ST MARY'S STADIUM
Home Of: Southampton
Ground Opened: 2001
Previous Grounds: Antelope Ground,
County Ground &Ground Opened: 2001
Previous Grounds: Antelope Ground,
The Dell
Other Uses: Film Premiers
Concerts
Concerts
VENUE #108
Chelsea's biggest win at St. Mary's was in the third round of the F.A. cup January 5th 2013 when Blues came away 5-1 winners and with a trip to Griffin Park against Brentford in the fourth round. Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring once again for Saints this time in the 22nd minute, Demba Ba equalised on 35 minutes with Victor Moses putting Blues ahead on half time. Branislav Ivanović made it 3-1 seven minutes into the second half then Demba Ba completed a brace on 61 minutes, Frank Lampard finished the scoring 7 minutes from normal time with a penalty.
Southampton came out the traps the brighter and by the 21st minute were leading by a Dusan Tadic goal which had the home supporters in raptures and believing in the miracle, Ryan Bertrand out runs Cesar Azpilicueta into the Chelsea box and pulls the ball back into the path of Tadic who side foots the ball into the back of the Chelsea net.
It looked all over for the visitors on the hour when a James Ward-Prowse free kick to the far post was volleyed home by debutante Jan Bednarek which sent the home faithful even wilder with delight as it looked as though the three points were coming their way.
But then Antonio Conte made the substitution of a lifetime bringing off Davide Zappacosta to bring on ex Arsenal favourite Olivier Giroud, he also changed Alvara Morata and brought on Pedro at the same time. The pair had only been on the pitch nine minutes when Giroud struck to bring about one of the most dramatic collapses I've ever witnessed. Marcos Alonso on his own on the left curls a cross into the Saints six yard box for Giroud to get the better of the two Southampton centre backs and head the ball past Alex McCarthy.
The turn around was complete in the 78th minute, Southampton had let a 2-0 lead turn into a 2-3 deficit within the matter of eight minutes, the fans were stunned and shell-shocked although many weren't surprised as Olivier Giroud completed his brace by scoring the third Chelsea goal and the eventual winner of the match. Again the problem for Southampton came from the left side when a short free kick finds Eden Hazard who crosses the ball into the Saints penalty area, Cahill and Azpilicueta keep the ball alive in the box before Giroud fires home through a crowd of players and this time it's the Chelsea fans making all the noise, unbelievable!!!
NEAREST RAILWAY STATION
The stadium is located around one and a half miles away from Southampton Central Railway Station (where there is also quite a large car park), which should take about 30 minutes to walk. There is also a shuttle bus in operation taking fans from the station to the ground. This operates from the Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station.
If you prefer to walk then turn left out of the station' s southern entrance and walk up Western Esplanade, which becomes Civic Centre Road. Remain on the Civic Centre Road and walk between the Civic Centre and the Marlands Shopping Centre. Eventually a crossroads is reached with the Nationwide Building Society on one corner and Lloyds Bank on another. Cross into New Road and follow this road across a park and past a college. Eventually you will reach a complex road junction with a number of traffic lights. Cross Kings Way into Northam Road and follow this road for quarter of a mile until you reach the ground on your right. There are signs provided by the local council, which direct fans from the station to the ground.
ST MARY'S STADIUM The Club moved from The Dell to the new St Mary's Stadium in 2001. In some ways this saw the Club returning to its roots as it was originally founded as 'Southampton St Marys', hence the club nickname 'The Saints'. To be truthful the stadium looks, quite simply, superb. The stadium is completely enclosed, with all corners being filled with seating. There are also two great looking screens sitting on the roofs at each end. Running around three sides of the stadium, just below the roof, is a transparent perspex strip allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. On the remaining side there is a row of executive boxes. The crowd are set well back from the playing action, as firstly there is a cinder track surrounding the playing surface and secondly the pitch itself must be the largest in the League (although the playing area does not use all of it). Outside the stadium behind the Itchen Stand is a statue of former Southampton legend Ted Bates.
