Pellegrino pleased with Southampton recovery

Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino was pleased with the reaction of his side in the second half as they rescued a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Despite enjoying early possession, the Saints were soon on the back foot against their south-coast rivals and found themselves behind at half-time.

A mistake from Wesley Hoedt gifted the Cherries the lead, the defender robbed by Joshua King before Ryan Fraser pounced for his first Premier League goal since January.

Southampton posed much more of a threat after the restart and were level when Charlie Austin lashed home his third goal in as many games.

The striker could have won it in the final 10 minutes but he failed to test Asmir Begovic from Ryan Bertrand’s pinpoint delivery, his header sailing over the bar.

81: Nearly a second for @chazaustin10, but his header from @ryanbertrand3‘s cross flashes inches over. #saintsfc (1-1) pic.twitter.com/QxiHCgvJt9

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 3, 2017

“I think it was a fair result, it was a really tight game, both teams wanted to win the game,” Pellegrino told BBC Sport.

“It was a nice derby. Obviously at the end of the first half they were a bit better than us after scoring but our reaction was really positive and for me it was a nice game.”

Bertrand felt the recovery was a sign of the progression being made by the Saints, while Austin labelled it an important point heading into a congested schedule.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the striker said: “Going in at half-time 1-0 down we were not good enough in the first half, but we stepped up in the second and looked like we were going to nick it.

“Instead it’s a point away from home going into a big December.”

Bertrand added: “We can’t afford to start that slow against Bournemouth, but in the second half we looked the better team.

“We had an up and down start to the season, but have managed to fix that with some consistency now.”