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Shane Long scored Southamptonâs stoppage time winner against Norwich and the meagre home crowd celebrated wildly â as much in relief that the game was not going to extra time as that their side progressed from the FA Cup third round.
The goal was as scrappy as the game; the striker initially heading Sam McQueenâs cross straight at Norwich goalkeeper Michael McGovern before the ball came back to him and he forced it over the line.
If ever there was an advert for scrapping FA Cup replays it was this match.
âIf Iâm being honest itâs a replay I wouldnât have had,â Norwich manager Alex Neil admitted.
âI wouldâve liked to see the first game played out, extra time or penalties and I think Southampton would say the same.â
Magic of the Cup? On the south coast it was disappearing supporters and the vanishing of any real desire to progress to the fourth round tie awaiting against Arsenal.
With it all went the will to live.
Thus an awkward game of makeshift sides played out and the other half of a usually packed stadium were justified in their decision to stay away.
Southampton manager Claude Puelâs reasoning for their absence was that âit was cold and it was not the Premier Leagueâ.
Southampton closed one of the main St Maryâs stands, as they do for cup games of little interest, and each side made eight changes to their previous game.
The match had an apathetic feel about it and as if to utterly drag the soul out of the occasion, Neil set up with five defenders.
âIt was good management of a difficult game,â Puel said, âthey packed the defence for 90 minutes.â
Josh Sims struck a near post shot from a tight angle on the right. It was saved.
Jay Rodriguez tried from a similar angle on the left a short while later. It was saved.
When the remainder of supporters loudly applauded Jordy Clasieâs long cross into the box which evaded everyone in the 27th minute, it largely summed the first 45 minutes up: Desperate.
An eerie atmosphere hung over proceedings due to the decline in numbers, steadily worsening while the game continued as if the supporters were pondering why they had bothered to make the effort.
That became no clearer in the second half as Norwich seemed to shift from five at the back to a 9-1 formation and anti-football reigned.
They did not have a single shot on target.
Southampton kept the ball and passed it around like they were down the road at their Staplewood training ground.
Finally, eventually â thank God â in the second minute of stoppage time Long managed to get the ball over the line and everyone was put out of their misery.
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