| When Does The Panic Button Get Pressed ? | There are many who damned Mauricio Pellegrino five months ago, there are some that where prepared to give him little … 10-03-2018 |
It was all over after half an hour, as Kenedy netted a brace, before Matt Ritchie put polish on Newcastle’s win with a finish from the edge of the box on 57 minutes.
Freelance photographer James Williams was at St James’ Park to capture all of the action between Newcastle and Southampton in the Premier League - so be sure to check out the pictures above.
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino apologised to the club’s fans following his side’s 3-0 defeat at Newcastle, saying their performance did not represent the values of the club.
Pellegrino’s side were behind after just 63 seconds at St James’ Park after Kenedy’s opener and the Brazilian scored his second in the 29th minute, rounding off a Newcastle counter-attack following a Southampton corner.
Matt Ritchie completed the scoring as Southampton slipped to 17th in the league and Pellegrino said his side paid the price for a lack of focus.
“We are disappointed because from the first minute we were not focused,” Pellegrino told Sky Sports.
"We made this mistake and paid the price for the rest of the game. At this level you cannot start in this way because we missed an amazing chance to try to improve.
"I haven’t seen my team compete in this way this season without the spirit you need to compete at this level. Sometimes you can play badly, sometimes you can make mistakes but you have to react.
“We have to say sorry to our fans because we didn’t represent the values of the club. In this situation we have to react as quickly as we can.”
Defeat leaves Southampton perilously close to the drop zone with eight games remaining and Pellegrino wants his side to react quickly.
“We need to change our spirit,” he said. "There are eight games to go and we are still alive.
"When you lose everything looks worse than it is. It looks very difficult now but in a week we’ve got another game in the FA Cup and we have to show our best to change our spirit on the pitch.
"The attitude is everything, he added. “Without the right attitude, it’s difficult to compete.”
Finally, Pellegrino reiterated his apology to the fans and targeted victory on Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Wigan.
He said: "To our fans we have to say sorry. We couldn’t show what we can do on the pitch.
“We’ve now got another possibility next week and hopefully we can give them a good game that they can enjoy.”
Kenedy repaid his loan fee in a single afternoon as he claimed a double in Newcastle’s priceless 3-0 Premier League win over Southampton.
The on-loan Chelsea midfielder struck after just 63 seconds and then again with 29 minutes gone to pave the way for a vital victory before Matt Ritchie completed the job 12 minutes into the second half.
With his side not playing again until Huddersfield head for St James’ Park in three weeks’ time, manager Rafael Benitez knew they simply could not afford to pass up the opportunity to claim three points towards their survival target, and his players did not disappoint in front of a crowd of 52,246.
They will embark for a four-day training camp in Spain next week knowing they need eight more from as many games to hit Benitez’s target of 40 points for survival.
By contrast, the Saints will head into their FA Cup quarter-final at Wigan next weekend in real peril on their return to league action.
Hit play on the video link above to watch the match highlights.
Mauricio Pellegrino has accused Southampton players of giving up the fight.
The Saints boss issued an apology to the club’s fans for the surrender at St James’ Park. They have won only once in 17 games, and a ressurgent Newcastle destroyed them with a dominant performance.
Two goals from Kenedy boosted the Geordies’ own survival hopes. The contrast in moods post-game was vast.
Toon boss Rafa Benitez said United “had to win” this game, and showed “commitment” and slick finishing. “Everything was perfect,” he added.
But Pellegrino was jeered by away fans and is clinging to his job.
He said: “I observed for some players who gave up.
“I must apologise to our supporters because we did not represent the club well enough. I never observed the team with the right mentality to compete at this level.
“We are very disappointed. The first goal had a massive impact for the team. We couldn’t fight back. We made a silly mistake. We conceded another. We never were on the pitch with the right attitude.
“You can lose or play bad, but you have to show another face on the pitch.
