Philip Billing scored the second fastest goal in Premier League history in Cherries’ 3-2 defeat to Arsenal, the game just 9.11 seconds young when the Dane poked home following just three passes. Marcos Senesi doubled Cherries’ lead early in the second half at a corner from a routine also worked on during training according to O’Neil. However, Arsenal rallied back through Thomas Partey and Ben White, before Reiss Nelson broke Cherries’ hearts deep into stoppage time to complete the comeback.
Gary O Neil said: “The kick-off was prepared, yeah. Just something I thought of (Thursday), maybe. But you don’t expect to score from it. Just thought maybe you could catch them cold, get up the pitch quickly. Gave us a lovely start. And then a nice routine for the corner goal.”
O’Neil went on to lament Cherries’ spurned chances, with Dango Ouattara denied by former Cherry Aaron Ramsdale after a dangerous counter attack.
Gary O’Neil continued: “Real big chance – Aaron Ramsdale makes an incredible save on the counter-attack, but of course, they arrive in our final third an awful lot. The lads put in an awful lot of work and you suffer to an incredible strike from the edge of the box, with maybe two or three kicks of the game left.
Asked if he was taking credit for the pre-planned move,
Gary O’Neil responded: “I don’t want any credit. The team scored a goal from it, so there’s about 35 of us involved in it. The club (gets credit).”
Southampton’s win over Leicester City in the evening kick-off saw Cherries drop to the foot of the Premier League table, with the Dorset outfit in 20th with 21 points from 26 games. Only three points separate Leicester in 15th and Cherries at the bottom of the division, highlighting how tight the relegation battle is as it enters its final throes.
