Albion boss Graham Potter praised goalkeeper Mat Ryan after a world class second-half save that ensured the Seagulls came away from St Mary’s with a point.
With the score at 1-1 after Neal Maupay’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Southampton’s Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard unleashed a thunderbolt from 30 yards which was heading for the top-right corner only for the Australian international to tip it onto the post for one of the saves of the season.
It gives 15th-placed Albion a six point cushion above the bottom three with the insurance of a better goal difference than Bournemouth and Aston Villa with two games to go.
Potter said, “I am so pleased for Maty because he had a difficult night against Manchester City and I know he wasn’t happy with himself.
“He’s a top professional because he gets on with it and gives his best. Sometimes you’re the hero and sometimes you’re the villain. You have to try and be as consistent as possible, and he’s pretty good at that.”
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Reflecting on the game, Potter was pleased with a point given the second-half onslaught his side had to endure.
“Every point is hard-earned in the Premier League and we have certainly had to work hard for this point,” he added.
“It’s another important point to add to the total. We had to survive in the second half because they were clearly better than us.
“In the first half I thought we were okay and had some chances. Then they pushed us back so credit to them, but credit to us too because we blocked shots and put our bodies on the line.
“Before the lockdown we drew at Wolves which isn’t easy and at Sheffield United which also isn’t easy. So we’ve managed to find a little bit of resilience away from home. We saw that tonight. We had to ride our luck which you need and I thought the defensive effort was fantastic.
“We are in a good place but we need to carry on, it’s as simple as that. There are two more Premier League games to go, so we want to get as many points as possible.”