Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Southampton and Birmingham City at St Mary’s on Saturday | Goals from Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Carlos Alcaraz and Adam Armstrong seal victory for Russell Martin’s side
Southampton defeated Birmingham 3-1 at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon, ensuring that Wayne Rooney’s quest for his first point as Birmingham manager will go on for another week.
With twenty-one minutes remaining, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Carlos Alcaraz gave Saints a 2-0 lead. However, referee David Webb, perhaps unjustly, waved away penalty appeals from the visitors, even though Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had collided with Oliver Burke’s back in the box.
After Jay Stansfield’s goal shortly after his second-half introduction, Rooney’s Blues managed to cut the deficit. However, with no chance of an immediate equalizer, Adam Armstrong’s low shot sealed a convincing victory at home.
Following their fourth league victory in six games, Southampton moves up to fourth in the Championship table, while Birmingham, who held a play-off spot less than three weeks ago, drops to 13th.
Following his team’s humiliation at the hands of Hull on Wednesday, Rooney appealed for patience as he put his style of play into practice. The travelling supporters responded with a boisterous reception at St Mary’s. However, they were soon cut off.
The first half saw Southampton look well-practiced, and they deservedly took the lead when Harwood-Bellis got above his defender to head Armstrong’s deftly clipped cross past John Ruddy. Although there was a strong indication of offside, the goal was still declared.
After just over ten minutes, it was 2-0 thanks to a masterfully executed move that released Kamaldeen Sulemana on the left. His low ball was deflected into Alcaraz’s path, who finished at the back post with ease.
Just before the half-hour mark, Saints goalkeeper Bazunu clumsily clattered into Burke, depriving Birmingham of what appeared to be a clear penalty. But referee David Webb made the snap decision not to give a spot-kick, which could have fundamentally altered the course of the match.
Early in the second half, Armstrong’s diving header after a tease from Kyle Walker-Peters crossed nearly put the score at three, but shortly before the hour, Stansfield, who had just entered the game, outmuscled his marker from a long ball forward and fired expertly past Bazunu.
