Monday Briefing: February 24th

Saints return to winning ways

Goals from Shane Long and Stuart Armstrong secured a welcome home victory for Southampton over Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Long opened the scoring inside eight minutes with a close-range finish from Moussa Djenepo’s clever cross, before Stuart Armstrong raced on to a fine cross-field pass from Ché Adams to seal the win deep into stoppage time.

It was a fourth home league victory of the season for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team, who moved 10 points clear of the drop zone.

Mixed fortunes for Under-23s

Southampton’s youngsters progressed to the semi-finals of the Hampshire Senior Cup with a 3-1 win over Havant & Waterlooville at AFC Totton’s Snows Stadium.

Kornelius Hansen and Caleb Watts were on target inside the first four minutes, while Ramello Mitchell added a third in the second half before the visitors pulled one back.

Dave Horseman’s side were on the receiving end of a late comeback from Bournemouth in the Premier League Cup on Friday night, as the Cherries struck twice in the closing stages at the Vitality Stadium, after Hansen and Pascal Kpohomouh had given Saints a 2-1 lead.

Under-18s fall to Fulham defeat

Southampton’s youngsters suffered a 3-1 loss to Under-18 Premier League leaders Fulham at Staplewood on Saturday.

Jack Turner continued his fine goalscoring form with a late consolation strike, but the Cottagers were already out of sight.

Jay Stansfield struck a brace for the visitors, while Oliver O’Neill also found the net for the table toppers.

Women exit WNL Cup at Sunderland

Southampton FC Women battled gamely but just came up short in their WNL Cup semi-final at Sunderland.

Saints had their fair share of chances, but the Black Cats booked their place in the final courtesy of a solitary second-half header from Charlotte Potts.

Marieanne Spacey-Cale was full of praise for her side’s effort against higher league opposition in another valuable step in the girls’ development.

UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 heads to Southampton

With less than 500 days to go until UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 kicks off in England, The FA has released the full match schedule – which includes confirmation that St Mary’s will host three matches, including England’s final group stage game on July 16th.

This follows on from the club playing host to the Lionesses’ World Cup qualifying fixture against Wales back in April 2018, which attracted a crowd of over 28,000 women's football fans.

It has also been revealed that England are to play the opening match at Old Trafford on July 7th 2021, with Manchester United’s 74,879-capacity venue offering the host nation the opportunity to break the attendance record for a UEFA Women’s EURO in its opening fixture.

Newcastle and Arsenal games on general sale

Saints’ next two Premier League home matches, against Newcastle and Arsenal, are now on general sale.

After this weekend’s trip to West Ham, Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men welcome the Magpies to St Mary’s on Saturday 7th March (3pm kick-off).

Arsenal are scheduled to provide the opposition on Sunday 22nd March (4.30pm kick-off), but the fixture is subject to the Gunners’ progress in the FA Cup.

Southampton partner with One Water

Southampton Football Club is delighted to welcome One Water as its Official Bottled Water Partner, in an agreement that will both aid the club’s sustainability drive and allow it to support the fight against water poverty.

One Water was launched in 2005 with a clear vision – to sell bottled water in the UK to help fund clean water projects in areas of the world that need it most.

To date, The One Brand has raised in excess of £20m with its charitable arm, The One Foundation, changing the lives of more than 3.8 million people across the globe, with a minimum of 2p being donated from every litre sold.

Saints launch TikTok channel

Southampton Football Club has launched its latest social media channel, on short-form mobile video platform TikTok.

The club’s account, which you can find at tiktok.com/@southamptonfc, went live last week and will showcase a host of entertaining and creative videos.


The channel adds to Saints’ existing social media platforms, with the club recently passing the 5m follower mark across its accounts, and TikTok will now provide a further avenue to showcase its digital creativity and innovation, as well allowing it to reach new audiences.

Easter stadium tour dates announced

Take a look behind the scenes at St Mary's with our popular stadium tours – with dates now confirmed over the Easter holidays.

Our guides will give you an unforgettable tour of areas of St Mary's fans don't get to see on a matchday, including the newly-refurbished changing rooms and the press conference room.

You’ll get a chance to admire the club’s silverware in the trophy cabinet, including the FA Cup and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, as your guide brings the history of both the club and the stadium to life.