Southampton Vs Qpr: Eckert hails 'quality players' after emphatic win
southampton vs qpr ended in an emphatic home victory for the Saints on Tuesday night, a result that moved Southampton up to seventh in the Championship table. Head coach Tonda Eckert praised his "quality players" and highlighted sharpness on St Mary's pitch as key factors.
Five-goal display: Azaz, Matsuki, Scienza and Bree on target
Saints took an early lead through Finn Azaz and were then extended by a brace from Kuryu Matsuki, plus goals from Leo Scienza and James Bree. The win was described by Eckert as emphatic and it helped lift Southampton to seventh in the table, four points behind Wrexham in sixth.
Southampton Vs Qpr: match pack, kick-off and officials at St Mary's
The match at St Mary's Stadium was scheduled for Tuesday 24th February with an 8pm GMT kick-off and coverage beginning from 7. 30pm GMT. Referee Oliver Langford was named for the game, assisted by Mark Stevens and Robert Hyde, with Tom Nield as fourth official.
Saints wore their traditional home colours of red-and-white-striped shirts, black shorts and white socks, while QPR were in their away pink-and-black-halved shirts with black shorts and black socks. The fixture was listed as Category C and tickets were on general sale, with prices starting from £20 for adults and £10 for juniors.
Supporters were offered Saints Play match passes in certain overseas territories. The matchday programme was available to order online and from sellers around St Mary's; the double edition matched the publication sold at Saturday's home game with Charlton and was offered at the usual price of £4. Cover art for the programme was supplied by 10-year-old Emma from Fairisle Junior School to mark the Saints Foundation Charity Matchday against Charlton, and inside features included a Shea Charles interview, Tonda Eckert's notes, the latest from the women's team and coverage of both visiting sides.
Eckert on the night: sharp start, confidence and Matsuki's work
Eckert praised the squad's performance: "There are many games we could have scored more than one and sometimes that's enough, but today there were some key moments that came out our way and we do have some quality players on the pitch. " He added, "These night games are always special at St Mary's. "
On the tempo and pitch, Eckert said: "It's a quick pitch and we needed to make sure that we are really sharp and we were right from the beginning, the first goal was because of that. " He also spoke about individual mentality: "I'm very big on confidence and I believe every player needs to back themselves, he (Matsuki) has got his head down and worked hard despite not playing very minutes and today is a consequence of that. " Eckert warned the squad is not complacent: "We're still not where we want to be, we have to keep our heads down, be humble and keep working, we need to turn this into a really good month when we have our game Saturday. "
Form, fitness and selection: who is available for the run
QPR arrived at St Mary's level on points with Southampton after an impressive 3-1 win at Hull on Saturday; that was only the Londoners' third victory in their last 11 league matches, though they have lost only four of those 11. Saints came into the game unbeaten in their last six league matches, winning four of those, and were aiming to improve on a frustrating home draw with Charlton on the preceding Saturday.
For Eckert this fixture was the reverse of his first match in charge, a 2-1 triumph at Loftus Road in November. Eckert did not foresee "a big turnover" in his starting line-up after the Charlton draw, when many players recorded their first minutes since the thrilling 4-3 comeback win at Leicester 11 days earlier.
On injuries and absences: Southampton full-backs Welington and Mads Roerslev remained sidelined, and Jay Robinson missed the Charlton game because of a quad injury. QPR's new striker Justin Obikwu had still not recovered from an injury picked up soon after joining the club, and top scorer Rumarn Burrell remained out with a hamstring problem. Nicolas Madsen and Jonathan Varane had returned to the squad for the Hull game, while Ilias Chair suffered a new setback after returning to training and was set to miss the trip to St Mary's.
Table position and next match: looking ahead to Sheffield Wednesday
The victory lifted Southampton to seventh in the Championship and left them four points behind sixth-placed Wrexham. Saints' next scheduled fixture was an away trip to already relegated Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, a game Eckert referenced when urging his squad to build momentum for the coming month.
