Chapter 127 - Blackburn

After more than a week since Kazuki used the new feature. The impact on the players was starting to show. Kazuki focused the improvement on Orlando, Joe Bennet, and Wright-Phillips. Bennet's appearance, which was initially unstable, slowly maintained its performance.

Orlando was also now more stable and had become the second choice in the defensive midfield sector after Rudolf and Simone. Although, Wright-Phillips was sometimes didn't take serious his training but Kazuki couldn't deny that he was an important part of Southampton.

In the next round, Southampton will visit Blackburn's stadium. In this 12th round, Southampton have a great opportunity to continue to win. George stated in a press conference that Southampton would be ready for their 11th win.

After the day which Southampton against Blackburn came. George fielded the players who usually were on the bench in this match. One reason was to perform rotations.

Against Blackburn who performed poorly in the first 10 games of the 2012/2013 season, Southampton dominated the game. In the 7th minute, Ryan, who played as a left winger, managed to break through Blackburn's right-back. Then he sent a cross into the middle of the penalty box. Kazuki greeted the pass with a volley. Too bad the kick was aimed at the goalkeeper, so it can be caught easily.

Continuing in the 15th minute, Southampton launched an attack again. Dean Smith caught the ball from the Blackburn striker. He then threw the ball to Vicente. Then, the Southampton right-back brought the ball forward. He dodged pressure from the Blackburn players before sending a pass for Bennett.

Joe Bennet flicked the ball over Blackburn's defensive midfielder. Then he gave a long pass to Kazuki. Blackburn's two centre-backs guarded Kazuki well, and the Japanese player knew his position was not ideal for headed it to the goalpost. He immediately gave the ball to the right by heading the ball to Rustan who was on the right.

Rustan received the ball he pushed the ball forward and then sent a flat pass horizontally to the left. Ryan kicked the ball hard. Blackburn goalkeeper was failed to catch it. Southampton scored the first goal.

The match then continued. In the 25th minute, Blackburn almost equalized. Their midfielder managed to release a long kick from outside the penalty box after Orlando failed to keep him. The kick hit the post and bounced off the field. This attack sounded the alarm for the Southampton defense which from the start was rarely attacked.

In the 34th minute, Southampton launched an attack. Simone managed to snatch the ball from the feet of the Blackburn midfielder. He then gave the ball to Bennet. Joe Bennet brushed Blackburn's defensive midfielder and then brought the ball to the front of the penalty box. Then, he sent a breakthrough pass to Kazuki.

The Japanese player ran to receive the ball, his body pushed to the side by the Blackburn centre-back. Facing a tight space, Kazuki remained confident in sending out a kick. The ball was floating straight towards the goalpost. The ball passed through the gap between the keeper's hand and body before perfectly landing in the Blackburn net.

Kazuki managed to score a goal. Southampton was two goals ahead of Blackburn. The goal made Blackburn's hope in the pursuit of victory at home begin to fade. Now, all they wanted was to level things up. Therefore they must really keep the defense from Southampton attacks.

In the 44th minute, Vicente who did the overlap got a sharp tackle from Blackburn's left back. Vicente's injury appeared severe enough that the Southampton medical team guided Vicente off the field. Blackburn left back get a red card as a reward for his actions. Winsley Hart came in to replace Vicente. Winsley was an 18-year-old who was called up from Southampton's academy.

The first half ended with Southampton 2-0 advantage over Blackburn. Blackburn replaced a forward with a left back. Now their formation has changed from 4-3-3 to 4-3-2. With a shortage of players up front, it will certainly make Blackburn weaker in counter-attack. Southampton did not hesitate in attacking Blackburn from the start.

In the 48th minute, Southampton launched an attack. Winsley boldly overlapped from the right. The player who just made his debut seems very brave to deceive the Blackburn players with his action. He then gave the ball to Rustan. The Southampton right winger received a pass from Winsley and then sent a cross into the middle of the penalty box.

Kazuki headed the ball back. His position at that time was too close to the goalkeeper. Bennett received the ball, he then pushed the ball to the side and gave Ryan a through ball. Blackburn goalkeeper swiftly moved to the left side. However Ryan gave the ball to Kazuki. Kazuki immediately stuck out his leg. Southampton's third goal was created.

After the goal, Blackburn seemed to lose his enthusiasm to play. In the 55th minute, Orlando cut Blackburn's pass. He then gave the ball to Simone. Simone passed the ball to Ben Carter who overlaps. Ben Carter passed the ball to Ryan. At that moment Ryan and Joe Bennet ran cross paths. Bennett went to the wing, while Ryan went to the right. Ryan then provided a through ball to Bennet.

Bennet received the ball and gave a cross into the goalmouth. The Blackburn centre-back managed to head home but his header hit another Blackburn player and bounced into the net. Southampton immediately celebrated the own goal.

This own goal also made Blackburn really lose his spirit. Blackburn fans also seem to leave one by one.

In the 65th minute, Southampton got a free kick from the front of the penalty box. This time, Southampton gave the opportunity to Bennet. As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Bennett kicked the ball. The ball slid over the player's wall. Orlando jumped high and deflected the ball. 5-0, Southampton completely destroyed Blackburn.

In the 78th minute, Bennett, Ryan and also Ben Carter worked well on the left. It made the Blackburn players focus to the left to defend. Bennet took the opportunity to send a pass to the right. Rustan received the ball and gave Simone a cut-back.

Simone kicked the ball hard. The ball slid into the right side of the goalpost. The Blackburn goalkeeper jumped to the right. Luckily, he still had time to parry the ball. Southampton failed to extend the lead. But their attacks did not end there.

In the 89th minute, Southampton scored again. Starting from a corner kick. Bennett provided a very beautiful cross. Kazuki made good use of the cross. He managed to send a powerful header towards net. Southampton scored again for the sixth time. Meanwhile, Kazuki has now scored his first hat-trick of the season.

The match ended with a score of 0-6.. Blackburn crushed at the feet of the guest, Southampton.