Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was the penalty shootout hero when he saved Ashley Young’s effort to see Saints win 6-5, having drawn 1-1 in regular time. Lallana praised his teammates for holding their nerve to score all six penalties in an intense Goodison Park atmosphere. The veteran midfielder believes Southampton can take a number of positives from the result but confessed he would have preferred to win the game inside 90 minutes.
Adam Lallana said “Any way you progress is good. It would be nice to win it in normal time. But the lads showed great nerve to take the penalty and Al came up trumps at the end with a big save. I thought we controlled the game in the first half, they had probably a couple of big chances on the break. There are lots of positives to take and more importantly (we got) the win going into a big game at the weekend. We’ve got a big squad, a lot of players. I thought we played well enough considering the changes and we’ll dust ourselves down now and get ready for the weekend.”
Lallana has mainly been used from the bench this season, his start at Everton was his first since rejoining the club on a one-year deal. Martin opted to withdraw the 36 year old at half-time in order to manage his minutes after Lallana missed most of pre-season with a knock.
Adam Lallana said “It was nice to start the game. It was always a plan to just play the first half. I felt really good out there actually. It was important that I didn’t want to get carried away. I want to recover well and be available for the weekend. Whether that’s off the bench again and just be available to help the boys.”
Russell Martin said “I just love watching him play football. He is an amazing footballer. He’s so graceful, elegant but aggressive. He has an amazing mentality. He’s going to be massive for us. He is off the pitch already and on the pitch he’s going to have a big, big say.”
Martin has repeatedly praised Lallana for adding voice to the Saints dressing room, which has helped the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes grow as leaders. The England under-21s captain got the nod from Martin even though Alex McCarthy and Adam Armstrong both started – two more players who have previously been skipper.
Russell-Martin said “He’s got that level of maturity to definitely make steps forward in his career. He’s still got plenty to learn and we speak a lot. I’m pretty close with Taylor. It’s just important he gets his head down and keeps looking to improve. I’m convinced in time he’ll be ready to make those strides forward. “I thought he was excellent. He played with a lot of maturity and led the boys really well out there.”
