Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl believes the lighter matchball could have played a part in helping his side blast into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
A James Ward-Prowse penalty in the second half followed by a wonderful stoppage time finish from Armando Broja helped the Saints hit back from a Michail Antonio equaliser as they sealed a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at St Mary’s.
Yet it was the 30-yard screamer from Romain Perraud – his first goal in English football – that opened the scoring for the Saints that grabbed the attention of many.
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That’s how you hit them!
Romain Perraud with his first goal in English football – and what a goal!
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Romain Perraud’s stunning strike for Southampton was his first in English football
The defender’s effort flew from 30 yards past helpless West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola
The Saints manager admitted that the lightness of the ball Mitre ball used in the competition compared to the Nike Premier League version could have aided his ability to beat Alphonse Areola from distance.
‘It was an amazing goal [from Romain Perraud],’ Hasenhuttl said. ‘The ball in the cup is lighter and that’s why you can shoot outside the box. We have a few good guys who can score goals from them.
‘You can’t speak about having a big squad and trusting everyone and not show the right signals’
‘It was hard for them in the beginning with no rhythm playing in front of 28,000 fans. It was clear with five subs you can decide the game in second half with subs.’
Despite putting in an excellent display to go through, Southampton made nine changes in total from their previous encounter.
After the goal Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton went on to defeat West Ham United 3-1
The Saints boss believes the Mitre FA Cup matchball is lighter than the Premier League ball
Armando Broja came on as a second half substitute, and made a crucial contribution, winning his side the penalty kick to help retake the lead before his fine solo finish inside the additional seven minutes.
‘Armando Broja had a good impact in the game’, Hasenhuttl added. ‘He is a threat with speed. We have quality and created some good parts in our game.
‘Making nine changes doesn’t mean that we’re not looking for this cup. It’s a super opportunity for us. But we shouldn’t forget these players have brought us here.
‘We should give them a chance to play again. It’s tough but as soon as you saw players struggling after the Norwich game we knew we should make changes.’
Meanwhile West Ham boss David Moyes conceded that Southampton deserved to go through at their expense, although was left to regret on a number of missed chances.
David Moyes conceded that his team did not deserve to progress to the quarter-finals
‘We probably didn’t deserve it,’ Moyes also reflected to the BBC. ‘We went behind to a worldie and we fought back.
‘I thought we were probably the better team at those stages of the game. We gave away a terrible second goal and the third didn’t matter. We didn’t do well enough to get through.
‘Congratulations to Southampton. I thought in the first half we had a lot of the ball but not the quality in the final third. We didn’t take our half-chances.
‘In the second half after we got the goal back it looked like if any team was going on to win, it was us.’