Martin must now drop Mara and unleash “terrific” Southampton star
Russell Martin could start this Southampton star over Sekou Mara in their second leg.
Southampton would have walked off the Hawthorns pitch at the end of the first leg versus West Bromwich Albion the happier of the two sides, with Russell Martin thankful for the heroics of Alex McCarthy in goal.
The Saints shot-stopper, who has filled in competently since Gavin Bazunu’s nasty long-term injury, pulled off a number of important saves in the 0-0 affair including one vital save to deny Grady Diangana from point-blank range.
Still, the Southampton boss will want lots more from the attackers at his disposal for the second leg back on home turf in an attempt to turn over a steely West Brom side to comfortably progress through to the final at Wembley.
Sekou Mara might well find he’s axed, therefore, for a different option to take his place up top after an uninspiring showing against the Baggies last time out.
Sekou Mara’s performance vs West Brom in numbers
Mara struggled to ever really get going against the brick wall of West Brom’s defence in the form of Kyle Bartley and Cedric Kipre, with that no-nonsense pairing for the hosts nullifying the Frenchman when venturing forward.
The lacklustre Saints number 18 would fail to hit a single on-target effort on Alex Palmer’s net, whilst also being unable to complete a single successful dribble attempt from the two managed at the Hawthorns.
Only managing a pitiful 17 touches of the ball, Mara would just stroll around the pitch like a passenger for large spells of the game before Martin gambled and hauled off the poor 21-year-old for a returning Ross Stewart.
Stewart’s brief but impactful cameo could well mean he’s in for a shout to start the second leg over Mara, managing to fire an on-target effort – bettering Mara from just 18 minutes of action – that nearly crept in if it wasn’t for the instinctive leg of Palmer intervening.