“To organise and create a spirit. You can have good players, and a budget, but without spirit you can’t compete at this level. At this level, we have to compete with a different attitude. We are still alive. Eight games to go. My players realise quickly. They are intelligent.” It took Newcastle just 63 seconds to go ahead with a brilliant direct attack.
Jonjo Shelvey, recalled after injury, flipped a great high ball to the edge of the box.
On-loan Chelsea winger Kenedy took it on his chest and spun in one movement around Cedric Soares, then guided his shot past Alex McCarthy.
United were two up by the 28th minute. Mario Lemina slipped and failed to connect with a shot 18 yards out, and Ayoze Perez raced 60 yards with the ball and slipped it to Dwight Gayle.
The striker sensed Kenedy free on the far post and unselfishly passed rather than shooting, to present the Brazilian with his second goal.
A week ago Newcastle threw away a two-goal lead at Bournemouth after sitting back too deep. Southampton threw men forward to chase the game after the break leaving the home side to find space in attack. The third goal came after 55 minutes, when Shelvey toyed with the hapless Saints back four shaping to shoot three times before slipping to Matt Ritchie.
The Scotland international broke his duck for the season recently against Manchester United, and passed the ball into the net from 18 yards to seal it.
There were some top performances in the Newcastle ranks. Mo Diame was immense snapping and bullying the midfield.
Shelvey ran the game in a more positive way, and Perez was elusive. This was Newcastle’s last game for 21 days, a frustration for Benitez, who has arranged a training trip and friendly to Spain next weekend.
The chance to climb away from the drop zone was taken, and there’s another one on March 31 against Huddersfield.
Benitez said: “We needed to start with intensity. We pushed and we were aggressive. The commitment and workrate of the players was fantastic. We played good counter-attack and we were strong.
“Kenedy is a different type of player. He is comfortable on the ball, left-footed, with good delivery and passes. He is young, improving and can grow and be a much better player. We’re happy to have him playing with us.
“The second goal was enjoyable. We had counter-attacks when we were anxious. We finished this one well.
“Am I relieved? No, not really. We just had to keep doing well. I also wanted the clean sheet and for us not to lose concentration. Shelvey was desperate to play and credit to him.
Another player might not have pushed so hard to play. He has quality and has commitment.
“I’ve seen the table. It’s not a big difference for me. Now we’ve three weeks to Huddersfield. We have to win a few more games.”
Kenedy opened the scoring inside 63 seconds and doubled his tally before half-time, while Matt Ritchie added a third just shy of the hour to kill the game.
Pellegrino admitted his team were well below par, but insists Saints are “still alive” with eight games remaining to preserve the club’s Premier League’s status.
“I would like to say sorry to our fans, because we couldn’t show the value of the club,” he said.
“We couldn’t represent our club at this level, but we have eight games to go and we are still alive.
“We are still in a position that we can change to save the season. We’ve got the FA Cup now and we’ve got three weeks to prepare for the next Premier League game.
“When you are in a difficult situation you have to be together, you need togetherness in the club.
“In football, it is like this. It’s really sad when you don’t get positive results and everybody looks worse than they are.
“This is part of our life, but we have to keep going.”
Speaking in the aftermath of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United at St James’ Park, the Dane believes that a Southampton recovery has to begin immediately at Staplewood Campus.
“Now the emotions are running high but when training starts again on Monday, we need to be on it and focus on the next target,” he said. “The next ball, the next exercise; do it all to get the win in the next game, that’s the only thing that counts.”
And, with eight Premier League fixtures remaining, Saints cannot afford to look further ahead than one game at a time.
“Every game right now is crucial, with eight league games to go, they are all finals," he said. "The last many games were finals too and we haven’t got the results we wanted.”
“We will do everything we can; I have said it before that the club cannot go down, we have to stay up.
“We have to be in the Premier League because that is what we are but the reality speaks for itself and we can’t hide. We can’t get around it. There is nothing for it, we have to show the desire to survive and anything less won’t be enough.”
| 
| 
| 