- Gibbs-White broke the deadlock after Southampton failed to clear a set-piece.
- The goal came late, as Forest had missed several chances.
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Having 23 shots on goal and only winning 1-0 says something about both victorious Nottingham Forest and defeated hosts Southampton.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s second-half breakthrough allowed the visitors to finally capitalise on the heavy pressure they had long exerted at St Mary’s.
Forest benefited in part from Southampton’s insistence on playing out from the back. Indeed, against a more effective team, the Saints would have suffered a much heavier defeat.
Forest should have been ahead after 16 minutes. Ola Aina found Chris Wood at the far post but his header was gracefully saved by Alex McCarthy.
The hosts enjoyed plenty of possession in the first half, but repeated turnovers prevented them from gaining momentum.
Nottingham Forest took all three points away to newly promoted Southampton
Gibbs-White pounced when the ball fell kindly to him after his initial header was blocked.
The Nottingham Forest captain converted after the visitors had missed several chances.
Meanwhile, Forest’s chances kept coming. Defender Nikola Milenkovic missed the best of the chances from a metre out, but the score remained level at half-time.
Southampton manager Russell Martin made a tactical change at half-time, moving Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo further forward. As a result, Saints had a better attacking presence, but it was in defence where they found their problems.
Despite a better performance, the inevitable finally happened in the 70th minute.
Southampton manager Russell Martin regretted his side conceding a goal after a “poor set-piece”
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Aribo was dispossessed on the edge of the area by Callum Hudson-Odoi, the striker finding Gibbs-White who converted the second attempt.
“We conceded a goal from a failed set-piece,” Martin said. “We gave them a corner and we had the chance to clear it, but we didn’t.”
“We didn’t play well enough in the first half. I think there was tension in the team because we wanted to make things happen when we got into the final third of the pitch, but we kept losing the ball, which is the worst thing you can do against Forest.”
By the time Southampton started to get the ball up the pitch more quickly, it was too late and Forest claimed their sixth away win since returning to the Premier League.