Southampton demonstrate current mentality in Middlesbrough defeat

Russell Martin's former Norwich teammate had just converted a penalty, awarded when Taylor Harwood-Bellis pulled Josh Coburn's shirt, which sent a shockwave of relief around the Riverside Stadium.

Both sides were desperate for a win to end their poor runs of form. In fact, Howson's winner secured a first victory for the hosts and saw Saints lose for the fourth time in a row, and for the first time having taken the lead this season.

Few would have expected such a turnaround after they started the game better than they have done during their recent run of defeats. Shea Charles made countless interventions to snuff out Boro's attacks, while Will Smallbone pulled the strings in midfield.

Saints should have gone ahead on 10 minutes when the Irish international brilliantly set Che Adams in on goal. With Seny Dieng miles off his line, the Scot tried to catch him out with a long-range effort but sent his shot off target.

They continued to control the game as the Riverside crowd grew frustrated with the hosts' inability to retain possession and capitalise on chances before Adam Armstrong put Saints ahead on 17 minutes.

The goal was Armstrong's fifth of the season and Southampton's first in 182 minutes of Championship football. It should have ushered in a higher degree of control for the away side as the home fans grew more frustrated. Instead, Saints appeared to lose confidence and crumbled.

Martin himself was critical of how his side became "passive" after they took the lead. Speaking after the game he said: "When we go 1-0 ahead, the mentality of the entire team totally changes. We didn't keep hold of the ball.

"If you're not going to press you need to look after the ball. We didn't do any of that. That’s ultimately what hurt us. I can't put the game down to one thing. We had the game where we wanted it and the crowd were anxious. 

"We kept stealing the ball and then, somehow, we let the game fall out of our grasp a little bit. Fair play to Michael (Carrick) and his team for staying really brave. We let it slip and you can't do that. That's the time to get a foothold in the game.

"As I said, we didn't keep the ball well enough, we forced it, and when we didn't have the ball, we didn't show the same intensity that we showed in the first 20 minutes. That's a mentality problem, it's not a technical or tactical problem. 

"We didn't work on being in the middle of the pitch and sitting off them. I said to the players at half time that I didn't know what has changed. I think it's a subconscious decision, I don't think it's a conscious one.

"We need to get back to doing what we were doing. We started the second half really well and then we conceded the goal and it hurts again."

As Martin pointed out, they did start the second half with more courage - the halftime words of the manager likely still ringing in their ears and fresh in their minds. But once the mistakes started to creep in they reverted back to type.

Saints threw caution to the wind after Howson's penalty goal as they went in search of an equaliser. That left that at risk at the back. Gavin Bazunu was forced to make a crucial save with his feet to deny Coburn before Riley McGree was denied a second by the post.

"We lost the ball in the middle of the pitch before Taylor (Harwood-Bellis) pulls his shirt, which is frustrating," the former Scotland international continued. "We actually played some really good stuff, but it's pointless when you do that in those moments.

"We are paying for that at the moment. Until the end of the game, we didn't really create a huge amount. It's not for a lack of effort that's for sure. Everyone from the players to the staff are working really hard.

"It's not a quick fix at the club. It's been a tough year, 18 months and there has been a huge hangover from that. Probably bigger than we thought, but we will continue to be all in and give everything that we have got to give the fans a team to be proud of.

"We are going through a really tough period at the minute, maybe more than ever, but I understand the frustration. We have to keep working. It's as simple as that."

It's clear that Southampton need a win to get their season back on track and to heal some of the "scar tissue" which persists from last season. A win against Leeds, who have lost just once this season, would be the perfect remedy to their hangover.