Southampton picked up a much needed win on the weekend to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive.
Russell Martin‘s side thought they’d thrown away the three points when Ismael Kone levelled the scores in the 85th minute.
But, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, West Ham United loanee Flynn Downes bundled home the winner, sending St Mary’s into total beldam.
Victory moves Southampton on to 81 points and eight points adrift of Ipswich Town with two games in hand.
Downes posted on Instagram post-match and his teammate Will Smallbone has reacted.
Will Smallbone reacts to Flynn Downes’ post
Downes put up a photo on Instagram yesterday which captured the celebrations when he scored the dramatic late winner.
Smallbone commented: “What he does.”
Others hinted that he should stay on the South Coast instead of returning to his parent club West Ham United in the summer.
Downes will no doubt be subjected to interest from a number of potential suitors in the transfer window, so it’s imperative Saints go up to give themselves the best chance of landing his signature on a permanent basis.
Southampton have the good feeling back
The good feeling is back amongst Southampton supporters and players following a rocky few weeks that seemed to completely derail their top two hopes.
All of a sudden, they’ve put together two consecutive victories and find themselves right back in it, with Leeds United and Leicester City still to play.
Anyhow, even if they are to finish inside the play-offs, they’re now gathering real momentum and key stars are starting to return to form.
With six games of the season still remaining, Saints can achieve 96 points, which would surely be enough to go up automatically.
Up next, they play host to play-off chasing Preston North End on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Cardiff City, who have nothing to play for, really.
Martin’s side just need to take it one game at a time, they can’t allow themselves to get carried away, or to look at their rivals’ results.
They still have a lot of work to do to surmount the gap, however, it’s certainly looking a lot more rosier on the South Coast.
A telling few weeks await.