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Southampton At Brighton The Verdict

Ralph Hasenhuttl rang the changes after the defeat at Burnley, but not a lot changed initially, but the good news was that they dug in got a goal back and in the second half looked a lot more like the side that had looked so good earlier in the season.

Saints could not have got off to a worse start when a mix up gifted Brighton an opening goal in the first couple of minutes, the first half was not a pretty sight for the visiting supporters but it looked like the team would get in at half time only a goal down and the chance to regroup after seeing Tino Livramento stretchered off a few minutes earlier.

But then came more Fred Karno's defending when Mohamed Salisu put through his own goal with a minute to go before the break.

That meant that many Saints supporters didn't see James Ward Prowse's free kick a couple of minutes later that reduced the deficit after streaming to the concourses, but that gave Saints the impetus they needed after the break.

They came out a different team and pushed the Seagulls back and it was no surprise when James Ward Prowse fired home a low drive on 54 minutes to complete the come back.

Brighton had their moments afterwards including a disallowed goal, but it was Saints who probably felt they deserved the three points come the final whistle.

So what could we take from this draw, firstly that several players are still going through dodgy patches, Mo Salisu can't put a foot right at present and is going through possibly the first dip in form in hie career, he is good enough to play through it and come out a better and stronger player.

The same could also be said for Armando Broja who started on the bench after a series of poor games and came on for the last 11 minutes.

It was good to see that Nathan Redmond & Nathan Tella started the game and put in good shifts, the midfield dominated the second half and drove the side forward.

Up front Che Adams and Shane Long played as a pair and put in a lot of hard work that has been missing up front of late.

So a point that did little for either side, Saints are now heading for the final four games of the season looking more to next season than this, there is plenty of good things in place in the squad, but the truth is that there are still key areas to sort out.

Up front it is far from certain where Armado Broja will be playing next season, a couple of months ago he was the hottest ticket in town being linked to all and sundry, but his form since then has been patchy and the transfer talk has died down a little.

Perhaps this will work in Saints favour as the Albanian from Slough will obviously aware that he still is in a learning curve and that to go for a big team for a big fee will perhaps be a bit early for him at the moment, another season on loan at St Mary's might serve him well.

So the job now for Saints is twofold, firstly to gain as many points as they can and finish as high as they can, but secondly and perhaps more importantly, begin the planning for next season, find out who will be staying and who we will be looking to ship out.

This season is just about job done, we have secured our place in the Premier League for an 11th consecutive season comfortably, it is now all about what we do next season that truly matters now.

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