Jack Stephens makes strong point after Taylor Harwood-Bellis actions in 2-0 win

Southampton captain Jack Stephens makes strong point after Taylor Harwood-Bellis actions in the 2-0 win over Oxford United.

Southampton were only one goal away from a perfect 3-0 home evening against Oxford United. Nearly every Saints forward impressed in attack, except Tom Fellows who could have done more than just grabbing a Cyle Larin assist.

Maybe Fellows’ chance to shine comes in the playoffs. Southampton fans can atleast dream of this. Further, things were quite smooth in the midfield. The defence was also satisfactory apart from one second half moment.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis mistake against Oxford United

More than one hour had elapsed in the game. Southampton were leading Oxford United 2-0 and had complete control of the ball. Flynn Downes releases a normal back pass to Taylor Harwood-Bellis but what happened next shook the St. Mary’s fanbase.

Oxford United’s striker Will Lankshear was pressing Harwood-Bellis and suddenly, the 23-year-old defender gave away the ball. No other Saints player was behind and Lankshear got a free run at Daniel Peretz’s goal.

Peretz was left bored at the back until that Harwood-Bellis mistake. Fortunately for Southampton, Lankshear missed the target and Tonda Eckert’s men avoided giving Oxford United a way back in the clash.

Yes, the three points were almost sealed at that point but one can’t rule out comebacks in the Championship. Had Oxford United pulled a goal there and scored another one in injury time, Southampton would have paid the price for one defensive mistake with a top 6 miss.

Wrexham claimed a late 2-1 win at Sheffield United. Saints dropping 2 points with an Oxford United draw could have broken the playoffs momentum right before the international break.

Jack Stephens makes strong point after Harwood-Bellis mistake

Taylor Harwood-Bellis is among the more experienced star players in the current Southampton dressing room. He would have apologised for the misplaced pass by now. As a matter of precaution, Jack Stephens has also come forward to put a strong point for the squad.

As quoted by the BBC, Jack Stephens spoke about maintaining defensive solidity: “It’s nice to be solid. We needed Daniel [Peretz] on Wednesday for a few saves but fortunately we didn’t need him today. It was a good solid win today.”

At Norwich City, even Jack Stephens missed a last-minute mistake by nicking the ball that came off the crossbar. Despite that, it’s better to call for an increased sense of composure at the back.

Southampton aren’t the Championship’s best attacking side at the moment but what has led them to pull the 14 game unbeaten streak across all competitions has been a resolute defence on top of scoring 1-2 goals per game.

With each passing year, the Golden Boot numbers keeps dipping down in the Championship. This pattern also stresses on the importance of clean sheets and preventing gifting away easy goals to the opponents as much as possible.

With crucial league games against Wrexham, Derby County and Ipswich Town coming up let’s hope Southampton don’t miss out on valuable points due to a lack of focus at the back.