Southampton 2 Bournemouth 0
Southampton's status as the south coast's footballing citadel shows no sign of being relinquished any time soon. This rarely-contested derby failed to produce a ding-dong worthy of the name, Ronald Koeman's team controlling the first half and managing the second well enough to ensure that superbly-worked goals by Steven Davis and Graziano Pellè shortly after the half-hour were enough for a deserved win.
It did not take long for this game to settle and Southampton created three opportunities within a quarter of an hour. First Pellè saw an angled shot deflected on to the roof of the net by Simon Francis; then Sadio Mané came even closer, his 15-yard effort flicking Sylvain Distin’s shin and falling wide. Mané should have converted the third chance, volleying over when well positioned after Pellè, hanging in the air to nod down, created the chance.
Southampton’s dominance was total and their opening goal inevitable. Jordy Clasie’s pass was backheeled by Pellè into the path of the left-back Ryan Bertrand, whose first-time centre gave Davis an unmissable opportunity from six yards.
It was a slick, rat-a-tat of a move and there was plenty to admire, too, about the second goal four minutes later. This time Dusan Tadic was the creator, tying the Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith in knots and standing up a cross from the left byline. Pellè had spent 35 minutes bullying Distin and Francis and was not going to hold back now; this time he beat the former with ease and powered a header past Adam Federici.
Eddie Howe introduced Junior Stanislas and Joshua King at half-time, but Southampton simply dropped a few yards further back to negate their pace. For all Bournemouth's extra territory, a late shot by another substitute, Lee Tomlin, that Maarten Stekelenburg parried was the closest they came to a consolation. By then, Victor Wanyama had received his second yellow card after fouling Tomlin, but Southampton had long since got the job done.
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