SOUTHAMPTON 4 CITY 1
League Division 1
19th January 1980
attendance 21,422
Scorers
City Power(62)
Southampton Channon(9), Ball(50), Watson(80), Moran(87)
Ref D Hedges
City Corrigan, Ranson, Reid, Booth, Caton, Donachie, Power, Daley, Robinson, Viljoen, Lee – sub Palmer(62)
Southampton Wells, Golac, Waldron, Baker, Watson, Nicholl, Ball, Boyer, Channon, Holmes, Hebberd – sub Moran(86)
FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JOHN MADDOCKS, PUBLISHED IN THE CITY PROGRAMME 20TH JANUARY 1990
Having lost 4-1 at Brighton three weeks earlier, City returned to the south coast to play Southampton, with exactly the same result! The Saints‘ team reads like a City “Who’s Who”, with no less than five players with Maine Road connections. Channon had re-signed from City 4 months earlier, Watson had joined Southampton after his year at Werder Bremen, while also in their ranks were later City signings Phil Boyer and Graham Baker, and finally Ivan Golac, who would subsequently come to Maine Road on loan in 1983.
There was a huge gulf in class between the teams. Saints played accurate, purposeful football which merited a far higher goal tally and the fact that it was only 4 against was down to Corrigan’s brilliance; he made at least seven superb saves in the first half alone. Ranson and Caton were made to look like the raw youngsters they were, while Daley and Robinson seemed expensive misfits.
Channon, arm wheeling like a Dutch windmill in a gale, delightedly scored the first, his 200th for Southampton, after a 9th minute corner, that being the only goal of the half, thanks to Corrigan. It was different after the interval. Ball finished off a one-two with Holmes. then Power punished a bad mistake by Golac to give it a glimmer of hope.
But it was not to be. Watson jumped on the ex-Blues victory train, emulating Channon by heading Saints further ahead, and the rout was completed with 3 minutes left when sub. Moran scored with his first kick in League football.