Southampton recovered from a goal down to secure their first victory of the Premier League season against a hapless Aston Villa side on Saturday.
Darren Bent opened the scoring after 36 minutes for the away side, but two goals in five second-half minutes from Rickie Lambert and Nathaniel Clyne sent the Saints into the lead.
The home side continued to dominate in the second period and added gloss to the scoreline through Jason Puncheon and a Lambert penalty in the final moments.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two sides.
Match statistics:
Southampton:
Shots 12
On target 4
Possession 50%
Corners 1
Fouls 5
Aston Villa:
Shots 8
On target 2
Possession 50%
Corners 4
Fouls 13
Was the result fair?
Without question. In truth, both sides were poor in the opening half of football and Villa were lucky to enter the break ahead. The home side were quite clearly given a rocket at half time by Nigel Adkins and my word did they respond. Villa just were not in it after the break, while Southampton played some really nice football as the half drew to a close.
Southampton's performance
6/10. Forgive the cliché. But it really was a game of two halves. Southampton were awful in the opening period as they struggled to put two passes together, but that soon changed. Two goals in five second-half minutes moved them ahead – and it was no surprise that Gaston Ramirez started to influence proceedings late on.
Aston Villa's performance
3/10. Villa had won their first league match of the season against Swansea City last time out, but they were really poor this afternoon. They were lucky to enter the break ahead after failing to create any real chances of note. There just seems to be a serious lack of balance and width in the team. They could be in for a long season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Gaston Ramirez: The record-signing was the standout player in the second period. He was so composed and measured on the ball, allowing his teammates space and time to collect possession. He's a classy player.
Biggest gaffe of the match
Karim El Ahmadi was guilty of gifting possession to the home side on more than one occasion throughout the 90 minutes. He has been impressive since joining the club in the summer, but it was an afternoon to forget for the midfielder.
Referee performance
Jonathan Moss had a fairly successful afternoon of work. He had a bit of a horror show when he booked Ron Vlaar for a foul on Lambert before the break. But he rightly awarded the home side a penalty in the final moments.
What next?
Southampton: Southampton will look to make it back-to-back league wins when they take on Everton next weekend. Meanwhile, they face a League Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
Aston Villa: Villa will look to record just their second league win of the season when they face West Bromwich Albion next weekend. Meanwhile, they travel to Manchester City in the League Cup on Tuesday.
Matt Law
