Southampton vs. Aston Villa final score: Villa improve season points total by 20% in draw

Heyyyy, it's a point!

The first half began as an umitigated disaster. Thanks to consistent defensive lapses, poor passing (especially from Carlos Sanchez), and a non-existent attack, Villa couldn't get anything together and Southampton looked as dominant as they have in the past two matches at St. Mary's. There was a very real sense that Southampton could have had a 4-0 lead heading into the half, but Aston Villa laughed at the football gods and scored in the 44th minute.

And that score? Brace yourself for a second here. It came from a corner. I know, right? CRAZY. But wait! It gets better! JOLEON LESCOTT SCORED IT. He managed to get in the right place to bury a Jordan Veretout corner and it was amazing and an affront to logic.

Villa held the lead for 29 glorious minutes. Then the (seemingly) inevitable happened, and Oriol Romeu, who had been subbed on just shortly earlier, scored a 73rd-minute equalizer. Southampton had spent most of the second half continuing their first-half domination, so the goal was hardly a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was that Aston Villa didn't concede again.

Look, I know a draw is better than a loss. And I know that if we're going to turn this around, we're not going to win every match we get points in. So this helps. It's a step in the right direction. But I can't help but feel that the attitude right now should be "win or nothing." Substitutions like Ashley Westwood for Rudy Gestede don't help much. Wasting time in stoppage time secures the point, but it doesn't get a win.

I want change and I want it now. And that's probably irrational. But man, I just can't get excited about a draw at a recently-reeling Southampton.