Saints survive VAR drama to seal Premier League season's first win over Everton

SAINTS survived late VAR drama to secure their first win of the Premier League season as they edged out Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.

Adam Armstrong's first of the Premier League season could hardly have meant more when he converted in the 85th minute of a close contest.

Saints had barely finished celebrating when Everton striker Beto fired the leveller past man of the match Aaron Ramsdale - but VAR offered the hosts a much-desired reprieve.

It is only the first of two massive matches over the next week, with the trip to Wolves up next, but the psychology of lifting off the foot of the table is huge.

Russell Martin opted to keep consistency with his starting team, who have fared reasonably well when they have been on the pitch together in the last few Premier League outings.

It was towards the end of matches, after changes had been made, where Saints came unstuck in the disastrous 3-2 defeat to Leicester City last time at St Mary's.

Tyler Dibling, who has played more than four times as many minutes as any other under-18 this season, dropped to the bench for Armstrong.

Sean Dyche made two changes to his Toffees team with Danish winger Jesper Lindstrom recalled despite his shocker in September's Carabao Cup meeting.

Everton had the first half-chances with the yellow winter ball but Dominic Calvert-Lewin was unable to turn them into better opportunities.

Mateus Fernandes was at the centre of an end-to-end clash but it took 41 minutes for Saints to make a connection in the final third and have their first shot.

Cameron Archer was unleashed by Flynn Downes after a good spell of possession under pressure but he fired wide of the post from a narrow angle.

That sparked Saints into life, as Ryan Manning went agonisingly close to reaching a low Armstrong cross that had been pushed away by Jordan Pickford.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jan Bednarek bailed out Adam Lallana after he dawdled on the ball at the halfway line, was dispossessed and the Toffees countered.

Harwood-Bellis then headed wide from a corner with one of the final actions of the half, before Martin was forced into a change during the break.

Lallana felt a tweak and made way for Joe Aribo but Saints kept up the pressure with which they ended the first half, as Harwood-Bellis saw a close-range shot blocked behind.

The chance came as Michael Keane was yellow carded for hauling Archer down last man - referee Andy Madley must have adjudged there was adequate Everton cover.

Ramsdale made a brilliant diving save to deny a Keane header, while Armstrong was twice unable to control his shot from two thundered Walker-Peters crosses.

Saints feared they would go down to 10 men when VAR had a look at Jan Bednarek's foul on Beto but decided the Pole's booking was punishment enough.

Jack Harrison should have put Everton ahead in the 80th minute when he beat Ramsdale to a cross in no man's land but the substitute touched it wide on the volley.

Beto then smashed a header off the crossbar from yards out and Armstrong completed the counter-attack, converting Yukinari Sugawara's cross to put Saints ahead.

Beto thought he had equalised almost immediately but VAR spent three minutes checking whether Walker-Peters was playing him onside, to determine he was not.

That decision-making took the game into four minutes of added time, which ended up in seven. But a first win lifted Saints off the bottom of the table.

Saints: Ramsdale; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens (Sugawara, 78), Manning (Dibling, 59); Downes, Lallana (Aribo, h-t), Fernandes (Ugochukwu, 90); Armstrong, Archer (Onuachu, 90).

Unused subs: McCarthy, Bree, Brereton-Diaz, Amo-Ameyaw.

Booked: Bednarek, Dibling, Onuachu.

Everton: Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Mangala, McNeil; Lindstrom (Branthwaite, 87), Ndiaye (Harrison, 61), Calvert-Lewin (Beto, 61).

Unused subs: Virginia, Begovic, Patterson, O'Brien, Coleman, Armstrong.

Booked: Tarkowski, Keane.

Referee: Andy Madley.

VAR: Matt Donohue.