Southampton fans probably thought their night could get no worse as their team conceded three goals inside just 39 minutes against Bournemouth – but, for some, their lowest point of the evening was still to come.
A flurry of first-half goals from Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo gave hosts Bournemouth an imperious lead at the halfway stage at the Vitality Stadium.
There was a glimmer of hope for the newly promoted Saints as Taylor Harwood-Bellis reduced the deficit with a 51st-minute header, but that was as good as it got for the away side.
The 3-1 defeat leaves Southampton languishing down in 19th place, with Russell Martin’s men picking up just one point in six games on their return to the Premier League.
A small portion of visiting Southampton fans had already headed for the exit as the clock ticked over into stoppage time, with the game effectively over as a contest between the south-coast rivals.
Bournemouth fans had plenty to celebrate across the match but the loudest cheer of the evening arrived in the 92nd minute when it was announced over the tannoy that the last train to Southampton had been cancelled – presumably leaving many away supporters stranded.
‘The 11:15pm train back to Southampton has been cancelled,’ the stadium announcer confirmed to huge cheers around the 11,000-capacity venue, formerly known as Dean Court.
Those unfortunate fans hoping to board the 11:15pm will likely be forced to make alternative transport plans, with the next train from Bournemouth to Southampton not scheduled to set off until 5:12am tomorrow morning.
Saints’ away support will hope for a better day out this weekend when they travel to north London to face Mikel Arteta’s in-form Arsenal side at the Emirates.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, a despondent Martin said he ‘didn’t recognise’ his team in a nightmare first-half showing.
‘We started really well, two really good moments in the game,’ the Southampton manager explained.
‘We showed the guys how Bournemouth like to play quick free-kicks and run but we switch off, concede, in exactly the same way as we did against Manchester United two weeks ago.
‘We don’t respond to a setback very well. I’m so hurt by the first-half performance after the first goal.
‘I didn’t recognise our team, I’m usually proud of them for the courage they show. But there was no aggression, no courage, no intensity to play. I didn’t like that one bit.’
Martin said his players were ‘soft’ in their approach but took responsibility for the manner of the loss.
‘It’s on me. I need to give them the tools to be able to respond to setbacks better than we did,’ he added.
‘We obviously haven’t learned from the Manchester United game and that’s a problem.
‘They made 20 fouls to our ten, or whatever it is. That sums up the whole game, we were soft.’
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