Southampton vs Watford report: Shane Long and Dusan Tadic strike to get Ronald Koeman's side back on track

Southampton 2 Watford 0

Southampton's players celebrate Dusan Tadic's goal (Getty)

Watford have probably not been compared to Arsenal very often, but after last night they have something in common with the Premier League leaders: they are the only two teams that Southampton have beaten in the past 11 matches, and that back-handed compliment is the only one that Watford deserve.

They were unrecognisable as the high-energy side of autumn and, but for Southampton’s recent difficulties in scoring goals, they would have suffered a repeat of Arsenal’s four-goal Boxing Day humiliation at the very least.

Saints celebrated, but that failure to take chances that has blighted their results since early November was still in evidence despite this easy victory. Ronald Koeman’s side dominated and deserved far more than Shane Long’s fifth league goal of the season and Dusan Tadic’s fourth, scored two minutes after he had taken the field as a substitute for Sadio Mané.

Until the goalless draw at Vicarage Road in the first meeting between the teams this season, this had been a fixture that guaranteed goals – their previous scoreless encounter had been in 1921, with three a minimum for most of this century.

Southampton striker Shane Long celebrates his first goal (Getty Images)

That total could have been passed by half-time as Southampton controlled a Watford side who reacted to danger far too late as Saints took the lead in the 17th minute. Nobody moved to challenge Matt Targett as he received the ball on the left and measured his cross towards Shane Long, who escaped Miguel Britos and glanced his diving header past Heurelho Gomes.

It was almost 2-0 after 20 minutes as Mané charged at the right side of the Watford defence, sidestepping Sebastian Prödl and then Britos, only for Gomes to fling up a hand and deflect the shot over for a corner. Gomes then came to the rescue again, clawing away Long’s attempt at a lob after Allan Nyom’s attempted clearance had been blocked by Targett.

Fraser Forster, making his first appearance in goal for Southampton since injuring his knee in a collision with Sam Vokes of Burnley in March last year, was a spectator again. Watford made no impression until the 28th minute, when Odion Ighalo, their top scorer, restored to the team after being rested for the FA Cup third-round victory over Newcastle, took on José Fonte down the left. He twisted and turned until he had made enough space for a shot, but found that Ryan Bertrand, in an unfamiliar position on the left of a back three, had sprinted across to block.

That, though, was the most isolated of attacks and Southampton should have doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break as Watford pressed the self-destruct button again. José Manuel Jurado sent a suicidal, blind square pass towards Prödl, but Mané had spotted it all the way and touched the ball past the defender. Now he had only Gomes to beat, but his low shot past the goalkeeper’s right hand was off target and hit the outside of the post.

Gomes was in action again before the interval, forced to push the ball away from Mané when his own throw caught a team-mate by surprise.

And the Watford goalkeeper had more problems in the opening minutes of the second half when he collided with Mané and required a lengthy spell of treatment. In front of him, his team-mates were still as lethargic as the home side were lively, and Long and Mané might each have scored before Tadic ran on to a flick by Steven Davis in the 73rd minute, ambled past Ikechi Anya, worked the ball onto his left foot and rolled it under Gomes’ right hand. It looked so easy that you wondered why nobody had done it before.