SOUTHAMPTON. Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle to win 2-1. A goal from R. Hardie was decisive in the 90min. All goals were scored in the second half. It was Southampton to strike first with a goal of Carlos Alcaraz at the 56′. Then Ché Adams scored again for Southampton in the 63′ minute. Eventually, Ryan Hardie reduced the distance for Plymouth Argyle (90′). Finally, that was it, and the result remained 2-1. Southampton was unquestionably superior in terms of ball possession (78%) and that was among the factors of its victory.
The match was played at the St. Mary’s Stadium stadium in Southampton on Friday and it started at 6:00 pm local time. In front of 30,559 spectators. The referee was James Linington who had the assistance of Andrew Fox and Alex James. The 4th official was Samuel Allison. The weather was few clouds. The temperature was cold at 10.75 degrees Celsius or 51.35 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 87%.
Match Statistics
- ! 78 Ball Possession 22
Shots
- 26 Total 8
- 7 On Target 1
- 10 Off Target 4
- 11 Shots blocked 3
- 155 Attack 42
- 85 Dangerous attack 19
- 112 Ball safe 70
- 0 Penalties 0
- 9 Corners 3
- 4 Off Sides 3
Fouls
- 8 Total 7
- 3 Yellow Cards 2
- 0 Double Yellow 0
- 0 Red Card 0
Other
- 5 Substitutions 5
Ball possession
Southampton had a strong ball possession 78% while Plymouth Argyle was struggling with a 22% ball possession.
Attitude and shots
Southampton had a more offensive attitude with 85 dangerous attacks and 26 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Southampton won the match.
Southampton shot 26 times, 7 on target, 10 off target. Regarding the opposition, Plymouth Argyle shot 8 times, 1 on target, 4 off target.
Cards
Southampton received 3 yellow cards (Ryan Manning, Carlos Alcaraz and Will Smallbone). On the opposite side, Plymouth Argyle received 2 yellow cards (Bali Mumba and Joe Edwards).
Match Timeline
Standings
After playing this match, Southampton has 51 points to hold in the 3rd place. Regarding the opposition, Plymouth Argyle will stays with 28 points like Stoke City and Birmingham City to sit in the 18th place.
Next matches
In the next match in the Championship, Southampton will play away against Norwich City on the 1st of January with a 11-6 head to head stats in favor of Southampton (6 draws).
Plymouth Argyle will host Watford on the 1st of January with a 3-3 head to head stats.
Southampton – Formation
Southampton
44'
82'
63'
Southampton started with a christmas tree line-up (4-3-2-1).
The manager Russell Martin decided to play with the following team: Flynn Downes, Gavin Bazunu , Kyle Walker-Peters , Taylor Harwood-Bellis , Jan Bednarek , Ryan Manning , Will Smallbone , Shea Charles , Carlos Alcaraz , Adam Armstrong , Samuel Edozie and Ché Adams .
The home team had on the bench: Joe Aribo , Ryan Fraser , Jack Stephens , Mason Holgate, Joe Lumley, Stuart Armstrong , Sékou Mara , Samuel Amo-Ameyaw and Tyler Dibling.
Substitutions
Southampton made 5 changes: Will Smallbone for Stuart Armstrong (68′), Carlos Alcaraz for Joe Aribo (68′), Ché Adams for Ryan Fraser (68′), Adam Armstrong for Jack Stephens (82′) and Samuel Edozie for Sékou Mara (75′).
Player of the match: Taylor Harwood-Bellis
The player that probably impressed the most for Southampton was Taylor Harwood-Bellis even if he didn’t score any goal.
His rating is with 134 passes (97% accurate) and 2 key passes. He won 2 duels out of 4. He hit the woodwork once times.
Plymouth Argyle – Formation
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle started with a 5-4-1 line-up (5-4-1).
Neil Dewsnip played with: Conor Hazard , Joe Edwards , Julio Pleguezuelo , Lewis Gibson , Brendan Galloway , Bali Mumba , Morgan Whittaker , Jordan Houghton , Adam Randell , Finn Azaz , Ben Waine .
The following players were sitting on the bench: Luke Cundle , Kaine Kesler, Dan Scarr , Matt Butcher, Ryan Hardie , Callum Wright, Mickel Miller , Mustapha Bundu and Callum Burton.
Plymouth Argyle could not rely on the presence of Dan Scarr (injured).
Substitutions
Plymouth Argyle made 5 changes: Finn Azaz for Mustapha Bundu (78′), Ben Waine for Ryan Hardie (46′), Bali Mumba for Mickel Miller (65′), Jordan Houghton for Luke Cundle (66′) and Julio Pleguezuelo for Dan Scarr (71′).
Player of the match: Conor Hazard
As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Plymouth Argyle was the goalkeeper: Conor Hazard. His rating is 8.06. He performed 7 saves.
Results of the day
These are the results of the day in the Championship.
- West Bromwich Albion – Leeds United – 1-0
- Watford – Stoke City – 1-1
- Southampton – Plymouth Argyle – 2-1
- Rotherham United – Sunderland – 1-1
- Preston North End – Sheffield Wednesday – 0-1
- Millwall – Norwich City – 1-0
- Ipswich Town – Queens Park Rangers – 0-0
- Hull City – Blackburn Rovers – 3-2
- Huddersfield Town – Middlesbrough – 1-2
- Coventry City – Swansea City – 2-2
- Cardiff City – Leicester City – 0-2
- Birmingham City – Bristol City – 0-0
