Russell Martin says the fight against Stoke City upset the Southampton dressing room.

Stoke City fell behind 2-0 at St Mary’s but mounted an impressive comeback in the Carabao Cup to equalize and threaten to advance, only to be defeated by a last-minute goal.

Southampton manager Russell Martin expressed frustration after his struggling Premier League side faced a resilient Stoke City in the Carabao Cup, ultimately scraping into the quarter-finals. The Saints, sitting at the bottom of the Premier League, squandered a two-goal lead at St Mary’s, only to secure a 3-2 victory thanks to an 88th-minute winner from James Bree.

Goals from Stoke’s loan players, Ashley Phillips and Tom Cannon, brought them back into contention, threatening to send the match to penalties after Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ header and Adam Armstrong’s penalty. Stoke substitute Million Manhoef nearly put the visitors ahead late in the game, but his effort was cleared off the line by Yukinari Sugawara.

Martin, who served a one-match suspension and watched from the stands, had to remind his players to celebrate their hard-fought win. “We need to celebrate every victory as a group, whether it’s against a Championship team or in the Premier League. You have to enjoy those moments together,” he said.

He acknowledged that his team was initially annoyed and frustrated but was pleased to see them smiling by the end. “It’s important to remember that we won and are now in the quarter-finals, which was our aim for the night,” he added.

Despite the victory, Martin commended Stoke for their effort and noted that Southampton made the match more difficult than it needed to be. He reflected on their first-half dominance and the need for better decision-making in attack. “To concede the first goal changed the context of the game, but we showed character to overcome the adversity. Thankfully, a moment of quality won it for us,” he concluded.

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