Southampton vs Bristol City. Sky Bet Championship.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance28,047.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Southampton vs Bristol City at St Mary's on Wednesday | Kyle Walker-Peters' brilliant curling strike sees Russell Martin's men take all three points
Wednesday 29 November 2023 23:11, UK
Kyle Walker-Peters' stunning strike sent promotion-chasing Southampton to a 1-0 victory over Bristol City and extended their unbeaten Sky Bet Championship run to 10 matches.
Right-back Walker-Peters rifled in the winner from the edge of the box just after half-time.
It condemned Robins boss Liam Manning to his first defeat since replacing Nigel Pearson and saw Saints keep their first home clean sheet since March 4 - thanks partly to two stunning pieces of keeping from Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton spent the majority of the first half attempting to break down two well-disciplined banks of City players.
But found a few moments to warm a heavy-coat-clad St Mary's crowd.
Kamaldeen Sulemana was the biggest threat with his burst of pace down the left but his finish in the seventh minute lacked the ferocity to beat goalkeeper Max O'Leary.
Top scorer Adam Armstrong had a shot blocked before curling over, while Tommy Conway headed over when unmarked at a corner at the other end.
The first time O'Leary was tested wasn't until the 28th minute when Stuart Armstrong skidded a powerful shot at him. The initial effort was fumbled but the keeper quickly gathered.
City, who had mainly threatened on the break, had the best two chances of the first half but found Bazunu at his best in the Saints goal.
Firstly, the Ireland keeper brilliantly clawed Mark Sykes' close-range header off the line before quickly coming off his line and diving at the feet of Conway in a one-versus-one.
Che Adams sliced a shot wide for the misfiring hosts but the fans saved their half-time ire for referee Keith Stroud having felt unfavoured by his decisions.
Saints have gathered a reputation of being slow after the interval but bucked that trend by scoring 109 seconds into the second half.
Adam Armstrong looked like he had run down a cul-de-sac but wriggled back down the right side of the box to find Walker-Peters. The right-back took the ball inside before curling into the top corner with his left foot for his second goal of the season.
Saints pushed for a second. Adam Armstrong bullied his way to a chance in the City box before Carlos Alcaraz bent wide in the 59th minute.
The same two attackers caused issues again seven minutes later, with O'Leary twice getting down low to keep his side in the match.
City thought they should have been awarded a penalty late on but Stroud disagreed that Taylor Harwood-Bellis had handled when sliding to block a cross.
Southampton's Russell Martin:
"It can't just be lucky for 10 games. One game, two games even four games you can be a bit lucky but 10 games isn't lucky. I am happy, I might not seem it as you always want more, but I am happy. We had two scary moments but were dominant without having any purpose with the ball but the second half was amazing.
"We just need to score more goals and we should have done tonight. I know the expectation here is to win and beat everyone by four goals, I want to as well, and tonight if we get a second then the game changes completely but we can't do that at the moment for one reason or another. It took a brilliant goal to win but it shouldn't have to, we should have
scored more."
Bristol City's Liam Manning:
"I thought in the first half the game plan worked and we frustrated them while still playing. We created some terrific opportunities and we needed to take them. It was a poor start to the second half, with in two minutes the ball in in our net. We'll lose games but I can't complain about my players. They gave everything.
"Momentum is big in football. We knew first five minutes they would come out and have a right go and we needed to see through that phase. We have lost to a moment of high quality so there are mixed emotions for me at the moment."
