Saints won ugly against a Hull City side who kept battling and didn't make it easy right up to the final whistle.

This was not a great Saints performance especially in the first half when they struggled to get any sort of fluidity going, however Ronald Koeman made a tweak at half time and ultimately that changed the course of the game.

It cannot be denied that in Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama are the strongest defensive central midfield pairing in the Premier, however perhaps Saints lack of goals lately could be one downside of them being played week in week out, earlier in the season in a game like this Ronald Koeman would often prefer Jack Cork than Wanyama and that although keeping the goals against column low has not helped in creating chances.

At half time yesterday he seemed to remember this and brought on James Ward Prowse for Wanyama and that paid dividends, Saints certainly looked more fluid going forward. It was a brave move from Koeman because Hull had certainly had more of the ball going forward in the first 45, although in fairness they didn't produce too much that troubled Kelvin Davis.

At the other end Pelle looked sharp and he did everything right when a chance fell to him but the recalled Steve Harper in the Hull gold made a great save.

So at half time Koeman did what good managers do, he made a decisive change, the truth was we did not need two defensive midfielders and this meant with JWP on we took the game to Hull more

This paid dividends ten minutes into the second half when Saints took the lead, Shane Long put in an afternoon of tireless running and he earned Saints a penalty when he was played through and chopped down.

This led to a debate in the Hull area with Sadio Mane wresting the ball from JWP and seemingly about to take the kick, it took an intervention from captain José Fonte to restore the ball to JWP, who planted the penalty home in a way that Rickie Lambert would have been proud of.

This put Saints in the driving seat and they should have put the game to bed long before they did and a special mention should be given to Kelvin Davis who made a superb save to make sure that Hull didn't get back in the game.

The points were sealed though when finally Pelle ended his goalless spell, fair play to the crowd who stuck behind him in this game, his approach play was excellent and he battled hard despite being kicked off the park at one stage, with 10 minutes to go though his chance came and he took it well.

This was not a great performance by Saints, but there were plenty of plus points, firstly the way they won ugly, they scrapped it out when the football wasn't flowing, secondly was the tactical nous of Ronald Koeman who made the change at half time that swung the game in Saints favour, thirdly was the way that several players stepped up to the plate, Kelvin Davis put in another good display, Pelle never hid and deserved his goal and James Ward Prowse came on an got his first goal for the club in the Premier League, hopefully that will give him the confidence to step his game up a gear and become the ball player that we lack in midfield.

Saints can now move forward with confidence in the final six games, Swansea's failure to beat Everton means that we are only two wins of guaranteeing 7th place, but we want better than that and we have every chance to aim higher after Spurs shock home defeat to Aston Villa.

Although some Saints fans have panicked we have quietly got a run together, this makes it 10 points from the last 5 games, if we can repeat this points ratio in the final 6 games then we could well finish 5th, exciting times the only downside of the day being that the stadium was not full to see it.

Photo: Action Images

corkcitysaint added 11:53 - Apr 12 Had Hull gone in at half time 1-0 up, I don't think there would have been many complaints. They were more creative and had the better chances Credit to Davis for an agile save from Livermore. It was a shocker of a match overall. Had we not got that penalty, I fear it would have finished 0-0 regardless of JWP coming on or not. Yes, we were a bit more creative but we still appeared to huff and puff and lacked penetration. The time we did turn them and ran at them, we got a penalty. Credit to JWP for having the nuts to take it and he struck it great. I would have been nervous as heck had Tadic been there... Am delighted for Pelle. Whilst he hasn't scored, it hasn't been for lacking of trying. Ok, he was on a goal drought but to me, it looked like he was always trying and not hiding on the pitch. As for the miss by Davis at the end, I'm just glad it wasn't still 0-0.. A clean sheet, 3 points, goals from JWP & Pelle, a jump up to 5th and Spurs losing, I suppose it's not all bad!!

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tiptop added 12:50 - Apr 12 Agree overall w Corkcity and Nick Wanyama is booked and misses 2 games. A concern but I hv confidence in Harrison Reed after seeing him earlier in the season. Hopefully if picked he can push on. We could have done with his energy and bite yesterday as i felt we didn't press enough. Hopefully the result will give the team a lift. Pelle in particular who as corkcity said didn't hide and played well. Considering we had Clyne on the bench?along w tadic our crossing was restricted... the only crosses really came form set plays with too many punts forward. After watching MotD Stoke away will be a tough test..although our defence isn't as porous west hams!

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SanMarco added 13:07 - Apr 12 In any individual game then badly and winning is great but we are going to have to improve if we are to come higher than 7th.. I agree with tiptop that Stoke will not be easy and we will not get away with playing poorly. Was yesterday the last match Wanyama needed to avoid a card? - if so whu play him? Anyone know what the Clyne situation was - did he need extra time on the phone to his agent?? All that said it has been a great season and it is not finished yet...

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ronrulesok added 14:10 - Apr 12 Certainly not a classic in the first half. Felt sorry for Pelle who was really being fouled ruthlessly all match.Whilst not condoning foul play by either team The smack on the nose Alex Bruce collected was poetic justice. Looks just like his dad now! Thought Tadic played like his old self when he came on. Lots of successful trickery and holding the ball up well. Healso made a couple of good chances.Wanyamas booking was a mystery to me I did not see it was even a foul. What a referee - it is so predictable that he will pick on Saints I was amazed we got the pen! Mane looked very timid and ordinary not to mention two hideous back passes to Hull players. The second sparked Ron to remove him. It seems to me he is not as committed as the rest. Ever since the late arrival to the Liverpool match he has been peripheral.

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chilcosaint added 14:18 - Apr 12 With the benefit of hindsight, this was a game to rest Victor and avoid the situation we are now in, missing him for 2 games where we will need his strength more than we did yesterday. As said above, this is now Reed's chance to step up. I wasn't impressed by Steven Davis yesterday and I hope JWP replaces him against Stoke. The big question for me is whether to start Mané or Tadić alongside Pellè and Long.

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bstokesaint added 14:25 - Apr 12 It's funny you still say we could finish 5th Nick, but we could still finish 4th. As I keep saying in all honesty I think the bad run against West Brom, West Ham, Swansea and Liverpool will ultimately cost us, but the amazing thing is we're actually in a position where with 6 games to go the reality is that if we won them all we'd likely finish in a CL spot. It's basically a cup run now with Man City waiting for us in the final. The first game we lose and we're out of it. Until that happens though I'll cling onto that dream because this is an amazing season.

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bstokesaint added 14:28 - Apr 12 That's a bit harsh on S Davis Chilcosaint. He's been excellent this season. Hugely underrated and not mentioned enough for his contribution to Saints' success. Every player is entitled to an off game.
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davepid added 16:47 - Apr 12 By my reckoning we could still win this league and we can finish no lower than 12 th. Good to see others ask where Reed is ( and McCarthy ,too). Yoshida seems to have had another ok game; he's coming good at a time when we might need him to start every one of our games.
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TeamCortese added 09:51 - Apr 13 Well said Nick. 3-points WeMarchOn
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simmo400 added 10:54 - Apr 13 Just a couple of points. Steve Davis what a shocker you had. Toby at right back was a complete waste of talent. He could have played midfield against Hull who are poor. Tadic could have played the whole game and looked good against this team.
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