Southampton maintain automatic promotion charge with win over Blackburn

Southampton extended their unbeaten run to 18 games with a seventh win in a row following a 3-0 victory over Blackburn which leaves them just three points off second place in the Championship.

First-half goals from Cyle Larin and Ryan Manning and a late strike from Cameron Archer continued Saints’ incredible streak with a result that will have fans believing they can catch Ipswich in the hunt for automatic promotion.

Due to Southampton’s progression to the FA Cup semi-final, this game was moved at late notice and only a handful of Rovers supporters braved the long journey south from Lancashire on a dank midweek evening.

With Saints having such a busy fixture list, boss Tonda Eckert made five changes to the team which beat Derby 2-1 on Saturday but there was no disruption to the relentless rhythm which has catapulted the club up the table.

The home side had plenty of early pressure and the first effort came from Archer, whose volley was deflected narrowly over the bar.

Larin, another of the changes, then forced a good save from Balazs Toth as he got his head to James Bree’s corner.

Blackburn were struggling to get out of their half and Saints made the breakthrough in the 24th minute when Kuryu Matsuki set Archer free down the left and he squared the ball perfectly for Larin to slot home.

Southampton were showing no signs of easing off and Shea Charles went close with a rampaging run and shot which was beaten away by Toth.

Two minutes before half-time they had a second when Manning’s low shot deflected off Yuri Ribeiro and past the hapless Toth after good work from Charles.

The pattern hardly differed after the break as Eckert’s men continued to dominate possession and territory as they racked up more chances.

Archer and Taylor Harwood-Bellis went close as Michael O’Neill’s side were struggling to cope with the pace of Southampton’s attacks.

Matsuki missed a glorious chance to add a third after brilliant work from Harwood-Bellis and Larin left him with the goal at his mercy but somehow the Japanese midfielder contrived to shoot over.

Brazilian talisman Leo Scienza came on for the final 20 minutes to add menace to a tiring Southampton attack and he soon twisted past Kristi Montgomery but was unable to beat Toth at the near post.

In the final 10 minutes, Blackburn finally threatened with Daniel Peretz beating away Yuki Ohashi’s shot before Ryoya Morishita struck a post with the rebound.

Other than that, Saints were comfortable as Archer added a third while a mouth-watering end to the season awaits with a Wembley FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and a crucial home league game against Ipswich still to come.