Romain Perraud scored a brace to help Southampton produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the FA Cup. In their inaugural game under new manager McCarthy, the Seasiders, who are currently in the bottom two of the Championship, held their own against a Premier League opponent in the first half. However, Perraud’s direct free-kick goal put his team ahead at halftime. The French full-back later increased his team’s lead midway through the second half until Charlie Patino drew one back. As a result, Southampton is now just one victory away from advancing to their fourth FA Cup quarterfinal round in the previous six years. After losing the first leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal against Newcastle 1-0, the Saints played in their second cup match in five days on Saturday.
Chris Maxwell was initially put to the test by Mislav Orsic, who curled a shot just wide of the left post after four minutes. Sekou Mara’s diving tackle inside the six-yard box was overcome by Maxwell to prevent a goal, and the Saints striker was given a booking as a result. By the 15-minute mark, neither opponent had created many chances, making the hosts the game’s brighter side. When Orsic caught a cross coming in from the right and passed it to Perraud, he attempted to start something, but the angle was too tight for a shooting.
But it didn’t take long for the Frenchman to score the first goal. Samuel Edozie was brought down by CJ Hamilton at the edge of the area, and Perraud lost no time in putting the ensuing free kick into the bottom left corner of the goal. The Seasiders enjoyed a late first-half charge but were unable to capitalize on a corner or a free-kick. Jerry Yates nearly brought the score even when he struck a controlled shot at Willy Caballero, who sprang to tip it well high of the woodwork.
After allowing Yates to play Ian Poveda through on goal from the left, Southampton almost avoided disaster early in the second half. Caballero moved forward to thwart the original attempt from within the vicinity, although he was only successful in blocking it. As the Saints goalkeeper and two defenders hustled back to the goal line, Poveda pounced on the rebound and exhaled in relief when the Blackpool forward misdirected his shot wide. When Perraud pounced on a quick touch from Mara inside the area and hammered a left-footed shot past Maxwell into the bottom-right corner, the hosts increased their lead to 2-0.
Within five minutes, Blackpool reduced the deficit thanks to a pass from Poveda to Patino, who scored a low, close-range goal into the bottom left corner to prevent a clean sheet for the hosts. The goal stood after a quick VAR assessment revealed there was no offside throughout the build-up. When his shot from the right took a deflection off a blue shirt and bounced dangerously close to the goal line before settling on the top of the net, substitute Theo Walcott almost made it three for the home team. Che Adams stopped Callum Connolly’s headed effort, and Caballero stopped Charlie Goode’s header to seal the victory for the Saints in the six minutes of extra time.
“There isn’t, in my opinion, less pressure. The Premier League is obviously the most important thing, so the pressure is different, but right now there is pressure because if we lost there would be carnage. It’s very crucial,” Southampton head coach Nathan Jones said.
“Because I like him, I’ve recently written him a few notes in response to the success he’s had. He has my respect, and I believe he is an excellent coach. I’m hoping he keeps them up because I was thrilled when he got this position. by him. While I’m at Blackpool, I have no ties to Southampton or any of the other 91 teams,” head coach Mick McCarthy said.
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