Bertrand: We need to show more maturity

The defender, who fired Saints in front on his 150th appearance for the club, felt his side were deserving of victory – never mind a point – until the 77th minute dismissal of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

Bertrand recognised that a defining moment, but insists Saints must be stronger and more mature as a team.

“It’s very tough to take,” said the skipper, whose second-half opener was instantly cancelled out by Demarai Gray.

“From the performance, there are positives to take. We addressed the situations we needed to from the previous games – we managed to start sharp, right on top of the game and controlling the game. That was the main focus and what we’ve been working on.

“We did that today, and came out in the second half with a bright start, but then we conceded a sloppy goal when we were most vulnerable. 

“We need to show more maturity as a team and be more on our toes after we score, because that’s when you’re most vulnerable – we should all know that.

“We thoroughly deserved to win right up until the sending off, which probably changed the game, but you can’t come away with a loss.

“You can’t make the excuse that it’s late in the game – you have to stick in there and do what you need to do to get a point at least.”