James Ward Prowse
JAMES Ward-Prowse admitted it was “stressful for everyone to see” Tino Livramento’s horrible injury at Brighton, but insisted it “spurred us on”. The Saints captain struck twice to see his side come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Amex Stadium, but Livramento’s exit overshadowed the occasion.
James Ward Prowse said: “It was disappointing and stressful for everyone to see. It’s not nice to see anyone go down injured like that. He’s obviously in our thoughts at the minute. I saw him post-game in the changing room, he’s upbeat now. It’s going to take him a little while to come around to it but it’s up to us now as a team and a club to get behind him and give him all the support he needs. The rivalries between all the teams are high but when someone’s injured it’s great to see all the players and the fans from Brighton giving him the respect and applause he deserves. A nice moment in a way and hopefully now we can all get behind him. I think it kind of spurred us on in a way, he was in our minds from that moment on and it gave us a kick that we needed. Obviously it’s an unfortunate injury for him and we wish him all the best. It was a tough moment that put a dampener on the first half and spurred us on.”
Ward-Prowse took himself to within four of David Beckham’s free-kick record (18) with his special effort in added time of the first-half, after Livramento’s substitution. It was a different strike to ones he had converted at Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds United earlier this campaign. This deft stroke went low and off goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s far post to evade detection.
James Ward Prowse admitted: “The more you score, the more predictable it becomes. You have to make sure you’re able to show some variation and do something surprising and thankfully I caught him off guard today.”
Ward-Prowse reached a personal best total of nine goals in a single Premier League season with his second, converting an Oriol Romeu backheel from the edge of the area.
James Ward Prowse said: “I think I had 10 goals at the start of the season as my sort of benchmark so one more to go in the league but more importantly it’s contributing to some good results and that’s the main thing.”
Saints had to show a reaction from their dismal 2-0 defeat at Burnley on Thursday, which left travelling fans as bemused as they were frustrated.
James Ward Prowse explained: “That’s the basic thing you need as a player and as a team: to show that you can compete and fight for every ball. I think the lads we had on the pitch today showed that. A real positive step considering the result we had in midweek. I think it was important in to not lose the game. The game was stretched, we wanted to go for a winner but away at Brighton I think it’s a good point.”
