Saints Cruise Past Bournemouth

Southampton’s Nathan Redmond netted twice and fellow winger Moussa Djenepo also scored to secure a 3-0 win over south-coast rivals Bournemouth on Saturday and a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2017-18.

Mali international Djenepo ran on to a precise through ball from Redmond to slot past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and give the Saints the lead in the 37th minute, before Ralph Hasenhuettl’s side struck again seconds before the break at the Vitality Stadium.

Redmond collected a pass in midfield and weaved his way past Bournemouth’s defence to fire into the top corner as the Premier League side took control of their quarter-final with Jonathan Woodgate’s Championship (second-tier) side.

The Saints began the game brightly and thought they had gone ahead 1-0 when Bournemouth’s Cameron Carter-Vickers bundled in a Kyle Walker-Peters pass into the penalty area. But the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) disallowed the goal for offside.

VAR ruled out another Southampton effort in the second half when Che Adams netted from distance, because Stuart Armstrong was deemed to have been offside in the build-up.

Redmond then scored with a fine finish to cap off a strong day for Southampton, who last won a major trophy when they claimed the FA Cup in 1976.

The Saints will find out who they take on in the last four of the competition at Wembley Stadium when the draw is made on Sunday.

Reuters