New boy Redmond snatches draw for Southampton against 10-man Watford

Nathan Redmond scored his first goal for new club Southampton to grab a point for Claude Puel’s side against Watford.

The former Norwich City forward justified the faith shown in him by the Frenchman when he struck home a left-foot volley after a botched clearance from the Hornets in the 58th minute.

In the battle of the new managers who were facing Premier League action for the first time, the £11 million signing threatened with a few half-chances in the first half and opening stages of the second, as the home side pressed for an equaliser. Heurelho Gomes in the Watford goal palmed a Redmond shot wide of the post just seconds before he was left stranded by the equaliser.

It came after Etienne Capoue had given the away team the lead in the first half when he broke into the penalty box and volleyed home from a knock-down from Troy Deeney. The Frenchman who has not been a renowned goalscorer so far in his career, was netting his second Premier League goal from 58 appearances.

Things took a turn for the worse for the Hornets as Ben Watson was sent off with 15 minutes to go for bringing down Shane Long as the last man. It came after the home side cleared a ineffective Watford corner. Long displayed his trademark turn of pace which forced Watson - who was only on the field for 12 minutes - to make a last ditch tackle.

This tipped the play firmly in Southampton's favour as the away side looked to try and hold on for a point.

The remaining minutes of the match turned into defence against attack as Southampton pushed to claim all three points. Ultimately the away side were to continue their fine opening game record, and took away a crucial first point of the season, at what has traditionally been a tough fixture.

With The Saints losing their top goalscorers over the summer in the shape of Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane, all eyes will no doubt be on whether Redmond can act as a good enough replacement.

The true answer will come only with time but he looked like the home team's biggest threat, particularly in the second half and can only have left a good impression with his new boss Puel and the Southampton fans.

The former Tottenham midfielder fired home a well-executed shot to open proceedings but also showed great skill and tenacity at the heart of the Watford midfield, putting in a lot of defensive work to help see his team hold on to a point.

Southampton: Forster 5, Soares 6, Yoshida 4, van Dijk 5, Targett 5, Davis 5, Romeu 5, Tadic 6, Ward-Prowse 6, Long 5, Redmond 7. Subs: Pied 5, Hojbjerg 6, Austin 5.

Watford: Gomes 4, Britos 5, Prodl 5, Holebas 5, Cathcart 4, Guediora 5, Behrami 5, Capoue 7, Ighalo 5, Amrabat 6, Deeney 5. Subs: Watson 3, Zuniga 5, Anya 5.

9 - GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Watford (Capoue) After a bright start, the visitors lifted a ball to the back post, which was headed down by Deeney into a teasing position for a team mate to run on to. Capoue was the one to make the determined dash into the box, lashing the ball home from eight yards out.

58 - GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Watford (Redmond) The former Norwich striker capitalised on an error from Gomez and blasted a left-foot volley into his opponents net after going close just moments before.

76 - RED CARD! A wasted Watford corner turned into a swift counter-attacking move for The Saints, and Long showed too much pace for substitute Watson who brought down the forward as the last man, the referee left with no choice but to show him red.

86' CHANCE! Redmond nets from close range but is called offside after being played in with a neat ball by Steven Davis.