The Southampton striker scored twice v Sparta Prague.
Southampton’s Charlie Austin and Dusan Tadic decide who will take the penalty as Virgil van Dijk intervenes
Southampton boss Claude Puel tasted success for the first time for the club since taking over in the summer during the week. The Saints thumped Sparta Prague 3-0 in the Europa League.
One man who came to the fore in the fixture was Charlie Austin.
The striker has struggled to find regular football at St Mary’s since his move from QPR.
He scored two goals for the club in their win v the Czech side. The first goal was a penalty, that he was clearly not supposed to take.
He and Dusan Tadic, the regular penalty taker, got into a very public disagreement over who would take the spot-kick.
Austin, with the intervention of Virgil van Dijk, won he argument and buried his effort.
One man who knows about taking penalties for Southampton is Matt Le Tissier.
Southampton’s Charlie Austin celebrates scoring their second goal
Speaking on Sky Sports News HQ yesterday (16/09/16) the Southampton legend made it clear he did not like the incident:
“He wanted to get a goal. You could see that with the penalty. Dusan Tadic has been taking the penalties this season. Charlie was very keen to go grab the ball and take the penalty.
“There was a little bit of a disagreement, which I don’t like seeing if I’m honest. That shows a little bit of unprofessionalism. That should be sorted in the changing room before the game.”
He also commented on how Southampton can get the best of the striker, insisting he needs a run of games:
“I think you are only going to see if Charlie is worth a place in that side if you give him five or six games on the spin. I think that’s the only way you’re going to find out.”
Austin was clearly hungry for goals on Thursday night. He had previously scored just the once for Southampton, on his debut.
Saints fans will now hope the floodgates open for the striker.
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