Flynn Downes hasn’t regularly stolen the headlines for his goalscoring prowess during his 100-game stay to date at Southampton.
Indeed, his opener versus Coventry City, which he instinctively prodded home like a poacher in the box, was only his fifth goal donning Saints colours, with that effort surely going down as his most important strike to date, from his limited back catalogue.
He is much more than a goalscoring threat, however, as Downes – who has been with the club through thick and thin in recent years – continues to solidify himself as one of Tonda Eckert’s most important pieces of the puzzle.
Why Downes is so important to Southampton
Against Coventry, Southampton needed the 27-year-old’s experience and class desperately to get over the line.
Of course, both Caspar Jander and Cameron Bragg are fantastic midfield talents in their own right, but at 22 years of age and 20 years of age respectively, Downes’ presence next to the youthful pairing in the starting XI would have been a great help.
Ending the game with just two of his 26 passes misplaced, and five duels won under his belt, the Southampton leader led by example.
He is one of the first names on Eckert’s teamsheet for this tremendous blend of quality, and know-how of how gruelling a division the second tier can be, having already clinched promotion via the lottery of playoffs with the Saints, when Russell Martin was positioned at the helm.
As much as he put in a striking display against Frank Lampard’s table-toppers, the Southampton number four – alongside the rest of this determined teammates – were in debt to Daniel Peretz at the end of the tense 2-1 win.
Arguably, Peretz is becoming even more important to Eckert’s men at the moment than Downes, as he continues to come up clutch when the going gets tough, after a January move.
Why Peretz is even more important than Downes
Southampton were crying out for a reliable goalkeeper in the summer.
Heading back into the Championship with Gavin Bazunu would have been met with groans, as the Irishman was far from being the most dependable stopper, even when Southampton were victorious in the playoffs.
Burnt by relegation too, the Dublin-born ‘keeper had given up a disastrous 143 goals across 93 St Mary’s outings, leading to Bazunu being moved onto Stoke City in January.
This is where Peretz has come to the rescue, with the Bayern Munich loanee a breath of fresh air across challenging games since his arrival.
Southampton would have likely collapsed during their 1-0 FA Cup win at Fulham, if it wasn’t for the 25-year-old’s agile performance in between the sticks, as he made six crucial saves to preserve the clean sheet.
When the Saints have had to dig deep and defend valiantly, Peretz has always delivered, with ten total saves amassed, and just two goals conceded, as the Saints were under the cosh against West Brom and Coventry throughout.
Already collecting five clean sheets from 13 South Coast appearances, his heroic displays could be a huge plus as Eckert and Co. attempt to push into playoffs.
With Downes also acting as the midfield heartbeat, Eckert must be over the moon with the current look of his first team options, as the rollercoaster ride of the regular season nears towards its end.
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