Russell Martin insists he will not sacrifice his possession-based philosophy but he will surely need to modify it this season after his toothless Southampton team misfired on their home return to the Premier League against Nottingham Forest.
Martin will plead patience but Southampton spluttered in front of their fans and were fortunate not to trail during a meagre first half. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were rewarded with the opener through Morgan Gibbs-White, with Southampton offering little in response. They still await a first goal and point since their return to the top flight after earning promotion at Wembley.
Southampton selected an unchanged team after their opening defeat at Newcastle. Forest made two changes from the side that drew at home to Bournemouth. The defender Nikola Milenkovic and the former Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson were handed debuts in place of Willy Boly and the injured Danilo after the Brazilian broke his ankle last weekend.
A bright start from Forest resulted in the first opportunity but Chris Wood could only scuff his shot from Anthony Elanga’s pass straight into the hands of Alex McCarthy. The busy Southampton goalkeeper was forced into another save, blocking Neco Williams’s strike with his legs.
Forest were imposing themselves on their opponents and cut Southampton open again with Ola Aina bursting away down the left wing but his cross was headed straight at McCarthy by Wood. Nuno was shown a yellow card after he reacted angrily to a rash challenge by Ben Brereton Díaz on Elanga that did not result in a booking for the Southampton forward.
Ibrahim Sangaré fired in an attempt from the edge of the area that was deflected narrowly over McCarthy’s crossbar as Forest continued to control the match. Southampton were struggling to trouble the visitors whose keeper Matz Sels was untested in the opening half hour.
Forest frittered away a huge opportunity to take a deserved lead with Milenkovic sidefooting wide from Wood’s low cross. Kyle Walker-Peters belatedly forced the hosts’ first effort on target as the defender cut inside from the left and drilled a shot straight into the arms of Sels.
At the other end, Williams fired narrowly wide from the edge of the area as Forest failed to turn their dominance into a half-time advantage.
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Southampton tried to up the ante after the break but the newly promoted club were still unable to trouble Forest. Elanga looked lively with the former Manchester United attacker running at the Southampton defence but his strike was deflected out for a corner as Forest pressed for the opener.
The breakthrough finally arrived with Forest deservedly taking the lead. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross was headed towards goal by Gibbs-White. His initial attempt was blocked but the midfielder followed up to drill the ball into the net.
Forest almost doubled their lead through Hudson-Odoi but the former Chelsea winger’s shot was parried by McCarthy. Southampton emptied their bench in search of a cutting edge but Forest held out comfortably and were well worth a first victory of the season.