[monks data]

Attendance: 31,778

Premier League

Apr 28, 2018 at 3pm UK

Southampton
2-1
Bournemouth

Tadic (25', 54')

FT(HT: 1-1)

King (45')

Mark Hughes: 'Relegation rivals looking over their shoulders'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 28 April 2018

Hughes: 'Rivals looking over their shoulders'

Mark Hughes admits that holding on for a 2-1 win against south coast neighbours Bournemouth was a "huge result" for Southampton, who are within one point of safety.

Southampton manager Mark Hughes has described his side's 2-1 win against Bournemouth as potentially "hugely significant" in the battle for Premier League survival.

The Saints earned a vital victory in Saturday afternoon's clash at St Mary's Stadium through a Dusan Tadic double, either side of Joshua King's strike.

Hughes was particularly pleased with the manner of his side's response to being pegged back, as they moved to within a point of Swansea City and three behind Huddersfield Town and West Ham United.

"You could see the reaction from the crowd. Everybody was behind the guys. There was a huge amount of endeavour, and plenty of skill too," he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News. "It takes a huge amount of effort for the guys to get to a point in games where they can see games out. To get three points is massive.

"We need to have the teams above us looking over their shoulders, and this result does that for us. We need to pressure the ones above us too. They know we have quality here. Now we just need to keep the momentum from this huge result. If we carrying on playing like we did today, we will go close.

"Everyone knew the circumstances coming into the game - we needed maximum points. Draws weren't good enough. It is only one part of what we need to do. It was a huge effort. There was a little bit of a worry around how the guys would react after conceding just before half time. We have been scarred by previous results, but, to a man they were magnificent.

"We dug in, got the lead back, and in the end we were just throwing bodes at the ball. They threw everything at us. Huge result. It doesn't mean anything yet, but it could be hugely significant."

Southampton have scored two or more goals in both of their home league games under Hughes - the same number they managed in their last 14 matches at St Mary's under predecessor Mauricio Pellegrino.