Adam Armstrong struck twice and Finn Azaz continued his remarkable scoring run as Southampton beat Birmingham City 3-1 at St Mary’s, handing Tonda Eckert a dream first game since being appointed permanent head coach. Demarai Gray’s superb second-half strike briefly threatened a comeback for the visitors, but Saints restored their two-goal cushion almost immediately in a breathless Championship contest.
Azaz fired Southampton ahead inside the opening seven minutes before Armstrong added a brilliant long-range second midway through the first half. Gray curled in a fine response after the break, yet Armstrong’s close-range finish soon after settled matters. The result lifts Southampton from 15th to 11th in the table, just three points off the play-offs and a point behind eighth-placed Birmingham, whose away struggles continued with only one win in nine on the road.
Azaz’s Early Precision Sets an Attacking Tone
The Eckert era as caretaker had already been defined by goals – 15 in five matches after just 14 in the previous 17 – and confirmation of his permanent appointment was never likely to herald a tight, cagey affair. Any lingering doubts were dispelled almost immediately as Southampton flew out of the blocks, pinning Birmingham back and moving the ball crisply around the visitors’ box.