Tonda Eckert believes Southampton had “enough moments” to win their eventual 0-0 draw against Bolton.
A tight contest at St Mary’s Stadium saw both teams produce 14 shots with the Saints having converted just two of their chances onto target compared to Bolton’s three.
Southampton consequently slipped to seventh in the Championship table.
“There were enough moments to win it – more than enough,” rued Eckert on his team’s wasteful finishing. “I think we had complete control in the first half, and then the game opens up a little bit in the second, where we tried to push.
“There is the chance to open it up very early after two minutes, and there are a couple of situations early in the second half, but if you don’t manage to score you know how it is – when you’re pushing for a result you don’t forget that you also need to defend.
“We will take the clean sheet, the third one in a row, put that one to bed and move on.”
Leo Scienza saw a 58th-minute cross handballed by Ruben Rodrigues but referee, Matt Donohue refused to give Southampton a penalty, but Eckert wasn’t too irked at the decision.
“It’s clear. If even the away manager says it’s a handball, I don’t need to add anything to that,” quipped Eckert as he opted to address Bolton’s “very high line” tactics.
“They play a very high line, so you know you can get in behind on the outside a little bit more and that’s where most of the chances come from – that’s where the penalty situation comes from, the handball, and that’s where James’ chance comes from towards the end. Towards the end it was just us pushing for the goal, and I think we deserved it.”
Cyle Larin however had to be substituted shortly after he collided with Southampton’s former goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu, with Eckert concerned at the possibility of a leg injury for the Canadian.
“He had the collision with Gav a little bit earlier, and then he called for a substitution a couple of minutes after because he felt something in his leg. I hope it’s nothing too bad – we will assess over the next days,” spoke the German manager.