Southampton 2-2 Newcastle: Five things we learned as the spoils are shared at St Mary’s

Sunday’s Premier League games yielded two draws with Everton and Brighton sharing the spoils in the early kickoff before Newcastle picked up a very impressive point in a 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Issac Hayden had given the visitors the lead with his low strike before Manolo Gabbiadini equalised. Without time to take breath Newcastle were back in front thanks to Ayoze Perez. However, Gabbiadini picked up his second of the game from the spot as the points were shared at St Mary’s

The draw leaves the two sides in mid-table, with Newcastle having amassed 11 points, while Southampton have two less. The second-half of the game proved to be a very interesting contest as both sides clearly wanted to win the game despite being 2-2.

From the draw, what five things did we learn?

Hayden strikes against the run of play

Issac Hayden opened the scoring for the visitors with a low drive that wrong-footed Fraser Forster and found its way into the back of the net. Hayden does not score often and his goal was something of a collector’s item, although the finish itself was more akin to that of a seasoned striker.

While the shot itself deserved a goal, Newcastle actually went ahead against the run of play. While both sides had chances in the opening exchanges, it was the hosts that looked the better of the two as they kept the ball well and moved it around smoothly. However, they were punished for their inability to take their chances as Hayden scored early on.

Perhaps the midfielder should rethink his tag of being a ‘defensive-midfielder’ with finishing like that.

Saints toothless in the first-half

For all of Saint’s huffing and puffing, they were largely toothless throughout the first-half. Southampton kept a huge amount of possession, 62% in fact, but they looked far too content in the way they slowly moved the ball from one side of the field to the other. Their lack of penetration gave Newcastle a fairly easy ride in the first-half as the newly promoted side looked very comfortable.

The second-half saw Gabbiadini strike twice, but this was because the players had clearly been told to go out and take advantage of the possession they were enjoying. This was met by surging runs from the full-backs, more direct balls from the midfield, and far better retention and movement of the football from the strikers.

This gave Newcastle a lot of problems in the second 45 as Southampton came out swinging. If the Saints were to keep possession and play in that same incisive manner every week, then they would not be under such pressure following long bouts of goalless football. Perhaps they are still searching for their identity, or maybe it takes going a goal down for them to wake up in the game.

Whatever the reason is, Southampton have to remedy it and quickly, otherwise this season will be a write off again.

Newcastle’s backline is their strongest asset

One thing that was abundantly clear on the day was how well drilled Newcastle were. While Southampton have struggled in recent weeks, they are still a very good side that keeps possession and retains the ability to be incisive. This constant threat meant that the Magpies could not switch off for a moment, or they would be punished for it.

For the most part, Newcastle were outstanding at the back. Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune battled incredibly hard all afternoon and formed a strong partnership on the day. Despite the best efforts of Gabbiadini and Shane Long, the two stood firm for much of the match. While Lejeune gave away a soft penalty to allow Southampton to equalise, the centre-back pairing looked largely comfortable otherwise.

It is clear that the tactical ability of Rafael Benitez is the power behind the side. Many worried that a lack of attacking reinforcements in the summer meant that Newcastle would struggle to score, with the Premier League a place in which promoted sides are often put to the sword defensively. However, before their game with Southampton, Newcastle had conceded just six goals in seven games, which is a fantastic record.

If the Magpies are to stay up this season, then it will likely be because of the tactical brilliance of their manager and their defence.

Gabbiadini at the double

When Southampton needed a man to step up and score, their Italian forward did it again. Manolo Gabbiadini has fallen on tough times of late, with the incredible stat that he scored more goals against Newcastle in one game than he has managed in his previous 15 matches.

For a player of such quality to have struggled so much, it would be foolish to assume that he was high on confidence. However, he got his side back into the game with an exceptional goal as he latched onto Nathan Redmond’s long ball before weaving his way into a shooting position and beating Rob Elliot with a drilled finish.

The character it took to then step up and take the ball for the penalty is of the highest order. His spot-kick flew into the top corner giving the goalkeeper no chance and, just like that, he had brought his side level twice. From a player that had scored one goal in 15, to a man that had single-handedly earned Southampton a point, the fans will be hoping that this game signals the return of the Gabbiadini they have been sorely missing.

A good point for Newcastle

The stats convey that Newcastle twice spurned a lead at St Mary’s and were poor in that respect, but they also show that they should have probably won the game. The visitors had 19 total shots to Southampton’s 12, while the Magpies managed to get five of those on target to the host’s two. The possession stats perhaps say otherwise, with Newcastle registering just 38%, but it was a game that the Magpies will probably feel like they should have won.

Gabbiadini’s goal was a stunning effort, but perhaps Redmond’s ball could have been stopped and more men should have swarmed the striker. For the penalty, Lejeune was careless in his challenge on Long and should have held off, with the striker going nowhere. As it was, Gabbiadini smashed home the equaliser, and the visitors were left cursing their luck.

There was a heart in mouth moment for Southampton and their fans at the end as Steven Davis cleared a header off the line, and the effort was the perfect embodiment of Newcastle being so close but so far. In the weeks to come, Benitez must try and find a way to win games in which they have more chances, or they will find things very difficult in England’s top league.

Southampton: Forster 5 – Cedric 6, Van Dijk 6, Yoshida 6, Bertrand 6.5 – Redmond 6.5 (Boufal 6), Romeu 6 (Davis 6.5), Lemina 6, Tadic 6 – Long 5 (Austin 5), Gabbiadini 8.5.

Unused subs: McCarthy, Hoedt, Ward-Prowse, McQueen.

Newcastle: Elliot 6 – Yedlin 7, Lascelles 7, Lejeune 5.5, Manquillo 6 – Ritchie 6, Hayden 7, Shelvey 6, Atsu 5 (Murphy 5) – Perez 7 (Merino 6), Joselu 6 (Gayle 6).

Unused subs: Darlow, Clark, Diame, Gamez.

Referee: Kevin Friend.