Redmond: We had to take it seriously
Nathan Redmond was left delighted with Southampton’s 3-0 quarter-final victory over AFC Bournemouth in the Emirates FA Cup.
Redmond put on an inspired display at the Vitality Stadium, playing a vital role in all three goals, assisting Moussa Djenepo’s opener and netting the other two himself.
Victory on the road means Southampton have now secured their place in the FA Cup semi-finals, with a trip to Wembley now in the books.
“I’m just delighted, we worked on a lot of things this week.” Redmond exclaimed after the victory.
“From 1-11 and the guys that came on we were aggressive against the ball and I think we showed some real quality on the ball with our passes.
“We just needed to elude back to some of the stuff we were doing at the start of the season and realise some of the positions in which we were going wrong, and some of the areas we weren’t hurting teams like we know we can.
“Today, we had to take it serious because not so long ago we came here and won and they ended up getting relegated. They’ve been playing some good football in the Championship this year, they’re pushing for the play offs and to get promoted again.
"It was never going to be an easy game but we knew that if we stuck to our principles and what we know as well having that expressive freedom to go and hurt teams we should be fine.
“I just had to travel up the pitch as much as possible, there was a lot of space in between the lines today. I knew Moussa was always going to be wide as that’s what we worked on in training so it was just about travelling as much as possible.
"As soon as I seen him I knew I could just pair him in and it was a great finish from him. It was about trying to remain calm and stay focused.
Redmond came painstakingly close to bagging a hat-trick, but was inches off target with a curling effort that would have given him the third.
“I was a bit disappointed, but we got the win and that’s the most important thing," he said,
“I think we’ve got to be a bit more focused in channelling the aggression and putting it in a more positive place. You go through transitions in your career which you start overthinking about the game a little bit too much and start worrying about things that are out of your control. I had a couple of conversations with the manager and a few of the coaches this week.
“We knew how important it was for us to get to the next round. I channelled that aggression and put it in a positive place to have an effect on the team.
"We probably want a few more points on the board than what we have right now but hopefully this sort of game and the break coming up will give us focus for that final push of the season."
