Bottom of the Premier League (PL) after 10 defeats in 12, Southampton turned to the FA Cup fifth round for some respite, as they hosted League Two side Grimsby Town on new manager Rubén Sellés’ home debut.
The gap in quality was immediately evident, with Max Crocombe forced to palm Sékou Mara’s one-on-one effort away inside the first five minutes. And the Southampton man was denied again soon after, when the linesman’s flag cut his celebrations short after he fired home midway through the half.
The hosts failed to take their chances, and almost inevitably, the competition’s lowest-ranked remaining side soon made them pay by taking a shock lead from the penalty spot.
The referee pointed to the spot after Lyanco’s handball inside the area, allowing Holohan to step up and slot his effort straight down the middle of Alex McCarthy’s goal, giving the Mariners a precious HT lead.
Southampton needed a quick response to avoid being lost at sea, but they instead capsized dreadfully and conceded a second penalty soon after HT.
Duje Ćaleta-Car was the guilty party on this occasion, as his rash conduct inside the area resulted in the spot-kick, allowing Holohan to once again step up and convert into the left-hand corner to double Grimsby’s lead in the 50th minute.
Ćaleta-Car quickly made amends for giving away a needless penalty earlier in the half, when he found himself unmarked inside the area from the initial corner to tap home in the 65th minute.
The momentum turned from there, and Southampton would have been level, but for the offside decision awarded by VAR, when Theo Walcott had his celebrations cut short in the 80th minute after slotting home from the set piece.
Perhaps riding their luck, as Kyle Walker-Peters put a shot narrowly wide of the post in the third minute of six added on, Grimsby held on to secure their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since the 1938/39 season.
As for Southampton, their 47-year wait for major domestic honours stretches further, as the club’s attention now returns to fighting for its life in the PL.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gavan Holohan (Grimsby Town)
