‘Proud’ Hasenhuttl reveals what ‘surprised’ Tottenham in deserved Southampton draw
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl could not hide his delight after watching his Southampton side take a point from Tottenham with only 10 men for much of the game.
James Ward-Prowse gave Saints a 25th-minute lead before Harry Kane levelled from the penalty spot. Mohammed Salisu fouled Son Heung-min in the box to earn a second yellow card on 39 minutes. The England captain made no mistake from 12 yards and there were no further goals.
The hosts battled throughout the second period with only 10 men and dealt with all the Lilywhites threw at them. And Hasenhuttl was buzzing after the final whistle and felt his charges were good value for the 1-1 draw.
“When you play nearly 60 minutes with one men down two days after a very hard game and then you see the boys fighting, there’s no chance to be more proud than today, especially after a very intensive first half,” he told BBC Sport.
“We made a fantastic goal and one mistake. [For the red card we should] let him shoot. Let him shoot and Fraser could make the save. We deserved to get something.”
And the Austrian believes his side’s tactics left Spurs with puzzles they could not solve.
“We had chances to score. Fantastic for us to get point against a team on fire,” he added. “We surprised them a little bit with our shape.
“They had a lot of entries in our box and half chances but we defended well. Fraser did a good job today. Good to take the point.”
Hasenhuttl staying positive
Southampton sit 13th in the table after securing their ninth draw of the campaign. They have won four and are 10 points above the relegation zone.
The south-coast outfit had not won a top-flight game since November 5 before beating West Ham 3-2 on Boxing Day. And Tuesday’s draw means they have lost just once in six top-flight outings.
Hasenhuttl continued to heap praise on his players. And he refused to focus on any negative aspects of the season at St Mary’s.
“We have a team you can really identify with,” he continued. “Unbelievable effort in every game. I don’t want to speak about our limits as a club.”
Saints are next in action on Sunday when they host Newcastle United.
Then thoughts will turn to the FA Cup and a trip to South Wales to take on Swansea City on January 8.
READ MORE: Southampton risk losing €10million ace in January as Serie A side circles
The post ‘Proud’ Hasenhuttl reveals what ‘surprised’ Tottenham in deserved Southampton draw appeared first on TEAMtalk.