‘A Very Positive Second Half’ – Ayew’s Saints Assessment

- Leicester City beat Southampton 3-2 to record their first Premier League away win
- Jordan Ayew came off the bench to score an injury-time winner at St. Mary’s Stadium
- Facundo Buonanotte and Jamie Vardy also netted in the comeback victory on the South Coast

It was a stunning comeback from the Foxes, who trailed by two goals at the break but came back in the second half, firstly courtesy of Facundo Buonanotte’s goal. That gave the visitors hope and, after Ayew replaced Bilal El Khannouss on 68 minutes, a Jamie Vardy penalty restored parity at St. Mary’s Stadium, ahead of the most dramatic of endings in stoppage-time.  

“Congratulations to the boys,” Ayew commented after Saturday’s triumph. “It was an interesting game, very entertaining. I think three goals, it was a good game. It's a good second half, the first half was a bit difficult.

“We were 2-0 down, but in the second half, the boys did well and we looked like the team that we should be. With all the positive things in the second half, the Manager supported us because we were still 2-0 down.

“They were pushing us and everything was positive, so we need to keep that up. It’s back-to-back wins as well, so only positive things.”

It looked to be heading towards a draw on the South Coast, but Ayew ensured he was in the right position on the edge of the box to turn home Harry Winks’ corner in the eighth minute of added time, before wheeling away to celebrate with the travelling Blue Army.

“It was my natural instinct,” the 32-year-old explained. “As Premier League players, we need to improvise sometimes and that's what I did. Sometimes you work on it in training and in the game, it doesn’t happen. That's football, but the most important thing is that it went in the back of the net and we were all happy.

“I hope the supporters really enjoyed the game. It was a special moment, because it was my first goal for the Club in the league. It took a bit of time, but I believe in myself, I believe in my abilities, and I know that I can bring in a lot of things.

“I went to the fans to thank them because they've been behind me since I came through the door. They've been behind me and I'm happy for them as well and happy for myself and my family as well.”

The character of the squad was on full display and Ayew outlined the importance of City’s first away victory of the season, lifting Leicester onto nine points from their opening eight matches.

“I was quite positive after we got the first goal,” the Ghana international added. “I was positive that we could come back and why not win the game? And that's what happened. We let ourselves down a little bit in the first half and it's the game, that's part of it.

“We're not perfect, we're still working on a lot of things but the most important thing is that we go to win, and we managed to find a way today to win, and that's positive, that's a good sign as well.

“We know the season is going to be difficult, but we're working hard in training and we're gaining the rewards and with time hopefully we will improve. We will get better and better and it will be positive for us.”