On Tuesday evening Southampton’s 2018/19 season got a little bit better as we took a 1-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion to book our place in the third round of the EFL Cup.
Heading to the Amex Stadium for the second round tie, Southampton dominated the telling statistics but the game looked to be heading for penalties as neither side could make the most of their attempts on target.
With two minutes remaining in regulation time, Charlie Austin took his chance to score the decisive goal and with victory secured fans could seek the positives from a largely changed lineup as manager Mark Hughes gave others an opportunity to impress.
Youngster Sam Gallagher was incredibly impressive as he came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining in the game as he replaced Oriol Romeu, and short showing received plenty of plaudits on social media following the fulltime whistle.
I thought he did well in the limited time he was given
— lan costar (@kingsland974) August 28, 2018
Missed about 3 in 5 minutes, set Austin up with a really good chance that he missed but overall decent
— Elyounoussi (@RahilMajid) August 28, 2018
Absolutely immense changed the whole game!!!!
— _Brown5_ (@brownie_5) August 28, 2018
Also love seeing Gallagher play for #SaintsFC, so much promise i think! Give him a chance ????✔✔ #SaintsFC
— DannyFord1 (@SaintDan9) August 28, 2018
Need to play 2 up top. With just 1 the striker is isolated and the midfield doesn’t contribute with enough goals. Gallagher looked lively and we now have a fair few strikers to choose from. I hope he gets more of a chance. #SaintsFC
— Nathan Newington (@newington13) August 28, 2018
Made a nuisance of himself like Long but with a bit more end product like setting up Austin! He has a point to prove – looks a better impact option than Long & Gabbi for me atm- certainly worth persevering with!
— Philip Binns (@Binnsphilip) August 29, 2018
I wish we gave Sam Gallagher more of a chance! ????????♂️ he’s got all the attributes. #saintsfc
— Sam Khan (@Khandot1Sam) August 28, 2018
With some speculation still linking him with another loan move away from St Mary’s this summer a number of fans hope he gets a proper chance with us first this time.
