Source: TheGuardian
Charlie Austin goal enough to secure point for Southampton at Bournemouth
Hearing Charlie Austin’s name sung with gusto at full-time by the pocket of away supporters was always Eddie Howe’s worst fear. The Bournemouth manager repeatedly tried and failed to buy the striker owing to a transfer embargo while he was on trial at the club from Poole Town in 2009, but made Austin his first signing at Burnley two years later. And here it was the Southampton man who cancelled out Ryan Fraser’s opener to earn a share of the spoils in this entertaining clash between two south coast neighbours.This was a splendid advert for the Premier League but, in truth, it is a point that does little for either team, both of whom could have taken victory on another day. Mauricio Pellegrino had cited the “bigger picture” pre-match, owing to the gruelling December schedule – this was the first of seven matches for his side this month, and the first of eight for Bournemouth – so it was no surprise he made six changes from the team that came unstuck in the sixth minute of injury time against Manchester City in midweek. Two of which were enforced with Cédric Soares and Shane Long missing with hamstring and calf injuries respectively, so Jérémy Pied made his first league start since May at right-back while Austin ably filled the void up front. Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos Related: Bournemouth 1-1 Southampton: Premier League – as it happened Continue reading......read full article
