Bale adds to Saints teething problems

Southampton 1 Tottenham 2

Bale, who missed last week’s defeat by Chelsea to witness the arrival of his daughter, joined Spurs from Saints as a 17-year-old in 2007 and his first-half header was the first time his current club had scored at St Mary’s.

Clint Dempsey doubled the advantage shortly before the interval but the home side were much stronger in the second half, when Jay Rodriguez brought them back into the game with a 66th-minute strike.

With a little more good fortune, Southampton could have had a point, but the reality for Nigel Adkins’ side is that their defence is currently not good enough to keep them in the top flight.

It is now 26 goals conceded in the league, and both Spurs goals could have been prevented with better work off the ball.

Adkins remained upbeat but there is no doubt his side must find a way to plug the gaps before their plight becomes more desperate.

“The second half was what we wanted in the first half,” he said. “Credit to Spurs, they slowed the game right down.

“We had the sucker punch of the two goals we conceded, which were poor ones from our point of view. In the second half we had them on the rack but ran out of time. We totally dominated the second half and pinned Tottenham back. It was more of a cup tie and we had a high energy.”

For Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas there was relief that his side successfully survived a difficult second period after a testing trip to Maribor on Thursday.

“It was a great win for us, particularly on a weekend when most of the top teams played each other,” he said “At half time we spoke about scoring the third goal and they put us on the back foot a little bit. It was a solid performance from us. They came up very, very strong and we knew only the 3-0 would put the game to bed. It was certainly difficult for us and we’re happy with the win.”

An away win was the logical prediction pre-match. Southampton had won only one of their previous eight Premier League fixtures, while Tottenham have looked dangerous on the road this term, demonstrated eloquently in their victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Even though the visitors lost their last match, at home to Chelsea last week, it was no surprise to see them take control quickly. They might have taken the lead in the third minute when Jan Vertonghen’s left-wing cross found its way to Aaron Lennon, but the winger prodded wide under pressure from goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Jermain Defoe then produced a clever piece of movement to elude his marker, only to shoot wide from 10 yards. He need not have worried though, as Spurs were ahead one minute later.

Defoe fed Tom Huddlestone, who had the time and space to chip the ball towards the far post, where Bale out-jumped Nathaniel Clyne and headed the ball down beyond Boruc and into the far corner of the net.

Showing respect for the club where he made his debut as a 16-year-old, Bale did not celebrate the goal and sought to calm his team-mates.

It was a strange first half, lacking the intensity normally associated with Premier League matches. Southampton struggled to find any rhythm, while their opponents, perhaps sensing the lack of confidence in the home team, rarely got out of second gear.

When they did step on the accelerator, it inevitably caused problems for the Saints defence. Six minutes before the interval, Lennon burst forward and slipped the ball into the path of Defoe, who, for once, had managed to spring the offside trap.

The England forward’s effort was cleared off the line by Jose Fonte but Dempsey beat Clyne to the loose ball and forced it over the line.

The away fans greeted the American’s strike with a chant of “We’ll score when we want”.

Saints, meanwhile, were booed off at the interval.

Southampton responded positively and after William Gallas had cleared off the line for a corner under pressure from Fonte, the Portuguese flicked Adam Lallana’s resulting corner goalwards.

Brad Friedel clawed the ball away superbly but straight to Rodriguez, who steered it into the net and suddenly, Spurs looked jittery.

Rodriguez fired wide from 15 yards after Gallas’s weak header had fallen to him and shortly afterwards, Rickie Lambert’s close-range strike was pushed around the post. With the clocking ticking down, Sandro blocked a thunderous drive from Morgan Schneiderlin but Spurs hung on.

SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): Boruc 6; Clyne 6, Yoshida 6, Fonte 5, Fox 5 (Reeves 79, 6); Schneiderlin 7, S Davis 6 (Guly 78, 6), Lallana 7, Puncheon 6 (Mayuka 58, 6); Lambert 7, Rodriguez 8.

TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Friedel 7; Walker 7, Caulker 6, Gallas 5, Vertonghen 7; Huddlestone 6 (Livermore 63, 6), Sandro 6; Lennon 7, Dempsey 7 (Dawson 90, 6), Bale 9; Defoe 7 (Sigurdsson 78, 6).

Referee: L Mason.