- Long, Tadic grab goals
- Watford winless in four
- Mane spurns multiple chances
Southampton beat Watford 2-0 at St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday with goals from Shane Long and Dusan Tadic doing the damage.
Saints dominated the game from start to finish against a Hornets side who are now winless in four, as Quique Sanchez Flores’ team failed to show up.
With the victory Ronald Koeman’s men move on to 27 points, while Watford stay on 29.
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Southampton started the brighter of the two teams and opened the scoring after 19 minutes when Matt Targett’s whipped cross from the left flank found Long and the Irish international flicked home a header into the far corner. 1-0 to Saints.
Targett then had a shot from distance deflected just wide as Saints pushed for the second before half time, with Long always causing problems in-behind with his pace and the home side sending in plenty of high balls to trouble Heurelho Gomes in the swirling rain at St Mary’s.
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Sadio Mane had a glorious chance to put Saints 2-0 up just before half time as he stole the ball and went one-on-one with Gomes but his low shot clipped the outside of the post and went wide. A gilt-edged chance spurned by the Senegalese forward.
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In the second half Mane broke free again but his back heel couldn’t find Long and Watford grew into the game as the final stages arrived.
Oriol Romeu forced Gomes into a smart stop as Southampton looked to seal the win, with Virgil van Dijk’s header finding Mane but he hit his shot into the side-netting and the latter then drilled another effort just wide with Saints piling forward for a second.
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Eventually the killer second goal arrived as sub Tadic took two minutes to get onto the scoresheet as he latched onto a through ball and slotted past Gomes. 2-0. Game over.