Ralph Hasenhuttl admits delight at consecutive clean sheets

Saints dominated during the first-half after Adam Armstrong had opened with a bit of brilliance from the edge of the area.

But the visitors came flying out the traps and threatened several times to restore parity right after the break, prompting relief in Hasenhuttl that his side held on following a crucial switch to a five-at-the-back.

Speaking after the game, he said: “I am really happy, this is a difficult result for us today. To get a clean sheet I must say this is what I can absolutely enjoy.

“The first-half was very good I think, the second-half they put a little bit of pressure on us I must say. We lost a little bit of control of the game and this was the reason why we stopped completely playing.

“It is not always nice to watch this but the good thing was with the change of shape I have a feeling we did not give them too many chances. We had balls flying in the box, but they didn’t have any big chances.

“I think we have shown a few good games this season, a few learning curves against Burnley in the balance of risk in some areas although the outcome was okay, was too much in terms of risk. But we see that clean sheets bring confidence to the players.

“We knew that the games coming up we had to take points, it was a tough start at the beginning of the season. I could see that there was something growing there but when you are compact and defensively organised then you only need to score one goal, this is a good thing.”

He continued: “I thought to be honest after the early goal today that we had one of these games where we have three, four goals immediately.

“In the first-half we played fantastically but need a little bit more in the final area, the last decision, if we had this I think we would score even more goals.

“It is always the same when you are only one up and you are trying to protect your winning position, it is a little bit not a brave performance.”