Southampton midfielder Flynn Downes has claimed that it is ‘absolutely mental’ that the players were booed off by supporters following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Rotherham United at the weekend.
The Saints managed to silence any doubters with two consecutive wins over Stoke City and Leeds United and were hoping to follow these results up with a comfortable three points against the Millers on Saturday.
Things couldn’t have started better for Russell Martin’s side as Stuart Armstrong fired the hosts into the lead within 120 seconds. However, with fifteen minutes remaining, former Preston North End frontman Jordan Hugill silenced the St. Mary’s Stadium with a stunning strike from distance to level the score.
Southampton accumulated an expected goals (xG) tally of 3.23 compared to the visitor’s 0.14, registering 22 shots to Rotherham United’s four, but the shares were spoiled on the day.
Following the full-time whistle, boos echoed around the ground as the Southampton faithful voiced their displeasure at the result to the players and coaches.
Speaking after the game to the Daily Echo, Downes slammed the club’s supporters for doing so, believing the performance was worthy of praise [quotes via Hampshire Live]:
“After a performance like that, I know we should have won but we shouldn’t be getting booed off after a game again. That to me is mental.
“I get everyone wants to win, and we’re the same, but the performance and the way we played – it was weird,” he continued.
“I get it, I’m a fan. When I used to go and my team didn’t win, of course, you boo. But when you are playing the way we are playing and dominate a game like that, okay we conceded a goal we shouldn’t have. In the crowd, I’m seeing fans giving it all this and booing.
“We are just on the pitch after the game and getting booed. Of course, you are gutted and we wanted to win. But sometimes you need to appreciate the performance.”
Writer’s View
It’s easy to understand both sides of this argument. The supporters are entitled to voice their displeasure at a result, particularly since it is the fifth time in seven matches that the team have dropped points.
However, on the flip side, the performance itself was quite good apart from the team’s inability to kill the game off with a second goal. Nevertheless, Downes perhaps shouldn’t have called out the fans in this instance.
Deputy Head of Writing
