Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has leapt to the defence of goalkeeper Fraser Forster for his error in tonight's 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.

Gabriel Agbonlahor capitalised on a moment of hesitancy by Forster after 29 minutes to nip in ahead of him and fire Villa into a slender half-time lead.

"The goal was completely a misunderstanding defensively but it is football. We are human so we can make those kind of mistakes," he told BBC Sport.

"But after it being 1-0 it was more difficult. It is a nice week to play and we will be ready, every game is a battle and tonight was difficult."

Nathaniel Clyne struck an 80th-minute equaliser at Villa Park as Koeman's side stay second in the Premier League table, six points behind Chelsea.