Wolves boost survival hopes with 2-1 win at Southampton
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Wolves boost survival hopes with 2-1 win at Southampton
SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers beat bottom side Southampton 2-1 at St Mary's on Saturday as the visitors took a giant step towards Premier League survival thanks to a clinical double from Jorgen Strand Larsen.
A nervy victory after Southampton pulled a goal back in the 75th minute moved Wolves, 17th, nine points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich Town who lost 4-2 to Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, Southampton look destined for the drop with the south-coast club still on nine points after 29 games after a ninth straight defeat at home as they walked off to loud boos from the home support.
"We want to play good football. We had moments in the game where we played good football and we had (chances) to score the third goal," Wolves boss Vitor Pereira told the BBC.
"If we had, the last 10 minutes would have been different. In 30 seconds, they scored their first goal. For a team that wants the three points, it was time to suffer together, be compact, defend and get the three points."
Ivan Juric's Southampton started brightly and could have taken the lead in the sixth minute when Yukinari Sugawara crossed the ball into a dangerous area but Kamaldeen Sulemana failed to tap the ball in as Wolves cleared.
The hosts continued to carve open Wolves' defence with some crisp passing but they lacked the finishing touch and it was the away side that opened the scoring against the run of play with their first shot on target.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde floated in a cross towards the penalty spot where Strand Larsen beat his marker and flicked a header past Saints keeper Aaron Ramsdale to find the bottom corner.
Southampton had more opportunities in the first half but failed to find the target and Wolves punished them with their second goal two minutes after the restart.
