MX23RW : Monday, November 18 07:27:38| >> :120:69993:69993:

James Ward-Prowse relishing "boyhood dream" at Southampton

James Ward-Prowse relishing
© Reuters
James Ward-Prowse has scored eight free-kicks for Southampton in the Premier League.

Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse admits he is living the dream after his double downed Aston Villa.

The Saints sit fourth after Sunday's impressive 4-3 victory, despite conceding three times in the second half.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side raced into a 3-0 lead at the break after Ward-Prowse, on his 26th birthday, set up Jannik Vestergaard before scoring two brilliant free-kicks to help lift them into the top four in the Premier League.

He told the club's official site: "I've said it a couple of times, but to be playing in the Premier League, captain of this club and to score a couple of goals, it's my boyhood dream and I'm enjoying every minute at the moment.

"Any goal in the Premier League whether it's a tap in or a free-kick, it doesn't matter and helped us to the three points today."

As a result, Ward-Prowse has overtaken club great Matt Le Tissier for goals scored from direct free-kicks in the Premier League for Southampton.

"To beat a legend of the club like Matt Le Tissier is a big honour and hopefully I can extend that record soon.

"It's nice to be rewarded for the hard work on the training ground. You have some days when they all go in and some days when don't and they're the ones that count. To score two was very special."

Villa were 4-0 down by the 58th minute after Danny Ings' rocket, although the striker needed a scan on Sunday night after being forced off late on with a knee injury.

Tyrone Mings started Villa's attempted fightback with a header before Ollie Watkins' penalty and Jack Grealish's strike – both in stoppage time – made the scoreline respectable for the hosts.

It was Villa's second successive defeat after they won their opening four matches and defender Mings insists they must improve.

"We showed good fight to come back but we should never really have been in that position in the first place," he told Villa TV.

"I don't think it was really a 3-0 game at half-time but unfortunately we gave away fouls in dangerous areas and they capitalised.

"I'm sure that we will learn from it but it was very disappointing to concede in the manner that we did in the first half.

"It shows that there is a lot of work to do. We have shown great resilience and bounced back from poor runs last season, so we have to go and do it."

ID:420816: cacheID:420816:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4190:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Southampton's Danny Ings celebrates scoring against Aston Villa in the Premier League on November 1, 2020
Read Next:
PL roundup: Everton miss chance to return to summit while Southampton win thriller
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!