Ralph Hasenhuttl congratulated the Southampton Under-23s after they reached the Premier League 2’s top flight by beating Newcastle in the final.
Southampton Under-23s have capped off a superb season by clinching promotion to the Premier League 2 first division thanks to their 2-1 win over their Newcastle United counterparts on Monday night.
The Saints missed out on automatic promotion by virtue of goal difference as Wolverhampton Wanderers took top spot in the second division table but victories over Aston Villa and the Magpies have nonetheless seen them go up.
Victory over Villa at St Mary’s Stadium ten days earlier had sent Southampton through to the final, and they again made home advantage count as they began brightly against Newcastle.
On 39 minutes, the hosts took the lead through Dan N’Lundulu making the most of Nathan Harker’s poor attempt at punching a corner kick away to calmly head home, and took the advantage into the interval.
Radhi Jaidi’s charges then netted again in the 54th minute when an impressive attacking passage of play saw Southampton work their way into danger before Jake Vokins’ lofted cross was headed by Tyreke Johnson into the path of an opposition defender and in turn into the net.
Despite a late response from Newcastle’s Owen Bailey making it a nervy end to the game, the young Saints held firm for victory and promotion into the top flight, with first-team manager Ralph Hasenhuttl congratulating the players after the game.
Here is how some Southampton fans reacted on Twitter to the news and to Hasenhuttl’s post-match message of congratulations:
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