In-form Southampton cruise to win against Preston

Southampton player Che Adams netted twice during a recent game, bringing his total number of goals this season to 17.

Southampton managed to win 3-0 against Preston, with Che Adams scoring two of those goals. This victory helped Southampton come closer to the top three contenders in the Championship.

Stuart Armstrong's impressive goal, along with two goals from Adams, almost finished the game before half-time, extinguishing Preston's already fading chances of making it to the play-offs.

The Saints are now four points closer to Leicester, who hold the second spot in the rankings. They will face off at the King Power Stadium next Tuesday.

The Championship's contest for automatic promotion now involves four teams since the leading three have not been performing well lately, while Southampton has won five matches and drawn two out of their last eight. They are set to face third-ranked Leeds on the last day of the season.

After their defeat at Ipswich on Easter Monday, Southampton seemed to have no chance of going straight up. However, they managed to collect 10 points from four matches while Leicester, Ipswich, and Leeds faced some difficulties.

The match had to be rescheduled from the previous month due to a fire nearby St Mary's Stadium. Preston, who suffered a significant loss against Norwich in their home game on Saturday, were dominated by Southampton right from the beginning.

Southampton had to make a change to their starting team because their goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu got injured in his Achilles tendon during warm-up. It was strange that the manager, Russell Martin, picked the experienced third-choice goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy, to start instead of Joe Lumley who was on the bench.

From the time that Saints demonstrated their fast passing skills and exposed Preston's right side, leading to a cross from Adam Armstrong for his teammate Adams to score the first goal of the game and his 100th senior goal, it was clear which way the game was going.

After ten minutes, Southampton extended their lead to 2-0 after smoothly defeating Preston. Adams faked out Ryan Manning's pass and raced off to grab David Brooks' rapid pass, scoring his second goal by slipping it past Preston's goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

During the match, Preston was aptly dismantled as Adam Armstrong and Adams both made an effort to score from far. Their shots landed on the roof of the net, narrowly missing out on catching Woodman off-guard.

Duane Holmes struggled to keep up with Stuart Armstrong and almost gave away a penalty for tripping Ryan Manning. He was also responsible for the third goal that proved to be the end of the game.

He made a poor attempt to clear the ball, which only managed to reach Stuart Armstrong who was positioned 20 yards from the goal. Despite this, Armstrong skillfully aimed his shot towards the bottom corner and scored.

Lowe made a substitution to try and stop the opposing team's progress, bringing in Holmes. But despite the change, the opposing team continued to dominate and Stuart Armstrong hit the goalpost.

In the latter part of the match, Southampton lessened their intensity while Martin readied himself for their upcoming game in Cardiff by making various substitutions. However, Woodman's outstanding saves stopped Adams from scoring three goals and kept Brooks from increasing their score.

During an interview with BBC Radio Solent, Russell Martin, who is the manager of Southampton, shared some information.

The way we played was outstanding, we showcased some stunning soccer skills with a high level of intensity and persistence. It is important for us to maintain this level of play for the upcoming four matches.

The show put on in the first period was remarkable, and even in the following half, where a team might relax, they continued to show their commitment to scoring once more.

They paid close attention to the specifics and the form was impressive. We successfully regained possession of the ball repeatedly and managed to restrict a strong team to only one shot throughout the entire game, which is quite challenging in the competitive Championship league.

They must continue their victory streak for four additional games, commencing on Saturday. Otherwise, the previous wins will lose significance.

Regarding Bazunu's injury, his Achilles appears to be severely affected, leading us to believe that he will miss the entire season. We are all incredibly saddened for him.

During an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire, Ryan Lowe, the manager of Preston, stated:

The match had two distinct parts. Our initial strategy fell flat and didn't work out as planned in the first half. However, in the second half, things started going more smoothly and we played like ourselves, but unfortunately, it seemed like the game had already been decided by half-time, when the score was 3-0.

We've just discussed with the team and displayed the goals to them. It's not acceptable to give Southampton those opportunities. There were a few mistakes made by individuals and we could have performed better in one instance. Additionally, we could have controlled the ball better in another situation.

"Our outcome could have been affected by the performance we had in the first half."

The game has come to an end, and the score is Southampton 3 and Preston North End 0.

The latter part of the game comes to a close, with Southampton scoring three points and Preston North End scoring none.

The shot tried by Ryan Manning from the middle of the box was prevented from going in. Samuel Edozie provided the assist.

In the game between Southampton and their opponents, Samuel Edozie was able to earn himself a free kick on the wing located on the left side of the field.

Ryan Ledson (Preston North End) committed an infringement.

Ryan Manning (Southampton) committed a foul.

In the half of the field where his team is making sure they don't concede a goal, Alan Browne, a player from Preston North End, is awarded a chance to take a kick where the opposing team cannot interfere. This is called a free kick.

Ryan Manning from Southampton has been awarded a free kick in their own half of the field.

Will Keane (Preston North End) committed a foul.

Ryan Manning (Southampton) committed a foul.

Robert Brady, who plays for Preston North End, has just earned his team a free kick in their own half of the field.

Southampton has decided to make a substitution; David Brooks will be replaced by Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Joe Rothwell from Southampton took a direct free kick with his right foot, but unfortunately, he missed the target as the ball went over the net.

David Brooks from Southampton has just earned a free kick in the part of the field where his team is on the offensive.

Ryan Ledson (Preston North End) committed a foul.

Ched Evans takes the place of Milutin Osmajic for Preston North End.

In Southampton's squad substitution, Ché Adams was replaced by Samuel Edozie.

Ryan Manning from Southampton just missed the goal with his left-footed shot from outside the box. Although David Brooks was there to help from a corner, the ball ended up going too far left.

Close call! Southampton's David Brooks takes a shot with his right foot from the middle of the penalty area, but it's stopped by the goalkeeper reaching up high in the centre of the goal.

Freddie Woodman let in a goal at the Corner in Southampton.