Southampton 2 Bournemouth 1: Dusan Tadic at the double to give Saints huge boost in relegation battle

A DOUBLE DOSE of Dusan Tadic magic kept Southampton’s survival hopes alive.

Tadic showed nerves of steel to score either side of Josh King’s equaliser to give the Saints victory in their must-win South Coast derby.

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After a nervous start by both sides, Tadic gave Southampton lift off after Bournemouth had left themselves exposed from their own corner.

When Maya Yoshida headed clear and Nathan Redmond helped the ball on, the Saints were three on one against poor Charlie Daniels.

Mario Lemina charged forward and released the ball at the right time to Tadic, who scored with great composure.

Confidence surged through Southampton, with Charlie Austin and Lemina forcing Asmir Begovic to make decent saves from their long-range efforts.

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INTERACTIVE STATS - CLICK on the categories to find out how the teams fared 

But Saints’ keeper Alex McCarthy had just kept out a Nathan Ake shot with his legs when Ryan Fraser swung in a Bournemouth corner, Steve Cook and Simon Francis helped the ball goalwards between them and the unmarked King forced it home at the far post.

McCarthy saved a 20-yard shot from Lewis Cook just after the break as the visitors started to take control.

But a horrible mistake by Steve Cook gifted Tadic to chance to restore the Saints’ lead. The Serb still had plenty to do after Cook had made a hash of dealing with McCarthy’s long clearance and lost the ball just inside his own half.

Tadic again took responsibility superbly, advancing into the penalty area and ignoring options either side before curling a cute shot past Begovic.

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The Cherries’ keeper kept his team in it by saving with his legs when substitute Shane Long diverted an Austin shot goalwards and catching an effort by Ryan Bertrand after a fine pass by Tadic.

Fine challenges by Yoshida and Wesley Hoedt stopped Bournemouth sub Jermain Defoe having a chance to equalise before the game entered the final 10 minutes.

INTERACTIVE LINE-UPS– CLICK on a player’s number below to see their stats

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Bournemouth screamed for a penalty for handball against Hoedt in the 88th minute but referee Anthony Taylor was having none of it.

Taylor turned down further appeals for hands after a scramble that followed McCarthy stopping a Fraser shot with his legs and Andrew Surman's follow-up being blocked.

Then McCarthy pushed away a deflected Fraser effort as Bournemouth threw everything into a search for an equaliser, with Begovic going up for corners.

The final whistle, after five minutes plus of stoppage time, was greeted with a primal roar by the home fans.