Goals from Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen give Manchester United an ultimately deserved come from behind win at Southampton, who battled hard until the very end and will be disappointed that they've fallen to defeat after starting so brightly. The Saints took the lead on the stroke of half time thanks to an excellent strike by Richard Chaplow and were playing United off the park, but when Sir Alex Ferguson threw Ryan Giggs and Nani on at the hour mark things changed significantly.
Southampton FC Vs. Manchester United: United Come Back, Win 2-1
Southampton simply could not cope with the skill of Nani down the left, with Danny Butterfield victimised by the Portuguese winger on several occasions. Gabriel Obertan, who was quiet in the first half before being move further out onto the right wing, set up the first Untied goal with a cross, while Giggs was the provider for Hernandez's decisive second. However, things weren't all good for United - none of their defenders were impressive, Anderson and Darren Gibson were depressingly bad in the centre of the park, and Anders Lindegaard looked rather like he'd never seen a cross before in his entire life.
For Southampton, Chaplow was the standout, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was impressive as well, although he didn’t quite justify the supposed £10M that half the teams in the Premier League are supposedly willing to pay to acquire his services. The Saints played well, and fought hard, but were eventually outclassed, and they only have themselves to blame for an awful error in the buildup to Hernadnez’s goal. Still, Southampton did League One reasonably proud against their illustrious opponents. While the team and fans are contemplating a moral victory, Untied advance to the 5th round on the back of their actual one.
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