Joe Aribo was the matchwinner for Southampton on Saturday as he scored a stoppage-time goal to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory over 10-man Birmingham City in a Championship encounter.
The Saints trailed early in the game as Koji Miyoshi put the hosts ahead in the second minute. However, they responded swiftly, with Adam Armstrong equalizing in the 18th minute. Birmingham regained the lead before halftime through Jay Stansfield’s strike in the 41st minute.
The second half saw Southampton take control, scoring in succession through David Brooks and Che Adams within four minutes to turn the game around. Birmingham’s hopes of a comeback were further dented when Dion Sanderson received a red card in the 62nd minute.
However, the Blues refused to give up and pulled one back against the run of play in the 77th minute thanks to Juninho Bacuna’s goal. Just when it seemed the spoils would be shared, Aribo, who came on as a substitute in the 70th minute, popped up in the 96th minute to snatch all three points for the Saints with a last-gasp winner.
This result sees the Saints climb the table, moving within eight points of leaders Leicester City, who surprisingly lost at home to Queens Park Rangers. Southampton are now just three points behind third-placed Leeds United and five behind second-placed Ipswich Town.
Despite conceding three goals, Southampton manager Russell Martin expressed satisfaction with the team’s character and fighting spirit.
In the English Premier League on Saturday, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey both starred in Fulham’s impressive 3-0 win over Brighton.
Though neither scored as they did against Manchester United, they were crucial contributors to their team’s continued climb up the EPL table.
Harry Wilson opened the scoring for Fulham in the 21st minute and later turned provider for Rodrigo Muniz to double the lead.
Adama Traore added a late goal to seal the win, leaving Brighton languishing in ninth place after a disappointing performance.
While the Fulham duo enjoyed successive wins in the EPL with Fulham, it wasn’t the same story for Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina at Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees seemed destined for a point against Liverpool, but a late winner from Darwin Nunez snatched all three points for the Merseyside giants, solidifying their title aspirations.
Forest felt aggrieved after a potential penalty shout against Joe Gomez went unanswered.
Elsewhere, Frank Onyeka was impressive for Brentford who were held to a 2-2 draw by a struggling Chelsea.
The Blues squandered a lead after Nicholas Jackson put them ahead before goals from with Mads Roerslev and Yoane Wissa gave the Bees a 2-1 lead.
Axel Disasi late header secured a point for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
