way.

Catching it sweetly on the volley from 18 yards, Norton gave Bazunu no chance as the ball nestled just inside the far post.

City had not offered much beyond some neat approach play, but Ian Carlo Poveda immediately set about halving the deficit with a mazy dribble and fierce shot that was beaten away by Harry Lewis at his near post.

Captain Tommy Doyle ended the first period with a free-kick that didn’t quite dip in time to beat Lewis, as City served a reminder that they were still in the contest, but Saints were good value for their half-time cushion.

The visitors improved after the interval, and were unlucky not to give themselves a foothold in the game when Ben Knight unleashed a rocket of a shot from 25 yards that shook the underside of the bar.

Already frustrated, hoping the ball had crossed the line, Knight’s mood was not helped when he was immediately substituted by City boss Paul Harsley.

Harsley saw his side go close again when Lewis Fiorini sent a curling shot within a whisker of Lewis’s top-left corner, but by now time was running out for the visiting team. 

Fiorini sent pulses racing again with a low cross that somehow escaped the six-yard box untouched, but Saints were able to take the sting out of the game with some composed periods of possession to see the job through.

Head to Head Stats

• Possession (%)
  39

  61
• Shots
  10

  20
• Shots on target
  3

  3
• Corners
  1

  14
• Passes Complete
  316

  542