Maturana looks on as Stern John saves Southampton.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Stern John did what he does best. And he did it in front of National Team head coach Francisco Maturana, netting a double to lead Southampton to a dramatic 3-2 win over Sheffield United and save them from relegation on the last day of the season.
Needing to win at all costs, John saved the day for his club with goals in the 53rd and 69th minutes, giving Maturana a close up look of his scoring abilities as the Colombian along with assistant Anton Corneal and team manager David Muhammad were in the Director’s Box as guests of the club on the day.
John put Southampton in front and on course to stay up before substitute Jonathan Stead's equalizer in front of a crowd of 31,957 at home in St Mary’s.
John struck again to save Saints from relegation but the striker was sent off on 80 minutes for a second bookable offense and the hosts were forced to endure a tense finish. John had been booked before for pulling his shirt off after scoring the opener.
Saints fans watched their 10-man team protect a narrow lead for the final 10 minutes knowing that a United equaliser would see them fall below both Coventry and Leicester and into the relegation zone of the English Championship Division.
An ecstatic John delivered when it mattered most to finish the season with 19 goals as Southampton finished in 20th spot with 54 points, one point more and a place above his ex-club Coventry City
“I always have confidence because I know my capabilities as a goalscorer but today was special because it was do or die and you never know how things could go,”John told TTFF Media. “But we hung in there and I put the ball where the Southampton fans wanted it to go. No club likes being relegated and credit must go to the entire team and especially the manager who came here and worked very hard to try and help us turn around the results. The fans were great and the club now has to look ahead to building for a better season next time around.”
The former Birmingham City hitman knew that Maturana was looking on and his performance couldn’t have been better timed.
“It’s good to know that he (Maturana) came up to see a couple games and his timing was good… he got to see a special win for the club and fortunately I was on target today. I hope to do the same for Trinidad and Tobago when the time comes,” added the Southampton “Player of the Year”.
His showing would have brought back memories of similar double goalscoring performances against Guatemala and Mexico at a time when the “Soca Warriors” were in dire need during the latter stages of the 2006 World Cup qualifying bid.
“Those are good memories and will stay with me forever and what happened today for Southampton is just another piece to add to the records.”
T&T team manager Muhammad said he, Maturana and Corneal will meet with some of the UK-based pros in London tomorrow (Monday) to discuss plans for the upcoming World Cup schedule.
“So far the trip has gone well. We were off to see Swansea City play yesterday with Jason Scotland and Dennis Lawrence and then today we were guests of Southampton and we saw a special day for them. We will meet with the players on Monday and return later in the week to prepare for the match against Barbados on Sunday,” Muhammad said.
The T&T team will resume training on Friday at the Marvin Lee Stadium with a similar squad of players from the recent 2-0 win over Grenada expected to regroup. French-based striker Kevaughn Connell has been invited a second time while US-based defender Ancil Farrier gets the call as well. Barbados are preparing for World Cup qualifying matches against the United States next month. T&T are preparing for the upcoming June 1 Centennial clash with England on June 1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium as well as a friendly against Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval on June 7 and its opening 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda at home on June 15 and away on June 22.
