Watford vs Southampton result: Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse keep Watford in the mire

After 13 games, Southampton and Watford met while they were propping up the Premier League table. Now, 18 games on, the former confirmed their Premier League survival with another three points, this time with a 3-1 win as opposed to November's 2-1.

What followed that first meeting was a turning point for Southampton,19th prior to that kick-off, in that they decided to do nothing. Many would have understood if, after nine points from a possible 39, Ralph Hasenhuttl was shown the door. Watford on eight points, for instance, would get rid of their second manager of the season, Quique Sanchez Flores, a few weeks later.

Southampton have been vindicated for holding firm. They are 13 points clear and safe to spend their remaining six matches planning for next season. And if there is a player who best exemplifies sticking around and coming good, it is Danny Ings who scored twice at Vicarage Road and was a constant threat.

His first goal showed his deft touch, acceleration and ability to shoot from range, curling an effort into the far corner from 25 yards which scorched the turf all the way in. His second, a bit of intuition to cut out a throw from Ben Foster and drive towards goal with the same intent as the first. Goals 17 and 18 of the season, of which 11 have come away from home. As have 26 of Southampton’s 40 points.

Nigel Pearson was on a similar trajectory with this Watford side after he took over last December. But 13 points in his first six matches has now given way to just six in his last 10, of which this was the sixth defeat. You could argue that they are not among the three worst sides in the division, but the strongest arguments – a 16th-place position – could disappear by the time Bournemouth and West Ham play their games in hand.

Certainly the last thing Pearson needed coming into this match were distractions. A house party hosted by Andre Gray and attended by teammates Nathaniel Chalobah and Domingos Quina would be questionable in usual circumstances what with Watford a solitary point above the drop zone with just six to play. It takes on an extra precariousness when the scale of the Premier League’s coronavirus protocols dictates that all involved in getting the season finished need to be far more vigilant than the public have been lately. As such, the reason for omitting all three could be attributed to “health and safety”, not simply Pearson’s stoney rage.

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Things were better for Hasenhuttl and his Southampton side, even if they are just as careless at home. A 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Thursday meant the Austrian came into Sunday unwilling to rest on the laurels of a 10-point buffer between Saints and the relegation zone.

The nine-point difference between these two was evident in the managers themselves. Hasenhutll encouraging, Pearson admonishing. That was also down to the two sides: a scrappy first-half was marginally less scrappy when Southampton were in possession.

It was that slickness that brought about the opener. Comfortably the snappiest move of the game saw the visitors build-up from the left, which allowed Will Smallbone to receive the ball between midfield and defence far more central than his usual position on the right wing. A pass to Ings allowed the forward to take advantage of an already exposed defence, and his curling shot even had Ben Foster, celebrating a 100th consecutive Premier League appearance, scrabbling without a clue.

James Ward-Prowse had the chance to make it two just before the drinks break, scuffing his left-footed shot wide of the near post. But it said a lot that even though anecdotal evidence since the restart shows that sides under the pump improve after the these midway interludes, Southampton simply picked up where they left off.

That changed quite profoundly after the break. Hasenhuttl still encouraged, but there was little for Pearson to add as Watford exerted their physical superiority to produce wave upon wave of attacks in search of an equaliser.

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Yet those first 20 minutes of the second-half would be rued. For all the possession, corners and breaks down either flank, the only opportunities of note were a handful of blocked shots. Too many times, wrong decisions were made – an overly ambitions pass here, an overhit cross there. Credit should go to the Saints backline, who carried the other two areas during this period of yellow-and-black dominance.

It would be another overambitious pass, this time as Foster looked to start a counter-attack, that would provide confirmation of this defeat. Ings had read the situation like a book, cutting off the throw, driving forward and shooting through the defender and Foster.

If anything, the goal to draw Watford back into it was merely salt in the wounds. Not only did it come via a Southampton player – Jan Bednarek steering past his own goalkeeper at the near post – but the two-goal lead was restored three minutes later when James Ward-Prowse whipped a free-kick up and over the wall from 20 yards to quell any threat of a comeback.

With a fixture against West Ham to come, Watford could still argue they are in control of their destiny. But it is hard to take that at face value after one point from three matches since the restart.