Saints knew before the game that they could drag Ipswich to within 7 points if they beat QPR, but it was a lacklustre performance where they barely got out of first gear, but they got the job done and that is all that matters.
It was an unchanged side from Russell Martin as Saints took on third from bottom Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road or whatever they are calling it these days.
But they found a resolute QPR side who after a recent run of good results were in confident mood and it was the home side who had the better of the early exchanges, although Saints seemed happy to play their normal game that involved passing the ball around and rarely were really troubled other than a few speculative shots.
The tide of the game perhaps turned in the 32nd minute, James Bree went down with an injury and was unable to continue and on came Ryan Manning.
Now nothing against Bree who was having a reasonable game, but with KPW reverting to right back and Manning on the left we had a more attacking look to the side.
This paid dividends minutes before the break when Saints won a free kick out wide on the right, Manning came across and sent in a inswinging dipping cross that Adam Armstrong flicked on to the far post and there was Taylor Harwood-Bellis who volleyed home for what would be the only goal of the game.
The second half saw Saints in the main dominate, but Rangers did not give up and there was always a chance that they would sneak an equaliser.
I'm not a fan of triple substitutions and Russell Martin did just this on 56 minutes, he took off Smallbone, Downes & Edozie and on came Charles, Fraser & Adams, in truth Edozie & Downes were not playing badly at this stage and it seemed strange.
Saints problems were getting the ball from the midfield, Stuart Armstrong seems to be a bit hit and miss lately and it was a poor pass from him that saw Shea Charles have to commit a foul and get booked and this would be costly in the final minutes.
But it was Saints who were the livelier and it has to be said that Ryan Frazer looked a step above Edozie and was at the heart of a few promising attacks in the final half hour.
But Saints didn't put the game to bed, part poor finishing and part resolute home defending, but we couldn't get that second that would make it safe.
On 87 minutes on came Jack Stephens and again this was a strange decision, off went Adam Armstrong, who is usually the hardest working player in the final minutes, it was unclear where Stephens was actually going to play, but it proved a lucky substitution when within a minute Shea Charles was sent off for a second yellow and that left Saints with what was left of the 90 plus 4 minutes of injury time to make sure that they took all three points home.
This could have shot us in the foot but with an extra defender on the pitch it made it easier to hold out and we did so with relative ease.
This was not a great performance from Saints, they lacked fluidity, they lacked the confidence to turn and attack the opposition at key times, again I am not sure that the multiple substitutions of recent games have helped, players like to play games and this builds confidence, the uncertainty that they may come off around the hour mark whatever cannot help and in my experience a player will stick to the script so he doesn't make mistakes, rather than take risks.
But they say the sign of a good side is that they can play badly and still win and that is certainly what Saints did at QPR, so that is one plus point from the game.
What is clear though is that we need to have a central striker, why Adam Armstrong is not being played in this role I really don't know, he is a good player out wide, but better in the centre, we didn't appear to be playing a central striker until the arrival of Che Adams and not a lot happened for him in this game.
In fairness to Adams it was not for a lack of effort, he tried his best, but he is clearly demotivated at not getting game time and his uncertain future.
In January with the news that Ross Stewart is unlikely to play again this season, we need to bring in a striker. Rumours abound that the man who will be arriving will be Danny Ings.
The referee was not good in my opinion, he constantly seemed to apply one rule for QPR & another for Saints, on several occasions we had players ride tackles that were fouls and when they lost the ball the ref waved play on, whereas in similar situations for the home side he would stop the game and pull it back for the earlier foul, although I will say that both of Shea Charles yellow cards were fair enough.
Saints received 5 yellow cards including Shea Charles two, whereas QPR received just one, that says something about how the referee applied the rules in a game that wasn't dirty, but saw both sides commit niggling fouls, yet only Saints were punished.
But as I said in the preview this is a war of attrition and the only thing that matters is the result, rather then the way it is achieved.
We have taken three points in the first of the festive quartet of games and in doing so have drawn within 7 points of Ipswich who were soundly beaten at Leeds, we have opened up a 9 point gap between us and West Brom in 5th and perhaps more importantly an 11 point gap between us and 7th placed Watford.
Now the games come thick and fast, 3 in the next week, the first two of them at home and it is crucial that we take maximum points, if we do so then Ipswich will be looking over their shoulders at us.
So a good Xmas for Saints and Russell Martin, in the past three months he has shown that he is the man to take us forward, he had his doubters, but he has surely own most of them over.
There is still some who decry his possession football style, but the reality is that this is the game that most play these days in both the Premier League and indeed the Championship, it is not Russell Martin's game but the modern game in general.
Bookings
Che Adams
Joe Aribo
Jack Stephens
Shea Charles
Sending Off
Shea Charles 2nd yellow