The Media Review: Southampton smashed

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How the newspapers and websites saw Saturday's 4-0 win at St Mary's.

Nick Szczepanik

2025-02-23T09:30+00:00

Jack Hinshelwood rounds off the scoring with his second goal of the season. Photo: James Boardman.

When a team wins 4-0 and the goalkeeper on the losing side is man of the match, then you know you have witnessed a truly dominant display. And so it was for the football writers in the St Mary’s press box on Saturday as Albion peppered the Southampton goal but came up against an inspired goalkeeper in former Arsenal and England custodian Aaron Ramsdale.

As the Sun On Sunday reported, “Brighton’s previous away game ended in a 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest and it could easily have been the same score again here at St Mary’s but this time in the Seagulls’ favour.

“The fact that it wasn’t is down to one man, Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who made a string of last-ditch stops. Incredibly it was only 1-0 at half-time, Joao Pedro finally finding a way past the England keeper.

“But at least half the Brighton team were left wondering how on earth they had not scored after another intervention from Ramsdale. For Brighton, it was their widest margin of victory under Fabian Hurzeler, their biggest win against Southampton since 1955 and a chance to forget their previous road trip.”

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Goals galore on the South coast as Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls beat Ivan Juric's Saints side at St Mary's.

A number of papers used Tom Prentki’s report for the Press Association. “Fabian Hurzeler said his only disappointment was not winning by more after seeing his side thump Southampton at St Mary’s,” he wrote. “The Seagulls ripped Southampton apart throughout with goals from Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood taking them to within three points of the top six.

“But for some wasteful finishing and a brilliant performance from the Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, the scoreline might have been even more impressive for Hurzeler’s Europe-chasing side. Brighton have now won three games in a row but Hurzeler was quick to dampen talk of Europe with high-flying Bournemouth next up at the Amex on Tuesday.

“Joao Pedro opened the scoring when he coolly scooped the ball over the advancing Ramsdale after 23 minutes. After Cameron Archer had an equaliser chalked off for offside, Brighton upped the intensity to take the game away from them.

“Joe Aribo was adamant that he had been fouled by Rutter in the build-up but the referee, Darren Bond, waved away the protests and Yankuba Minteh was left with the simple task of rolling the ball across the six-yard box for Georginio Rutter to prod home his fifth league goal of the season.

“Another brilliant touch from Joao Pedro sent Mitoma clear and the Japanese forward dinked the ball past Ramsdale to score Brighton’s third goal of the match and his fifth in seven games to cue a mass exodus in the home stands.

“Those who had remained saw Brighton add a simple fourth as Brajan Gruda’s corner fell to the unmarked Hinshelwood at the far post from where the 19-year-old scored his second goal of the season.”

Kieran Gill of the Mail on Sunday disagreed with the Albion boss’s downplaying of the club’s European chances.

“Brighton could yet finish this season with European football and they had a blast here as Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood scored,” he wrote. “In truth, they could have had twice their four-goal total and then some.

“Pedro toyed with Southampton from the start as the Brighton striker's deft touches, one-twos and dummies made him look like the older kid playing with the young ’uns on the playground.

“Pedro made it 1-0 in the 23rd minute when he forced his way through. With no Southampton defenders near him, he dinked the ball over Ramsdale. Brighton made it 2-0 when their high press forced Joe Aribo into losing possession as Minteh picked up the ball and squared to Rutter for the finish. It became 3-0 when Mitoma received a pass from Pedro as he sprinted from his own half and chipped Ramsdale.

“Hinshelwood completed the scoreline when Southampton’s defenders criminally allowed a corner to bounce through the box in the 82nd minute and he blasted it in.

“That was the cue for Saints’ supporters to go marching out of St Mary’s. All they missed was Ramsdale making more saves to avoid an even more embarrassing scoreline.”

In The Sunday Times, Paul Rowan also believed that Europe is a realistic target and praised the performance of Georginio Rutter, writing that “The 21-year-old from France is showing his pedigree with six goals in his past eight games and his overall contribution here was impressive. It would have been one of those truly awful days at St Mary’s were Aaron Ramsdale in such a defiant mood.

“With the form the club is in, a European place is very much on the cards. At the end of the match, Fabian Hurzeler did a ‘Jurgen Klopp’ in front of the away supporters. Little wonder, as this was their biggest win of the season.”

Joining that consensus was Tim Oscroft on BBC Sport, although he cautioned that “Hurzeler’s side are unlikely to have such an easy ride as this in their remaining matches. They could have been out of sight by half-time against last season’s Championship play-off winners.

“Pedro, in for the injured Daniel Welbeck, combined well with Rutter to grab his sixth goal of the season before Brighton took their foot of the gas a touch ahead of half-time.

“Southampton striker Cameron Archer's disallowed goal early in the second half stung the Seagulls back into action as Rutter and then Mitoma ruthlessly capitalised on slack defending.

“Japan international Mitoma is in a fine run of form for a Brighton side who have recovered from a sticky December, while 19-year-old Hinshelwood was mobbed by teammates after drilling home his second goal of the season.

“With their next three games against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Fulham, a tilt at a second European campaign may not be beyond them.”