Southampton Vs Charlton: Sonny Carey’s second-half strike earns Addicks a hard-fought point at St Mary's
Sonny Carey’s second-half equaliser rescued a Championship point for Charlton in the Southampton Vs Charlton encounter at St Mary's, a result that leaves Southampton dropping to 11th and Charlton climbing to 17th. The visiting boss Nathan Jones returned to face his former side as 29, 476 watched the match at St Mary's Stadium.
Southampton Vs Charlton: match summary
Southampton opened the scoring early in the second half when Leo Scienza crossed from the left and Ross Stewart glanced the ball into the net for his fifth goal of the season. Charlton hit back later in the half: Greg Docherty aimed a pass across the top of the box to Sonny Carey, who took a touch before drilling a low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left-hand corner, a strike described in one account as coming in the 67th minute and in another as arriving with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Key moments and scoring
The game featured several near-misses for the hosts. In the opening moments Tom Fellows floated a cross to the back post where Scienza was in space; his right-footed volley was superbly cleared off the line by a diving Lloyd Jones. Ryan Manning struck the crossbar with a curling effort shortly before the half-hour mark, and a corner flicked on by Amari'i Bell found James Bree at the back post, but his header failed to stay down.
After the break Scienza’s in-swinging pass picked out Stewart to put Southampton ahead. Charlton’s equaliser came when Carey drilled his low finish past keeper Daniel Peretz, sending the travelling fans into raptures and earning the Addicks a point.
Discipline and late drama
The closing stages saw tempers flare. Flynn Downes and Conor Coady confronted one another in the final 10 minutes, a melee followed, and Charlton supporters wanted Downes sent off for what they believed was a headbutt. Referee John Busby produced a yellow card, and both Downes and Coady were substituted immediately after.
Southampton pushed for a winner in the final exchanges, pumping balls into the box, but Charlton’s defence held firm and the points were shared.
Broadcast, attendance and availability
The fixture was played at St Mary's Stadium with an attendance of 29, 476 and had been selected for live broadcast. The match had a scheduled kickoff of 3pm GMT. The club’s streaming service was made available in a number of territories where the main broadcast partner would not show the game: Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia and South Korea.
Additional availability for sub-Saharan Africa included Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, St Helena and Ascension, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Where broadcast rights remained unsold, the club’s streaming service listed availability in: American Samoa, Belarus, Belgium, Brunei, Cambodia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, East Timor, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Gibraltar, Guam, Italy, Kiribati, Laos, Macau, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Samoa, Solomon Islands, South Tyrol (Italy), Spain, Tahiti (French Polynesia), Taiwan, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna and Western Samoa (Samoa).
Supporters worldwide could follow live audio commentary of the clash from the club’s commentary team of Terry Smith, Greg Stubley and former Addick Steve Brown. Supporters with streaming problems were directed to the club's streaming support channels.
Standings and managerial narrative
With the draw, Southampton drop a place to 11th while Charlton climb to 17th. Nathan Jones returned to face his former side and endured taunts from the home support, who have not forgotten his earlier spell in charge: he lasted only eight games and 95 days as Southampton manager in 2022-23 before being replaced by Ruben Selles. The reverse fixture at The Valley in November had ended 5-1 to Southampton, with all the goals coming in the first half.
There were contrasting tactical notes: one report noted that Tonda Eckert's side were averaging more than 75 per cent of the possession and constantly probing at Charlton’s stubborn defence, while Charlton’s resilience and Carey’s clinical finish ultimately delivered a valuable point. The Southampton manager expressed a little disappointment at not converting the home advantage into three points but suggested the side would regroup quickly and 'go again on Tuesday. ' Tonda Eckert reflected that the win had felt "there for the taking" at certain moments, underscoring the narrow margins on display at St Mary's.
