Colchester United 0-2 Southampton

And breathe. We’re back, baby. The 2026/27 season is officially underway, and if you were worried that Southampton would find a way to make a Carabao Cup first round trip to Colchester United feel unnecessarily stressful — well, you clearly know this club.

Let’s be honest: 74% possession, 25 shots, and it took until the 72nd minute to actually put the ball in the net. That is peak Saints. We dominated Colchester the way a cat dominates a cardboard box — endlessly batting at it, circling it, occasionally sitting on it — without ever quite finishing the job when it mattered. For over an hour, we played like a team that had been told the goal was slightly to the left of where it actually was.

The first half was the kind of procession that looks great on a stats sheet and terrible on your nerves. We passed and passed and passed, racking up corners and shots, while Colchester sat deep, committed 14 fouls to our five, and generally made themselves as irritating as a wasp at a barbecue. Fair play to them — League Two side, packed house of 5,822, Friday night under the lights at the JobServe Community Stadium. They weren’t about to roll over, and their keeper made four saves to keep things level at the break.

But this is where the bench earned its wages. Cyle Larin came on and did what Cyle Larin does when he fancies it — found the right place at the right time in the 72nd minute to finally crack Colchester open. You could practically hear the collective exhale from every Saints fan following along. One-nil. Not pretty, not early, but we’ll take it. We’ll absolutely take it.

Then came the cherry on top. Romeo Akachukwu — remember that name — popped up in the 92nd minute to bag his first senior goal and kill off any lingering threat of an embarrassing cup exit. The BBC had him on the mic afterwards, buzzing, and honestly, there’s nothing quite like watching a young lad score his first and knowing he’ll remember that moment forever. That’s what the early rounds of this competition are for, and it’s genuinely lovely to see.

Tactically, we were comfortable without being clinical — the story of many a Saints performance over the years. The 25-to-11 shot advantage tells you we controlled the game. The fact that only five of those 25 were on target tells you we need to sharpen up before the league kicks off. Colchester had four shots on target from 11 attempts, which, percentage-wise, is frankly better than ours. Let’s not dwell on that.

No cards, no injuries, two goals from subs, a clean sheet, and a ticket to the second round. As Franny Benali said before kickoff, he was pumped for the new season — and if the opening night was more slow burner than fireworks display, at least we got the right result. Now let’s kick on. The real stuff starts soon, and if Larin and Akachukwu are already finding the net, there’s plenty to feel good about. Onwards, Saints.