Another Super Eagles football star Joe Aribo came off the bench to also open his Premier League account as Southampton bounced back from two goals down to salvage a battling point in their 2-2 draw against Leeds.
After a lacklustre hour, and trailing 2-0 at home, under-fire manager Ralph Hasenhuttl introduced the Nigerian midfielder off the bench – and it took him 10 minutes to score for the Saints on Saturday. The new arrival from Rangers received a pass from Adam Armstrong, rolled the ball out of the goalkeeper’s reach before smashing it through the retreating Leeds defenders on the line to reduce arrears for the hosts.
Kyle Walker-Peters fired an 81st-minute equaliser from an acute angle as the Saints ended a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats.
“I’m buzzing I was able to leave my impact on the game, help the team get back, show some spirit and a fight,” Aribo told BBC Radio Solent.
“I thought I had messed it up. But luckily I just shifted it onto my right and shot it. I’m surprised I scored my first Premier League goal with my right foot.”
The Saints had appeared to lack a cutting edge as the stands began to empty at a sun-drenched St Mary’s before Aribo’s introduction. But the 26-year-old admitted the team showed a great fighting spirit to snatch a point – and prevented a record-equalling sixth league defeat in a row.
“I think the fans helped us a lot. They stayed behind us, even though it got to 2-0 and it’s really important to have that,” he added.
“I think we showed a lot of fire and a lot of character out there, it’s really important to have that spirit and togetherness in a team.”
