Ward-Prowse delivers damning verdict on Southampton defeat in seven-goal thriller

Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse delivered a brutal verdict when assessing Monday night’s damning 4-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

With the Premier League relegation battle heating up, both sides went into the clash needing maximum points to bolster their chances of surviving the drop.

Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi netted a three-minute brace, and Morgan Gibbs-White converted a penalty either side of a response from Southampton’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Lyanco, who replaced the injured Armel Bella-Kotchap in the first half, scored his first goal for the Saints early in the second half, but Danilo extended Forest’s lead in the 73rd minute.

Ward-Prowse then converted a spot kick late in stoppage time, but it proved nothing but a consolation for the Saints, who are now staring down the abyss with relegation looming.

The Saints captain could not hide his frustration at the defeat that leaves Ruben Selles’ side rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, eight points away from safety with three games remaining.

“Disappointing result,” Ward-Prowse said (via Southampton’s official website). “We know every game that nears the end of the season has more magnitude and is increasingly important.

“Against any team, if you give one or two goals away, you always give yourselves a difficult challenge ahead, and it proved to be too much in the end.

“It’s been too easy. Right from the first game against [Tottenham Hotspur] until now, we’ve not really learned anything, not really progressed, we’ve just taken these results as they are, and that’s the most disappointing thing.”

Southampton have now lost three games in a row. They have failed to win any of their last ten games, picking up just three points in that span (D3, L7).

The Saints welcome Fulham to St Mary’s next weekend, where anything but a win could see them relegated in front of the home faithful, especially if other results do not go their way.