'This is not acceptable' - Ralph Hasenhuttl blasts Alex McCarthy after Southampton's draw against Brighton
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ByEurosport
Updated 05/12/2021 at 10:48 GMT
Southampton were held to a 1-1 draw against Brighton on Saturday after Neal Maupay scored an injury-time equaliser to earn Graham Potter's side a point. Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has blasted Alex McCarthy for not telling him the extent of a hamstring injury he was suffering from during the match and felt the goalkeeper's silence may have cost Southampton all three points.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Image credit: Getty Images
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has blasted goalkeeper Alex McCarthy for a lack of professionalism after their 1-1 draw with Brighton.
James Ward-Prowse ran to the back post to try and prevent Jakob Moder from scoring in injury-time, but instead played Neal Maupay onside and the Frenchman slotted in a 98th-minute equaliser.
Ward-Prowse covered the post in fear that McCarthy was not mobile enough to protect the entire goal because he had a hamstring injury. Hasenhuttl says he would have replaced his goalkeeper if he knew he was injured.
"If you have a goalkeeper that is not 100 per cent fit in that moment and cannot jump and then you send someone back into the line, then the rebound that comes out is normally offside," Hasenhuttl told reporters after the match.
"But Prowsey's there, so he has a free shot at goal. This is something we cannot accept. There must be a message: 'I cannot jump,' and then we can make a change.
"We still had one change at the end and I could have changed the goalkeeper if necessary in this moment. But Alex must be definitely more professional than that. This is what I missed from him today in such a game.
"Yes it is hectic at the end and everything, but this is the reason why I sometimes keep the changes until later, because especially in such a game we've seen today, if you change too early you can be one man down.
Today I had one change and I couldn't take it because he didn't say anything, and this for me is not acceptable.
With McCarthy now set for a spell on the sidelines and Fraser Forster out injured, Southampton may only have one goalkeeper, 23-year-old Harry Lewis, fit to play against Arsenal on Saturday.
"Alex is out maybe for a long time, and Fraser Forster is also out injured," Hasenhuttl added.
"It's a situation where we have a fantastic game played, especially the first 45 minutes, dominated nearly the whole game, but we drew in the end and we feel we are not the winners today. This is awful and it's hard to accept.
"It's a hamstring injury, and this is the reason why we couldn't play out any more in the second half.
"I didn't know how tough it was, I thought he could only not play the long balls, so I kept him in the goal. But if I would do it again I would change him, but I couldn't, because I didn't have the message.
"There's a reason why we have a reserve goalkeeper on the bench, this is no problem. Alex made a big save before, and he had kept us in with a chance of the three points at first.
"But when he then thinks he cannot jump into the corner for a free-kick, then I think it's tough, it's not possible."
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