Away fans are located in the Northam Stand at one end of the stadium, where normally up to 3,300 fans can sit. For cup games this allocation can be increased to 4,750. The view of the playing action and the facilities within this stand are excellent. Leg room is good, although the width of the seating seemed to be a bit narrower than other grounds. The sizeable concourse behind the stand features a Ladbrokes, has TV's which show the game as it is played and a number of eating and drinking outlets. There are plenty of staff and the queues never seemed to get particularly long, which was a pleasant surprise. There is also a 'Pie & Pint' outlet, that as the name suggests, only serves beer and pies.
GROUND LAYOUT
A ITCHEN / EAST STAND
B KINGSLAND / WEST STAND
C CHAPEL / SOUTH STAND
D NORTHAM / NORTH STAND
Today's Visitors CHELSEA Haven't quite reached the heights achieved last season when they won the Barclays Premiership in Antonio Conte's first season as manager, the Italian conceded that after Sunday's draw with Premiership strugglers West Ham that Chelsea's chances of a top four place and with it Champions league football next season are a forgone conclusion, there is also speculation that Conte's interests may be elsewhere next season as a move to pastures new is very much on the cards.
Chelsea have made just ten visits to St. Mary's since the ground opened in 2001 and have a great record there winning 7, drawing 2 with only 1 defeat which came on the 30th of March 2013 when Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring for Saints after 23 minutes, John Terry equalised ten minutes later only for Rickie Lambert to score the winner for Saints on 35 minutes.
Chelsea's biggest win at St. Mary's was in the third round of the F.A. cup January 5th 2013 when Blues came away 5-1 winners and with a trip to Griffin Park against Brentford in the fourth round. Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring once again for Saints this time in the 22nd minute, Demba Ba equalised on 35 minutes with Victor Moses putting Blues ahead on half time. Branislav Ivanović made it 3-1 seven minutes into the second half then Demba Ba completed a brace on 61 minutes, Frank Lampard finished the scoring 7 minutes from normal time with a penalty.
SOUTHAMPTON ... 2 CHELSEA ... 3
This game was important to both teams, Southampton needed to win for the chance of getting out of the bottom three and for Chelsea a win would keep the slim hopes of Champions league football for next season alive.
The fixture had also been dubbed as a dress rehearsal for the FA cup semi-final at Wembley next weekend between these two teams and it seemed as though the home side were going to have the edge on their London rivals.
Southampton came out the traps the brighter and by the 21st minute were leading by a Dusan Tadic goal which had the home supporters in raptures and believing in the miracle, Ryan Bertrand out runs Cesar Azpilicueta into the Chelsea box and pulls the ball back into the path of Tadic who side foots the ball into the back of the Chelsea net.
But then Antonio Conte made the substitution of a lifetime bringing off Davide Zappacosta to bring on ex Arsenal favourite Olivier Giroud, he also changed Alvara Morata and brought on Pedro at the same time. The pair had only been on the pitch nine minutes when Giroud struck to bring about one of the most dramatic collapses I've ever witnessed. Marcos Alonso on his own on the left curls a cross into the Saints six yard box for Giroud to get the better of the two Southampton centre backs and head the ball past Alex McCarthy.
Five minutes later and things get worse for the Saints, after the Giroud opener you could feel the tension amongst the Saints supporters they've been here before were their team has been in the lead and been pegged back by the opposition. Letting teams back into the game has become an occupational Hazard for Southampton and unfortunately it was the occupational goal scoring Eden Hazard who levelled things for the Blues, Willian was forced out wide on the left but spotted Hazard in the centre of the Southampton box his cross was brought down sublimely by the Chelsea number ten who then bent the ball into the top corner of the net.
The turn around was complete in the 78th minute, Southampton had let a 2-0 lead turn into a 2-3 deficit within the matter of eight minutes, the fans were stunned and shell-shocked although many weren't surprised as Olivier Giroud completed his brace by scoring the third Chelsea goal and the eventual winner of the match. Again the problem for Southampton came from the left side when a short free kick finds Eden Hazard who crosses the ball into the Saints penalty area, Cahill and Azpilicueta keep the ball alive in the box before Giroud fires home through a crowd of players and this time it's the Chelsea fans making all the noise, unbelievable!!!
MATCH DETAILS
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