Daily Echo: Click here for more pictures, banner

 

Saints let a two goal lead slip as they drew 2-2 against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the first game of the post-Nicola Cortese era.

After a week where Saints had been in the headlines for the resignation of their executive chairman and the appointment of club owner Katharina Liebherr to the board they had complete and utter domination of the majority of the game against the Black Cats and could have had it easily sewn up by half time.

They paid the price for failing to do that as goals from Jay Rodriguez and Dejan Lovren were cancelled out by strikes from Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson as it ended all square.

To make things worse both Gaston Ramirez and Lovren were stretchered off towards the end with very serious looking ankle injuries.

Sunderland went into the game brimming with confidence after the 4-1 victory at Fulham and anticipating Wednesday night's Capital One Cup semi-final, second leg trip to Manchester United.

But to Poyet's horror, what unfolded during the opening 45 minutes was the antithesis of what he had seen at Craven Cottage as slick Southampton out-thought, out-muscled and out-played his side.

Daily Echo:

 

With Jack Cork anchoring the midfield, Steven Davis, Morgan Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana had the freedom to exploit the space between the red and white lines, and the visitors threatened to run riot.

They took the lead when Rodriguez made the most of Marcos Alonso's failure to clear his lines, teeing himself up to fire firmly into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with goalkeeper Vito Mannone helpless.

It could have been 2-0 with 18 minutes gone when Johnson deflected Luke Shaw's cross on to the post with Mannone wrong-footed, and Lambert wasted a glorious opportunity three minutes later when he shot across the face of goal from Schneiderlin's pass.

Daily Echo:

Rodriguez should have doubled his tally with 29 minutes played when Rickie Lambert robbed Wes Brown after the defender took a poor first touch and fed him, but he shot tamely at Mannone.

But the keeper was beaten again two minutes later when central defender Lovren met Davis' corner ahead of Brown and volleyed home.

However, seconds later Johnson crossed from the right for Borini to control and scuff a shot past keeper Artur Boruc, who got a hand to the ball, but could not keep it out.

The Saints continued with their progressive approach in the second half and Davis fired over from distance full-back Shaw was allowed to run from his own half and thump a shot into Mannone's midriff.

Daily Echo:

Fellow defender Calum Chambers called up Mannone once again with a speculative 55th-minute effort, and the Italian needed two attempts to collect Rodriguez's effort seconds later after Schneiderlin and Lallana had capitalised on Brown's wayward pass.

The keeper denied Lovren and Shaw again within seconds as the hour-mark arrived, and he was relieved to see Rodriguez fire into the side-netting under pressure from Phil Bardsley after Lallana and Lambert had combined.

Daily Echo:

Borini thought he had levelled after being played in by substitute Craig Gardner with 64 minutes gone, but he did so from an offside position and the strike was correctly chalked off.

But they were not to be denied and Gardner was the provider once again with 19 minutes remaining when he fed Johnson on the right and saw him smash a rising shot past Boruc's less than effective defences and into the roof of the net.

The Poland international saved from Gardner and fellow substitute Steven Fletcher in quick succession as Sunderland went for broke, and it was the Saints who were more grateful to hear the final whistle after having substitute Ramirez and Lovren carried off within seconds of each other.