Southampton finish Championship campaign with 3–1 win at Preston

Southampton FC wrapped up their Championship regular season with a composed 3–1 win away to Preston North End on matchday 46, capped by a late strike from substitute Cyle Larin.

The visitors made an ideal start, taking the lead on 12 minutes. Taylor Harwood-Bellis opened the scoring, finishing after being set up by Welington to put Southampton 1–0 ahead. Preston’s frustrations showed early when Jordan Storey collected a yellow card just two minutes before the goal.

Championship FINISHED

2026-05-02 11:30

Preston North End FC

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Southampton FC

Matchday 46 REGULAR_SEASON

Southampton struck again almost immediately after the interval. In the 47th minute, Ross Stewart doubled the advantage, converting a chance created by Cameron Archer to make it 2–0 and strengthen the away side’s grip on the contest.

Preston responded just after the hour. Second-half substitute goalkeeper David Cornell provided the assist for Lewis Dobbin in the 60th minute, with Dobbin’s finish halving the deficit and briefly lifting home hopes at 2–1. Managerial changes had already come at the break, with Storey replaced by Odel Offiah and Cornell coming on for Daniel Iversen, while a double change on 58 minutes introduced Milutin Osmajić and Jordan Thompson.

Southampton used their bench to good effect as well. Ross Stewart made way for Cyle Larin on 68 minutes, while James Bree and Finn Azaz also entered the fray. Late on, Tom Fellows was replaced by Samuel Edozie, a switch that proved decisive in stoppage time.

In the first minute of added time, Larin sealed the result. Edozie provided the assist and Larin applied the finish for Southampton’s third, ending any Preston hopes of a late comeback and confirming a 3–1 away victory.

Preston bookings for Andrew Moran and Andrija Vukčević, plus a yellow card for Southampton’s Finn Azaz, completed the disciplinary record. Beyond the listed goals, cards and substitutions, detailed match statistics and further events were not available in the provided data.

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Championship Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Coventry City FC	46	28	11	7	97	45	52	95	W W W D D
2	Ipswich Town FC	46	23	15	8	80	47	33	84	W D D W D
3	Millwall FC	46	24	11	11	64	49	15	83	W D W W D
4	Southampton FC	46	22	14	10	82	56	26	80	W D D W W
5	Middlesbrough FC	46	22	14	10	72	47	25	80	D W W D L
6	Hull City AFC	46	21	10	15	70	66	4	73	W L D D L
7	Wrexham AFC	46	19	14	13	69	65	4	71	D L W W L
8	Derby County FC	46	20	9	17	67	59	8	69	L W L W L
9	Norwich City FC	46	19	8	19	63	56	7	65	L D W W L
10	Birmingham City FC	46	17	13	16	57	56	1	64	D W W D W
11	Swansea City AFC	46	18	10	18	57	59	-2	64	W D W L W
12	Bristol City FC	46	17	11	18	59	59	0	62	W L D L D
13	Sheffield United FC	46	18	6	22	66	66	0	60	W L L W W
14	Preston North End FC	46	15	15	16	55	62	-7	60	L W L L W
15	Queens Park Rangers FC	46	16	10	20	61	73	-12	58	L L L L D
16	Watford FC	46	14	15	17	53	65	-12	57	L L L L L
17	Stoke City FC	46	15	10	21	51	56	-5	55	L L L L D
18	Portsmouth FC	46	14	13	19	49	64	-15	55	D W L W W
19	Charlton Athletic FC	46	13	14	19	44	58	-14	53	L W L D L
20	Blackburn Rovers FC	46	13	13	20	42	56	-14	52	L W D L D
21	West Bromwich Albion FC	46	13	14	19	48	58	-10	51	L D W W D
22	Oxford United FC	46	11	14	21	45	59	-14	47	L W L L W
23	Leicester City FC	46	12	16	18	58	68	-10	46	W D D L L
24	Sheffield Wednesday FC	46	2	12	32	29	89	-60	0	W L L D D