A pinpoint first-half strike by Che Adams gave Southampton a deserved 1-0 victory at Watford in the Premier League on Saturday as the home side struggled to repeat their five-goal performance against Everton a week ago.
Southampton’s first away league win this season lifted them to 14th in the table on 11 points while Watford dropped to 16th.
Adams gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute, picking up a pass from Adam Armstrong and taking the pace off the ball before firing an exquisite shot across Ben Foster and into the top-right corner.
Watford almost levelled 12 minutes later as Ismaila Sarr’s shot from a tight angle beat keeper Alex McCarthy, but defender Kyle Walker-Peters was on hand to clear the ball off the line.
Adams could have had a second for Southampton before halftime, but he got the angle of his diving header wrong and the ball bounced up and over the crossbar, much to the relief of the Hornets’ defence.
Southampton continued to dominate possession after the break and though the home side managed some good shots from distance, they did not really threaten until the closing minutes when substitute Ashley Fletcher unleashed a fierce drive, but McCarthy turned it away for a corner.
“We could have scored more today, we had massive chances,” Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuettl told the BBC. “It should be 3-0 or 4-0 at halftime. When it is just one it is a chance for the opponent … we need to be more clinical.
“We have a young team and had a few new players. It takes time to adapt, (but) the hard work we put in is now showing. Every weekend is tough but we knew we had decisive weeks coming up where we have to take points,” he added.