Alex McCarthy Southampton
GOALKEEPER Alex McCarthy insisted nobody at Saints would be pushing the panic button, as the wait goes on to seal a first Premier League victory of the season. The St Mary’s side picked up a valuable home point against in-form West Ham, following a goalless draw on Saturday. That result means Saints have registered three draws in their past three league outings, with level contests against Manchester United and Newcastle coming after an opening-day defeat to Everton. Saints did seal a comprehensive 8-0 victory over Newport in the Carabao Cup last month. And although victory in the league has eluded them thus far, McCarthy said there were still plenty of plus-points from the club’s recent form.
Alex McCarthy said: “It’s obviously massive to get that first win but I wouldn’t say anyone is panicking at the moment. We knew Saturday was going to be a tough game. There’s lots of positives we can take from that game and it’s going to be a tough game (against Man City) next weekend. But I think if we apply ourselves like we did on Saturday, we give ourselves a good chance.”
McCarthy pulled off a couple of key saves against the Irons, denying the likes of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen. Saturday’s stalemate was Saints’ first clean sheet since March in the top flight, when they overcame relegated Sheffield United 2-0 at Bramall Lane.
Alex McCarthy said: “It’s always nice to get the first clean sheet of the season. As a group we defended superbly, so great credit all round really. It’s massive. Obviously clean sheets keep you in games, obviously we want to be conceding as little as possible and scoring as many as possible. At times, clean sheets are massive for us and we want to build on what we’ve got. Looking back on it now, it’s a little frustrating. I thought as a team we played really well, we stuck to our game plan. There were spells in the game where they controlled it and we controlled it. Second half we had a few good chances but on another day, they go in. It’s a little bit frustrating. Obviously we would have like to come away with three points but West Ham is always a difficult team to play, so a point is better than none. There’s a lot of positives we can take from that and take into next week.”
Saints make the trip to take on Manchester City on Saturday before a Carabao Cup third round tie at Sheffield United on Tuesday, September 21.
