Flynn Downes, who signed for Russell Martin’s side in the summer, captained Southampton for the first time in the Premier League, with club skipper Jack Stephens suspended. The 25-year-old, whom Ipswich Town also pursued in the summer window, became the Blues’ youngest-ever captain aged just 20 back in 2019.
Flynn Downes said “I’m gutted. I don’t want to be negative, but it feels like a loss and it’s hard to take at the minute. There were so many positives to take from it, but we’ve got to see the game out – either control the game or put it to bed by getting a second.”
The result leaves Southampton with just one point from their first five games of the season and sitting 18th in the top tier, a place and two points behind Ipswich.
Flynn Downes said “It’s such a tough one to take. 20 yards out, deflection, top corner. It’s so hard. But we’ve got to look at things before that. We’ve got to stop the crosses. It’s the 90th minute, we’ve got to control the game, we’ve got to be smarter. But to captain this club, with all them boys and all the staff, in front of all the fans, it was a real honour in my career, probably the biggest one I’ve had. It was a pleasure, and it was funny doing it against them.”
