It’s been a rocky season but it’s had its unbelievable moments within it and last night was something to behold for one and all.
Southampton are in the League Cup final and they will face either Manchester United or Hull City at Wembley on this day next month. Let that sink in for a moment, because I’m still struggling. I’m writing this still on cloud nine and reminiscing what was a historic night at Anfield.
At a personal level, I’m gutted I couldn’t have been there to see it and experience the moment that Shane Long sent us to Wembley. However, no emotion comes close to that of when he fired home in front of 3,500 adoring Saints fans in the last minute. Unbelievable.
Everything about the performance was just perfection. It was glorious, it was a masterclass and it was perfect.
I’ve been up and down with Claude Puel this season. At the start, I bought into what he was trying to do and was delighted with the work in the early patches that he was doing at the club.
My view changed as the negative, sideways football appeared to be here to stay and it was bringing us all down a bit, with four consecutive defeats in the Premier League coming with it.
But moments like last night? Wow. They take your breath away. It’s the second match during his Southampton career so far that has held such unbelievable magnitude and importance to the Saints fans, with Inter Milan at home being the other, that he has executed absolutely perfectly.
Tactically, Claude Puel worked wonders last night and that cannot be taken away from him. Everything was perfect on his part. The team selection, the timing of substitutions, the management of his players and let’s be honest – we all absolutely loved it when he went mental for the goal. That’s the spirit and passion we want to see from our boss and I was genuinely happy for him. He’s a nice guy and he’s working hard; this is something we can all appreciate, regardless of whether you’re “Puel in” or “Puel out”.
Twitter: .@ShaneLong7’s winning goal at Anfield is better with Titanic music. https://t.co/wPHbADzgzo (@Ahoybjerg)
Despite it being a little underwhelming in some aspects this season, he’s taking us to a cup final – and that’s something that will never be taken away from him, and it’s something we should respect and show gratitude for.
He’s taken us to a major cup final for the first time since 2003, and I can’t thank him enough for that. I can’t wait to see my team at Wembley.
Southampton fielded three academy graduates over the course of the match and used seven English players – all in a cup semi-final at one of the biggest clubs in the world. The Southampton Way is the best way.
I couldn’t tell you who my man of the match was. Everyone worked tirelessly to get us to this final and every single player deserves credit.
Oriol Romeu was incredible in the midfield. Adam Lallana? No problem. Philippe Coutinho? Easy. Gini Wijnaldum? Back pocket. Romeu was unbelievable; he played for the shirt and he was superb.
Maya Yoshida? My God, what’s going on with him? He’s gone from a Fiat 500 to a Ferrari this season. He’s been absolutely delightful to watch and I’d argue that it was his best ever performance in a Saints shirt last night.
Then we’re onto Jack Stephens. Who would have thought that such an inexperienced player could put in such a cultured, composed display? Even the more optimistic Saints fans wouldn’t have imagined Stephens to have shown as much quality as he did on the night.
Coming up against Daniel Sturridge – an established England international forward – is no mean feat in itself, but to keep him quiet throughout is something very different. It was a dream game for him and he deserves all the plaudits he gets. The stats don’t lie, either:
- 20 clearances
- 2 completed tackles
- 2 interceptions
- 1 shot blocked
- 2 aerial duels won
Then we move on to Shane Long. On the whole, he’s been poor this season. But in the last two games, he’s been the match-winner. Football’s a funny old game, isn’t it? I hope he continues.
Many will see Long’s contribution as just being the winning goal on the night. However, few will appreciate an element that we have sorely missed this season – urgency. He sprinted from the edge of his own box into Liverpool’s to then keep his cool and fire beyond Loris Karius. Boom. More of the same please, Longy!
Josh Sims came on and lit the game up too. The 19-year-old literally ran over three quarters of the length of Anfield’s hallowed turf to cut Liverpool open and send Long away to score. Again, the plaudits will go to Long, but how good is this young lad?! If he can maintain consistency, Sims has a lot of potential to become a top player.
I could go on for hours. I could say something positive about every single player. But in reality, it was a team effort. From the medical staff, to the manager, to the fans, to the players, to everyone.
In particular though? Markus Liebherr.
I can imagine he was looking down on us with a great big smile on his face, a red and white scarf draped over his shoulders and a camera in his hand ready to capture a glorious moment in Southampton’s history.
Let’s go on and win this trophy for Markus.
