WHAT HAPPENED
Our under-23s slipped to a frustrating 2-2 draw against Southampton in the Premier League 2 on Friday night.
Miguel Azeez made his return from injury and Kido Taylor-Hart delivered a promising attacking performance, but it wasn’t enough as we surrendered a two-goal lead on the road.
We made a fast start at Testwood Stadium and opened the scoring after just 11 minutes, with Joel Lopez winning a penalty and Nikolaj Moller duly converting from the spot.
The 18-year-old striker has now scored five goals in just 13 Premier League 2 appearances this season.
We continued to dominate play and just moments before the half-hour mark, Taylor-Hart doubled our advantage with a simple finish from close range. Azeez’s whipped corner delivery caused chaos inside the Southampton penalty area, and our No 10 was the first to react.
Steve Bould’s side looked set to end their five-game winless run in the PL2, but with a moment of magic from Will Ferry, who fired into the top corner from the edge of the area, Southampton reduced the deficit and pushed on in search of an equaliser.
We made a number of tactical changes in a bid to protect our lead, with Tim Akinola replacing Catalin Cirjan in midfield, but with less than 10 minutes remaining, Lucas Defise charged into the area and Reiss Nelson was adjudged to have fouled him.
Ferry stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, leaving us with a share of the spoils.
WHAT IT MEANS
WHAT’S NEXT
Up next, we will face Blackburn on Friday, March 12.
The game will take place at Meadow Park with kick-off 7pm (UK time).
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