Saints off the mark with win at Burnley

Ings was in the right place at the right time, as he so often is, to convert Ché Adams’s clever cutback from the first threatening attack of the game.

Saints seemed in total control at the break, and were able to withstand everything thrown at them by a Burnley side much improved after the interval.

A first clean sheet of the season will be especially satisfying for manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, whose team are now off the mark with their first Premier League points.

The boss made one change to his side following the home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last time out, drafting in the sizeable frame of Jannik Vestergaard to bolster the heart of his backline, as Jack Stephens dropped to the bench.

Saints were quick to assert their control on proceedings with some sustained early possession, and were clinical to strike first with their first sight of goal.

Jan Bednarek’s contribution was important, nipping in front of his man to help the ball on to Kyle Walker-Peters, who fed Adams with a clever pass in behind the defence.

It was from a similar ball that Ings opened his account for the season against Spurs, and again Saints’ talisman profited, this time thanks to some excellent awareness from Adams, whose blind cutback took goalkeeper Nick Pope out of the equation, leaving his strike partner to convert just in front of sliding defender Jimmy Dunne.

Saints grew in confidence and authority and were good value for their lead as the half wore on. 

Walker-Peters, always an outlet on the right, collected a long diagonal pass from Vestergaard and crossed for Adams, only for Kevin Long to temporarily diffuse the danger with a vital interception.

Saints kept the move alive and goal provider Adams had the chance to add his name to the scoresheet when picked out by Ryan Bertrand, but he blazed the ball high over the crossbar on his left foot from 12 yards.

When the ball was in play, the visitors seemed in complete control, but Burnley always pose a threat from set-pieces, and giving away cheap free-kicks would have been Hasenhüttl’s main concern at half time.

Ashley Westwood had Alex McCarthy scrambling across his goal with one floated delivery towards the far post, while corners were also giving the home side a slice of encouragement.

But the combination play between Ings and Adams is improving all the time, with one dropping short and the other stretching the defensive line with direct runs in behind. Ings was frequently able to find pockets of space and pose Burnley a problem. 

Saints would have been wise to expect a fired-up home team after the restart, and it took only 30 seconds for McCarthy to be forced to make his first notable save of the match – albeit 45 minutes late for Sean Dyche’s point of view.

Chris Wood peeled away to the far post and sent a strong header back across goal, but the England international was able to pluck it out of the air, diving to his left.

The Burnley No 9 then had the ball in the net soon after, only to be denied by the assistant referee after Saints seemed certain he was offside and half-stopped, but it was a tighter call than real time suggested. 

Then Charlie Taylor stung the palms of McCarthy as Saints began to get pushed back, although the keeper was never likely to be beaten on his near post from outside the penalty area.

Hasenhüttl was unhappy with how Saints’ intensity dropped against Spurs, but he freshened things up at Turf Moor by introducing the youthful energy of Michael Obafemi and Nathan Tella, as Adams and Moussa Djenepo departed with 13 minutes left – the first changes for either side.

By this point Burnley's revival had subsided, barring a desperate late barrage, and a brilliant finish from Ings would have wrapped up the points in stoppage time had the match-winner not strayed just offside.

Head to Head Stats

• Possession (%)
  53

  47
• Shots
  10

  5
• Shots on target
  2

  1
• Corners
  8

  2
• Passes Complete
  374

  341