I'm all for rivalry but this is an amateur or semi-pro level competition at the end of the day. I just find it ridiculous that Portsmouth risked so many first team players because they're playing a team wearing the Saints kit. They're not playing Saints, they're playing Saints B. The crowd is less than 3,000. To call this game a "derby" is ridiculous.
Wishing Diamond Edwards a speedy recovery after picking up an ACL injury and will miss the rest of the season.
Great article from The Athletic on Dom Ballard: ‘He is born to score goals’: Ballard’s form and confidence will not be lost on Hasenhuttl please log in to view this image By Jacob Tanswell 3h ago 1 If there was ever a soft signal a young player was making a name for himself, it was the day after Dom Ballard scored on his debut against Cambridge United. His Wikipedia page was set up. Inside Staplewood, Ballard has long been regarded as the shining jewel in the academy. Immense self-belief has chimed with a feverish, schoolboy playing style. He wants the ball all the time and is unafraid of making mistakes. Before turning 16 and being offered a scholarship deal, Ballard told team-mates, entirely earnestly, that he would one day play for the first team and score on his debut. Less than two years later, he duly fulfilled his own prophecy. Ballard also explained how he would play for England, once going through their various youth age groups. The pathway in his mind and the confidence to walk it is said to be unerring, but refuses to border on arrogance. Kaya Tshaka, who was a team-mate of Ballard last year, describes him to The Athletic as having “extreme confidence.” “He’s just Dom — funny, loud but a really good guy,” says Tshaka. “Dom’s a top player and proof of what self-belief can do. The positions he gets into to score goals made my job easy. He is mature beyond his years and his record speaks for itself. He is born to score goals, I swear.” Despite his precocious talent, those who have worked closely with him on and off the pitch say he is an uncomplicated character, a “what you see is what you get” type. At first glance, the teenager is quiet and reserved, but stumble across a subject he is passionate about — such as zest for wearing the latest fashion — and you cannot stop him talking. There is a sense Ballard’s maturity has rapidly grown over the past year. The 17-year-old is routinely the youngest player in Southampton’s B team but has emerged a popular member in the dressing room. His long-standing friends remain in the under-18s, having risen through the ranks together, but first-team players have grown fond of him and recognise his qualities. As is club tradition after a young player makes their debut, Ballard made a speech earlier this month in front of coaches and players, thanking those who have helped him on his journey. Born in April 2005, Ballard joined Southampton in 2013, having spent the formative years of his childhood living in Greece with his parents and sister. The family returned to England in December 2010, having kept property in the UK. After returning from Greece, the family settled back in Berkshire. From the age of eight, when Southampton first invited Ballard to train at the club, he and his parents would make the commute south a couple of times a week. please log in to view this image Ballard is routinely the youngest player in Southampton’s B team (Photo: Southampton FC) While Ballard now lives in digs near Staplewood — along with team-mate Ryan Chavez-Munoz — the family remain insistent on watching him whenever and wherever they can. They were in attendance for Southampton’s match at Exeter City earlier this month, where Ballard scored his seventh goal of the season in all competitions. They even fly out to England youth-level matches when he is playing abroad and saw his under-18 debut in Murcia, south-east Spain, against the Netherlands. Back in Southampton, Ballard’s host family describe him as a “pleasure”, with the youngster having hobbies featuring golf and — as for many people his age — PlayStation. Before his dad’s playing days slowed down, Ballard would return home on his rest day at the end of the week and watch his father turn out for a Sunday League side in Berkshire. With 16-year-old forward Tyler Dibling making the first-team bench last season, Southampton are in a healthy position when it comes to delving into attacking options from the academy. Winger Jimmy-Jay Morgan has also stepped up to train with the first team in the early parts of this season. In the past, boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has shown a tendency to blood young forwards, possibly ahead of schedule, to attune them to his pressing demands and particular requirements up front. From a tactical and technical perspective, Ballard may well be the prototype to surface from the ‘SFC playbook’, the brainchild of director of football Matt Crocker and Hasenhuttl. Ballard was named Southampton’s 2021-22 scholar of the year, scoring 26 goals in 41 appearances across both the B team and under-18s. Quick, aggressive in his press and with a dribbling style that is adept at working in small spaces, Ballard has been