Southampton’s Under-21s continued their unbeaten streak by drawing 1-1 with Juventus in the Premier League International Cup at their home stadium. Princewill Ehibhatiomhan scored early, but a long-range strike from Davide Marchisio later equalized, resulting in a shared outcome in front of a crowd of supporters. The senior side, currently 8th in the Championship with 17 points from six wins, three draws and two defeats, will be hoping the academy's form provides a boost.

Early Saints lead

The team managed by Adam Lallana, which included senior goalkeeper George Long, began the match well. A low pass from the left by Sillah Dibaga was converted by Ehibhatiomhan for a goal. The forward later came close to scoring again with a powerful shot.

Juventus began to create more chances, with Long making an important save against Christian Yeboah. Southampton's Harry Gathercole also tested the Juventus goalkeeper, Sebastiano Nava, following pressing by Calum Anderson.

Juventus find their level

The Italian team's persistent play led to a goal in the second half. Substitute Davide Marchisio scored with a powerful shot from distance that found the top corner of the net.

Each side looked for a winning goal in the final minutes. Long made another good save, while Gathercole created an opportunity that led to a corner. A late header from Broghan Sewell was saved, confirming the draw.

The positive result comes as the first team gets ready for an important league match. Southampton's senior side is positioned in the upper half of the league standings, sitting 8th with a record of six wins, three draws and two losses from 11 games. Their recent form of three wins, one draw and one loss, including a goalless draw with Bolton last Saturday 17 October, has them six points behind the league leaders. Their next game is an away match against second-placed West Ham on Saturday 24 October. The senior squad's top scorer this season is C. Larin with seven goals, while the team has scored 21 goals and conceded only 10.

Southampton's starting lineup was: Long; Adjei-Afriyie, Day, Kayi Sanda (c), Anderson (Sewell); Daley, Williams (Kakay), Akachukwu (Little), Gathercole, Sillah Dibaga (Charles); Ehibhatiomhan. Unused substitutes were McNamara, Whittaker, and Gbajumo. Calum Anderson received the match's only yellow card.

This story first appeared at southamptonfc.com