B Team Report: Saints 2-4 Wolves
Southampton's B team suffered a rare defeat in Premier League 2, despite a second half fightback at Staplewood Campus on Friday afternoon.
Off the back of five wins on the bounce visitors Wolves made a confident start, Dexter Lembikisa giving his side the lead after just two minutes.
After a rather sombre first 45 Saints sparked into life during the second, rewarded for their upturn in performance with an equaliser through the prolific Luke Pearce on 61 minutes.
The game was flipped eight minutes later, Lembikisa turning from hero to villain with a header into his own net.
Wolves’ response came via a quick break; Taylor Perry adding to his goal against Aston Villa last time out with another strike to level the scores on 73 minutes.
The topsy-turvy second half produced its final twist on 83 minutes, Lee Harkin grabbing Wolves’ winner with seven minutes remaining before Luke Cundle added a fourth on 90 minutes.
Saints made four changes to the side that won against Reading last Sunday; Eddie Beach coming in between the sticks for his first Premier League 2 start of the season.
Elsewhere there were returns for Olly Lancashire, Kamari Doyle and Diamond Edwards.
Wolves had won five on the bounce and their confidence was clear to see from the off.
It took just two minutes for the visitors to take the lead, Chem Campbell feeding Lembikisa whose shot crept under Beach from a narrow angle.
Wolves had a huge chance to make it 2-0 on 24 minutes, the ball falling to Harvey Griffiths on the edge of the box who couldn’t find the target with his first-time strike.
Overall, as far as the first half was concerned, an effort at goal such as this became a rarity, with most of the action contested in the middle of the park.
Saints in particular struggled to create any chances of their own, during a stop-start half that struggled to spark into life for either side.
The second 45 cast a different image initially, half-time substitute Jayden Smith adding some pace and presence to the Saints forward line.
Wolves responded to an invigorated home side with more pressure of their own, making the early stages of the second half much better viewing for those at the training ground.
Taylor Perry had a low, drilled shot from range on 54 minutes, which Beach looked to have covered as it hit the side-netting.
Saints’ goalscoring threat had certainly increased following the break and soon they got their reward.
A neat move started in midfield through Jack Turner who found Doyle just outside the penalty area.
The creative youngster slipped a neat through ball into Pearce, who finished first time for his seventh goal in seven starts.
Eight minutes later and Saints had turned the game on its head, Turner firing a ball into the box and Lembikisa finding his own net with a wayward header.
With Saints in the driving seat Wolves shocked their hosts with an equaliser from nothing on 73 minutes. Perry firing towards goal and equalising for the visitors after a quick break through the middle of the field.
Both sides went into the last ten minutes looking like they could grab a winner, with the outlook of the game completely different to how it was during the first half.
After a period of pressure at both ends of the pitch, it was Wolves who struck next. Harkin finding space inside the box to turn and shoot as his effort went in off the post on 83 minutes.
Saints held most of the possession during the remaining moments, looking for another twist in this strange second half.
But it was Wolves who added to their lead in the dying moments. Cundle with a solo run into the box from the left side, before rounding Beach and making it 4-2.
Horseman’s side will look to bounce back next Saturday at Burnley in Premier League 2.
