Japan International Maya Yoshida Calls on Southampton Teammates to Bounce Back From Stoke Defeat

Japan international Maya Yoshida has called on his Southampton teammates to bounce back from Saturday’s 2-1 away defeat to Stoke on Saturday.

Yoshida kept Saints fans hopes of a draw alive with an audacious scissor kick finish, only for Peter Crouch to grab a last gasp winner for the Potters.

The Saints face Newcastle in two weeks' time and the 29-year-old knows all too well that a strong response from Mauricio Pellegrino's men against the Magpies will be vital.

Speaking to Southampton's official website, Yoshida said; “It’s disappointing to lose what was a very important game. The next step now is to make sure we return from the international break in good shape and bounce back with a home win.

"The fans got behind us and their support was fantastic; hopefully we can regroup and get a positive result from the Newcastle match.”

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“We didn’t play well enough in the first half,” he added. “We afforded them too many opportunities on the counter-attack. Things improved after the break and we made more chances after equalising but we ultimately very unlucky to concede like that at the end.

“There were similarities here with the United game in the way that we controlled possession. That said, we know that we need to improve going forward and we conceded two goals today so there is work to be done at the back as well.

“Looking just at myself, my job is to help keep things tight at the other end. It is a shame that my goal didn’t lead to a win.”