Last night, Jay Rodriguez scored his first competitive goal since March 2014 when he scored from the spot versus FC Midtjylland in their Europa League qualifier.
Southampton were held to a 1-1 drew with their Danish counter-parts. A result that Southampton may not be over the moon about, however, there were positives. One positive, and the topic of this article, being that Jay Rodriguez scored.
I posted a piece on Jay Rodriguez making his comeback from injury this season earlier this month, as you can read here.
I spoke all about his horror injury and his torrid spell on the sidelines. A month on from that piece and he is already starting to show signs of coming back to his best with Southampton.
He had a superb pre-season, including a hat-trick in a tour game in Holland. He made his first Premier League start of the season versus Newcastle in a 2-2 draw, his first Premier League start in 18 months following his injury.
From watching him play and how he has gone about his business on the pitch this season. You can really tell he still has an abundance of quality. I felt that he had a very good game yesterday. Saints may not have got the best result, however, Rodriguez was a bright spark. He was holding the ball well, was making clever runs, passes and, of course, his goal.
After James Ward-Prowse was brought down just inside the penalty area, the referee pointed to the spot and Jay Rodriguez was enlisted with the job of putting away the spot kick. A huge moment for Rodriguez; in-front of the home fans at St Mary’s, with a lot of pressure on him to score in what was a crucial moment in the game. He stroked the ball home confidently and the joy was evidently etched across his face. A delight that was shared with the Southampton fan’s. Who have been waiting for this moment for a mere 18 months.
Speaking to Southampton’s website saintsfc. Jay Rodriguez said “It was nice to get started and to get off the mark. I wanted to score more as I had a few chances that I’m disappointed with,”
Jay proceeded to say “But it was a nice feeling to score and get the team back in the game.” You can read the rest of Jay Rodriguez’s thoughts on the game here.
England and Southampton fan’s will be hoping that this is the start of Jay Rodriguez getting back to the fine form before he picked up his injury. We know it will take time given the length of his absence. However, I believe that it will come and he will force his way back into the England set-up, maybe even for the European Championships next summer.
Do you think that Rodriguez can break back into the England squad by next summer?
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