Saints U21s 0-0 Spurs - Ugo's verdict

Ugo Ehiogu was left with mixed emotions after Monday’s stalemate at Southampton in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League.

We kept Saints goalkeeper Paolo Gazzaniga busy throughout the evening at St Mary’s – a host of players going close for us, particularly as we applied sustained pressure in the second half in search of a breakthrough.

Ultimately the match ended without score and the points were shared, with Under-21s Coach Ugo regretting his side’s failure to get off the mark.

“The first half was disappointing because we didn’t play as many forward passes as we would have liked,” he said.

“I think we had reasonably good control in the middle third but didn’t quite have the balance right with our attacking play in the final third. We’ve worked on being better than that, in terms of being more penetrative, but in the second half the intent was much better.

“We created a few chances and openings and for me there was only one team that was going to win the game.

“In the end it feels like a loss today. Obviously we didn’t do quite enough to win it, but we certainly wouldn’t have deserved to lose it.”

Southampton might have seized an early lead when Ryan Seager raced clear, but goalkeeper Luke McGee made an important one-on-one save to prevent the hosts from making the breakthrough.

Ugo was impressed with the contribution of the young stopper, confirming the shutout was one of the main positive points coming out of the game.

“It was pleasing to see us keep another clean sheet,” he added. “Luke has a nice habit of making key saves at vital times for us and it was nice to see him coming for a few crosses under pressure as well.

“If you look at the whole picture, we’ve come through another game without conceding and overall I think we created more clear-cut chances.”