schooled on a ball-orientated model. He is a highly effective presser and is capable of performing the catalogue of choreographed patterns learned from the playbook. For example, Ballard is tasked with operating in the red zone in a strike pairing, as illustrated in the fixture at Charlton Athletic last year. Centre-back Dynel Simeu breaks the lines with a pass into the red zone, bypassing Charlton’s forwards and midfield pairing. please log in to view this image Ballard is positioned between the two centre-backs and midfield pivot to receive the ball, before accelerating the attacking move. please log in to view this image He then spins off the back of Charlton’s defenders, getting between them for a cross delivered into the box. please log in to view this image Excitement around the fanbase is building. After taking just 13 minutes to score on debut, Ballard showed a natural attuning to first-team football. Playing on the left in a 4-3-3 shape against Cambridge, a role slightly wider than what he is accustomed to, Ballard’s touches were crisp and his movement was refined. His goal in the 3-0 win added further weight to the 17-year-old’s burgeoning reputation. Go to any youth team game and Ballard is frequently the player supporters mostly ask for photos with. Ballard’s heatmap over the past year highlights an inclination to gravitate to the inside left forward position, irrespective of being used as an out-and-out striker. The area is similar to where he got his debut goal against Cambridge and, if you wish to compare him to a previous Southampton player, he carries the same footballing stylings as Jay Rodriguez. please log in to view this image “I like dribbling, taking on players and scoring goals,” Ballard told the club website recently and revealed his favourite position was left wing. He can, however, operate anywhere across the frontline, as B team coach Dave Horseman has advocated. Playing as an archetypal No 9 means he is forced to compete physically with big, bulky opposition centre-backs. This has admittedly been an area of weakness in the past. Such challenges form part of a young player’s learning arc, though. Viewed in retrospect, one game last season is seen to be a key moment in Ballard’s development. The B team were away to Crawley Town in the Papa John’s Trophy and the youngster was pitted against two experienced, physically imposing, centre-backs. Despite Southampton running out comfortable 4-0 winners, Ballard got very little change out of either and was substituted 20 minutes before the final whistle. Instead of getting frustrated, the youngster accepted that, at 16, he needed to get stronger and show greater willingness to get into physical battles. However, he already revels in winding up defenders and his unfailing confidence is said to be the cause behind this; he backs himself to score, even if he is not finding early success in games; there have been occasions this season where Ballard has been seen to do very little, before scoring twice. “All I had to do was win the ball, find him and he would do the rest,” says Tshaka. “More often than not it would end up in the back of the net.” In light of Southampton’s current form — four successive defeats and one shot on target in the previous three away games — there have been increasing calls for Ballard to feature in Hasenhuttl’s matchday squads. Those close to the player insist he is in no rush. He is not one for pushing for first-team opportunities or becoming dispirited. Rather, he does not take being in Hasenhuttl’s set-up for granted, or presume he will necessarily stay with the first team. A case in point came following his goal against Cambridge, where Ballard was told he would be back with the under-18s for the next game. There was pleasant surprise at his response. Ballard expressed his happiness at playing with his closest friends again — a view that is not always the case with ambitious youngsters. Dating back to last season, the plan had been for Ballard to stay with the B team for the year. But when the under-18s started pushing for their league title, both he and Kamari Doyle returned, wanting to play a part in achieving silverware. This campaign, Ballard has scored five goals in six Premier League 2 matches, averaging a goal every 79 minutes. Stats like this — and the characteristic confidence — means his time in the first team is likely to come sooner rather than later.
Saints FC B-Team Starting XI to take on Newport County in the EFLTrophy tonight. Wright (GK) , Payne. . Lawrence. . Lancashire. . Meghoma. . Doyle. . Turner. . Finnigan. . Amo-Ameyaw.. Ballard.. Morgan.. Subs: Hall, Armitage, Bragg, Dibling, Merry, Bellis, Pearce.
2-1 Sam Bellis after a poor County defensive header landed at his feet a yard out…Benali could have scored it…deserved goal though
Finished 2-1…lost the physical battle, but one positive is Nico Lawrence at the back…he looked quality
B Team away to Newcastle currently 1 - 1 Ballard. 2 - 1 Saints 40 mins. Lawrence. 2 -1 Saints HT. 2 - 2 60 mins. 3 -2 down 80 minutes 3 - 2 FT https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/...report-newcastle-southampton-premier-league-2
