Southampton coach praises aspect of Sheffield Wednesday performance – says he expected ‘earlier’ win
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The Spaniard watched as his Premier League side just about edged past third tier Wednesday on an evening that was attended by incoming Saints boss Nathan Jones.
Wednesday set about the Southampton defence early doors with an energetic high-press that caused the home side problems. The Owls had the better of the first half before James Ward-Prowse’s spot kick cancelled out Josh Windass’ opener just moments before the break.
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Hide AdSouthampton came on strong in the second half but were held by a resolute Wednesday defence before penalties were turned to in search of a winner.
“We knew if we were able to perform as we can, we could build a win,” said Sellés. “We didn't expect to win it that late, but I think you can see we struggled a little bit at the beginning with the build-up because the opponent had a really good high pressure.
“In the second half we had chances to finish before [penalties]. It didn't happen, and then in the penalty shootout we did. It was well done, mission accomplished, not only getting through to the next round but in terms of feelings, togetherness, performance. We got everything we wanted from our game.
“We celebrated today as one. It was a big win today; if we lose, it is a big loss, if we win we just did what needed to be done. For us, it was a reminder we can do it, we can play football.”
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Hide AdReflecting on the match as a whole, Sellés reiterated his feeling his side dominated the balance of the outing. Southampton had seven shots on target to Wednesday’s five and he felt the Saints had the better of the chances.
“I expected to win the match earlier in the game,” he continued. “We struggled a little bit in the beginning of the game, but we built it up and second half, I think we dominated after the 60th minute and we had the best chances and could have closed the game before.”