CHE ADAMS lifted the axe over Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl head with this vital win at Bournemouth.
Adams presented the Southampton with their first victory in 50 days which lifted them out of the drop zone.
And the striker’s ninth minute header ended the Cherries’ six-match unbeaten run inflicting the first defeat on interim boss Gary O’Neil.
Rumours had it that Austrian Hasenhuttl was heading for the exit door at St. Mary’s had Southampton lost this south coast derby.
But Hasenhuttl, the fourth longest serving manager in the Premier League, won the battle of wits and tactics with rookie boss O’Neil.
O’Neil had enjoyed a remarkable honeymoon taking charge of the Cherries when Scott Parker was dismissed following that 9-0 defeat at Liverpool.
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Well, Mr Hasenhuttl is a survivor having suffered two nine-goal bashings against Leicester and Manchester United and kept his job at Southampton.
The Cherries would have equalled their Premier League record unbeaten run of seven games had they got a result against their close rivals.
Dominic Solanke had a sight of goal after just two minutes but dragged Lewis Cook’s pass wide.
Booth teams caught the mood of the occasion and the game was played at a frantic pace.
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No-one inside the Vitality Stadium was expecting an avalanche of goals between two of the lowest scorers in the division.
Saints arrived in town having scored nine goals in the league from ten games while the hosts could only boast one more.
But we didn’t have to wait long for one to arrive when the Saints turned the form book upside when Adams notched his fifth goal of the campaign.
Adams started and finished the move off with a neat header from Troman Perraud’s cross after he had lost Marcos Senesi in the box.
The goal took the sting out of the home side’s game and it took them 21 minutes before they tested visiting goalkeeper Gavin Bazuna.
The giant Philip Billing hit a crisp volley on the turn from 23 yards which was a nice height for Bazuna to turn away.
A simmering Hasenhuttl lost his rag after one incident but decided at the last second not to take off and throw his baseball cap towards the fourth official.
And tempers were little strained elsewhere when Chris Mepham caught Ainsley Maitland-Nile with a naughty tackle off the pitch and both players were cautioned by referee John Brooks for squaring up.
The Cherries threatened first after the break when Senesi was just off target with a header from Ryan Christie’s corner.
Saints looked far more solid in their team structure showing little signs of missing defender Armel Bella-Kotchap, who suffered a dislocated shoulder against West Ham on Sunday.
Bournemouth threw the kitchen sink at their neighbours but no-one in the camp could turn on the goalden tap.
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Oh how the Cherries could have done with one of their record-breaking goal heroes Jermaine Defoe who was back at his old hunting ground on TV duty.
But the long-suffering Saints fans loved the evening watching their heroes claim their fourth win in 24 games and collect their first away clean sheet in 20 matches.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
