A drenched Ruben Selles trudged across with a sense of guilt and resignation that his work wasn’t good enough to keep Southampton in the Premier League.
Barring a miracle in recent weeks, their 11-year stay in the top division is coming to an end and the Selles players, some of whom are on the verge of crying, know their days are numbered at this level and the only what is still missing is the big, fat R next to Saints’ name in the rankings.
They were picked apart by Nottingham Forest in a 100-minute game that may have looked like a thriller on paper, but was in reality a convincing and well-deserved home win. Taiwo Awoniyi scored his first brace for the club, Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo added the others.
The Saints supporters stayed long after the final whistle to applaud their team who stood in the rain with an apologetic look. They’ve spent 196 days in the bottom three, so fans have had time to take the blow, but now the equation is simple. Win every game or go down.
It would be unfair to blame the Spanish boss for this monumental mess of a season, but his appointment would stand out as one of the worst in Premier League history were it not for the second of three men to have been appointed this season occupying his seat, Nathan Jones, who won only one league game.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice as Nottingham Forest secured a huge victory over Southampton
Awoniyi opened the scoring midway through the first half with his first goal since January
Three minutes later, the attacker doubled the lead with a fierce volley on the turn
the result all but secured relegation for Southampton, who are seven points clear of safety
So as an 11-year stay in the Premier League comes to an end, another team advocated extending their top-flight status. Forest played with speed, power and belief in the first half to roar to a 3-1 lead, then showed an unusually brave defensive steel to clinch victory.
The City Ground was rocking for kick-off, with fan group Forza Garibaldi urging supporters to hold up scarves during a deafening rendition of Mull of Kintyre. It’s hard to think of a better atmosphere in English football than this place at its grittiest.
That said, though, most here were a nervous wreck in the first 10 minutes. From a listening mission over the Trent Bridge, the overall verdict was ‘do or die’ for Forest, who have played two tricky away games in their last three.
“We’re so lucky to be playing for these supporters,” said Cooper, walking into his press conference and drying himself off with a red towel. “They don’t get us halfway across the line.
“We talk openly about the relegation battle, we don’t want elephants in the room. But we always bring it back to what we can do to influence it. We knew what was happening (Everton won 5-1) but never lost focus on what we had to do.’
But any early Forest fears were quickly calmed as Awoniyi opened the scoring on 18 minutes from a fantastic counter-attack that began with a perfect pass from Danilo and ended with Brennan Johnson firing for the Nigerian to blast home.
It was Awoniyi’s first league goal since January 4, also against Saints, which was also Forest’s only away win of the season, taking 27 of their 33 points at home this season. With two away games to go, that stat underlined the importance of this game.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored his side’s third from the spot after the Saints pulled one back
Gibbs-White had made a mistake on Southampton’s goal but made amends with his penalty
They gave themselves a good chance and were already on two goals three minutes after Awoniyi’s opening goal. After perhaps getting lucky with the finish for first, the brace was pointedly snuck past Alex McCarthy.
Those Garibaldi scarves were soon swung overhead. Even the animated Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis slumped back in his seat and relaxed until Saints pulled a goal back, with Charly Alcaraz finishing a neat move that left you wondering why Saints have bottomed out.
Those thoughts were wiped out after shoddy decisions led to Ainsley Maitland-Niles being awarded a penalty, which Gibbs-White finished.
“We need to become more robust and competitive,” Selles said. “I can’t speak for Ralph and Nathan’s time, but there are a lot of different factors (why we’re in this position).
Danilo rounded off a fine move to make it 4-2 at City Ground midway through the second half
James Ward-Prowse secured a nerve-racking finish with his penalty, but Forest held on
“It’s my job to keep fighting and give my best every day. (My future) is a decision for the club, I will be happy to be here for the next 10 years.’
The pattern of this game changed drastically after the break. Forest looked nervous and Lyanco headed in not long after the restart and the away side felt a comeback.
Cooper’s side have been dogged by a pair of capitulations in the second half this season. They have dropped 23 points from winning positions this season, more than any team in the league apart from Leicester, and 15 of those coming home to the league.
James Ward-Prowse bombarded Forest’s sixteen-yard penalty area with blistering set pieces, but three-time Champions League winner Keylor Navas showed his experience in dealing with the attack from the air.
Forest’s win puts them three points above the relegation zone with three games left to play
But just as fears seemed to be reaching boiling point, Forest ventured forward – a rarity in the second half – and Danilo scored a fourth, after a clever tapped assist from £42.5 million man Gibbs-White. From a long list, the former Wolves man is their best company since promotion.
The folks at Stockley Park had a busy end to the game, first Danilo’s goal being ruled out for offside and then Saints conceding a questionable penalty, which Ward-Prowse fired into goal. Was that his last goal for the club? Selles roared with faith as he told his team that there were five minutes to equalize but time was running out quickly. Just as it applies to Southampton as a Premier League club.
