Aribo: Southampton punished for mistakes against Everton
Joe Aribo admitted that Southampton paid dearly for their errors and missed chances in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Everton.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Nigeria international opened the scoring for the Saints in the 49th minute after a goalless first half at the St. Mary’s Stadium. Even at their advantage, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men ended up on the losing side after letting the Toffees claw back courtesy of quickfire from Conor Coady and Dwight McNeil. Southampton have now lost their last three league outing to the anguish of Aribo.
WHAT HE SAID: Aribo told the Southampton website: “The boys are really disappointed. Going a goal ahead, it’s really frustrating to concede so soon, and the boys are disappointed because we wanted to get a result today and that wasn’t the case. I was thinking about it earlier today, that we’ve been coming from behind, so to get a goal ahead was a good feeling.
“To concede so soon is bitterly frustrating, and me and the boys were really not happy about it. We need to go back to the drawing board, focus and learn from our mistakes.
“That’s the Premier League. Sometimes if you don’t take your chances, you get punished – that’s the game. If you make mistakes, you get punished also.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Southampton are heading for the relegation waters following their third league defeat on a bounce. Uninspiringly, the Saints have dropped 92 points from winning positions in the Premier League under manager Hasenhuttl, more than 20 more than any other side since his first game in charge.
ALL EYES ON: Notwithstanding the Saints’ poor form, Aribo continues to justify his move from Scottish Premiership outfit Rangers. More of this kind of performance could earn him a recall for this month’s friendly against Portugal in Lisbon.
DID YOU KNOW? There were just four minutes and 39 seconds between Joe Aribo putting Southampton 1-0 up, and both Conor Coady and Dwight McNeil scored to give Everton the lead.
WHAT NEXT FOR ARIBO? He will anchor Southampton’s midfield as the Saints aim to return to winning ways at Manchester City on October 8.