EPL: Saints sink Newcastle

Newcastle United’s hopes of Premier League survival have taken another dent following a 3-1 defeat away at Southampton on Saturday.
The Magpies fell behind early on and never truly recovered, as a three-goal deficit with just 10 minutes of the second half played proved too much to overcome in the end.
Andros Townsend did manage to pull one back for the seemingly doomed Magpies, but it was ultimately too little too late in the end, leaving United six points from safety after a ninth away defeat on the spin.
It took the hosts just 90 seconds to register their first attempt on target, as an unmarked Virgil van Dijk headed the ball down to Graziano Pelle who was unable to force Karl Darlow into anything more than a routine stop.
Less than two minutes later the ball was in the back of the net, though, after some comical defending from the Magpies allowed Shane Long to simply waltz his way through and tuck home in the simplest of manners.
A dismal first-half showing from United was summed up by their only shot of the half, with Ayoze Perez picking out Saints defender Jose Fonte and not the target.
Rafael Benitez was forced into a second enforced alteration at the interval, bringing on Jamaal Lascelles in place of the injured Steven Taylor, yet the visitors’ fortunes did not change in the second 45.
Yet more slack defending, this time from a short corner, which Mane picked up to burst into the box, led to the Saints’ third goal of the afternoon as Victor Wanyama smashed home for his first of the season after Darlow kept out Pelle’s initial shot.
Townsend did at least give the travelling Toon Army faithful something to cheer on their long trek back north, cutting inside into a central position and sending a rocket of a strike into the top corner of the net.