Cardiff City 2-1 Southampton: Saints automatic promotion hopes hit by Cardiff comeback

Southampton’s automatic promotion hopes suffered a huge blow in south Wales as Cardiff snatched a 2-1 comeback win.

The Saints paid the price for missing a series of chances as sub Famara Diedhiou levelled from close range.

Teenager Cian Ashford then won it for Cardiff in injury time with a deflected shot from 25 yards.

Defeat leaves them five points off the automatic promotion places with three games remaining.

Saints boss Russell Martin had described this fixture as Southampton’s “biggest game of the season” as the former Swansea manager made his return to Wales.

Martin was unsurprisingly given a rough reception from the Cardiff fans, sick of the sight of a manager who came into this contest with a 100% winning record against the Bluebirds.

Across his five games as a manager against Cardiff, Martin’s sides were 14-2 up on aggregate, including four wins over the Bluebirds in south Wales derbies.

The Saints boss was greeted with a chorus of boos and even had the sprinklers turned on him as he saluted the away fans. Welcome back to Cardiff.

Martin was without another former Swan, midfielder Flynn Downes, as he missed out through injury, while Will Smallbone earned a recall in Southampton’s only change from the 3-0 win over Preston.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut, who is dealing with a lengthy injury list, made four changes to his starting XI, with 19-year-old forward Ashford earning a first start.

The onus was on Southampton to push for victory and they made their intentions clear early as Stuart Armstrong’s long-range effort thundered against the post after seven minutes.

The reprieve was short as Southampton took the lead five minutes later, Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath only managing to push out Adam Armstrong’s effort, with Aribo on hand to slam home the rebound.

Saints should swiftly have doubled their lead as Che Adams raced clear, but Horvath denied him and then watched helplessly as Adam Armstrong headed the rebound over the crossbar.

Horvath’s goal was leading a charmed life with Aribo’s deflected effort going just over the crossbar, while Adam Armstrong blazed over after Rubin Colwill’s terrible backpass sent him clear.

The quality of chances the visitors were creating was staggering, with Cardiff’s defending leaving a lot to be desired.

But Armstrong again fired over before David Brooks was twice denied by Horvath, first from a shot from 15 yards and then again from point-blank range after another defensive mix-up.

The hosts did create some opportunities of their own with David Turnbull heading straight at Alex McCarthy and Ashford’s jinking run forcing a save.

But the rampant Saints were surely incredulous at only leading 1-0 after 12 shots in the first half, six on target.

They were quickly on the offensive after the break with Adams firing across goal and Armstrong’s point-blank header brilliantly saved by Horvath.

Chances continued as Smallbone fired wide after patient build-up play to leave the away fans wondering how their side were not out of sight.

The almost inevitable twist arrived as Southampton were fully punished for their profligacy when debutant Raheem Conte’s cross was touched on by Yakou Meite, allowing Diedhiou the space to tap home.

It deflated the visitors and Cardiff sensed the chance of a shock victory, with Meite’s audacious effort from an acute angle tipped over by McCarthy.

McCarthy had to be alert again to save from Diedhiou’s header in the first of nine minutes of stoppage time.

With time running out, Ashford completely flipped the script with a 25-yard effort that took a massive deflection and crept into the corner of the net.

There was still time for Saints to level but Stuart Armstrong’s effort was blocked, with Armstrong injured in the incident and leaving on a stretcher to compound the Saints’ misery, with boss Martin confirming that he expects the player to be out for the remainder of the season.

Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut told BBC Radio Sport Wales:

“Sometimes it’s good when you’re not pushing for something or at the bottom, so the players can play freely.

“I said to my team before that today I wanted only positive things, even if they make mistakes. Play freely and I think they did a really good job today.

“I think Cian Ashford will never forget the goal. But today for 90 minutes he was great. Playing against Southampton, he did a really good job.

“Our bench was full of youngsters, six players. So I think the club is on a good way to make positive things. The club can add only on this.”

Southampton boss Russell Martin told BBC Sport Wales:

“It’s unacceptable to lose a game with the amount of chances we had.

“We should have been out of sight. We played some amazing football but it won’t matter one bit because we lost. If you’re not going to be clinical in their box, then you defend your own.

“Today has done us a lot of harm in terms of chasing the automatic spot, but we have to react properly now. We’ve got three games left. We can still get more than 90 points.

“I expect a big reaction from everyone. If it means our season is going to be extended, so be it and we have to get ready for that.”