Another really good result - delighted we were able to get through whilst not pushing VVD, Konate, Diaz and MacAllister through another gruelling 90 mins.
Southampton were really good first 30mins - they probably deserved to get ahead in the game but Kelleher came up clutch again with some good saves. Despite being heavily rotated themselves, you could see they were well coached and had a plan, and I thought we really struggled to get to grips with them. But once we scored the goal I thought we were quite comfortable.
Delighted for Koumas to get his goal and Danns to get 2 - he took both of those really, really well. Composure and instinct very evident with those finishes. Clark and McConnell did well again, put in the hard work and legs in which built a good foundation for the win.
Thought Konate was absolutely brilliant when he came on, and Quansah was solid. Tsimikas, VVD and Elliot had decent games too. But special shout for Gomez - to drop in and play the 6, he got better as the game went on IMO. He has been so important for the last few months.
It's hard not to be proud of the younger players and the squad but the longer this goes on (the bare bones), the more risk we expose ourselves too. And the risk here is results and injuries.
These players who have come in, especially the debutants/U23s, are coming in to a pretty decent environment to be fair. They aren't being asked to come into a side who are struggling, or who have stopped playing for the manager. They are coming into a squad who are settled and have a ton of feel good factor. They're also top of the league. So they are given a bit of a headstart straight away. Fair play to them all, they have slotted in perfectly and they will definitely get more mins this season even if the injury issues ease up. But I do want to start seeing some of these bigger players coming back now.
Was disappointed not to see Nunez, Salah or Szobo on the bench to be honest. Suggests they are struggling more than we are letting on, which terrifies me.
Hard tie next round but no point thinking about it until it comes round - a lot can happen between now and then with 2 big league fixtures and a 2-legged EL tie. It could either be very important or less important depending on how those games go.