Saints won their first league game at home but who is man of the match  ?

Make no bones about it this was a decent display from a young Saints side that dug in, worked hard and eventually reaped the rewards, despite the fact that the team was ravaged by injury.

In fact it was with some trepitation that Saints fans took their seats, after all the heart of the defence was ripped out with the unavailability of Svensson and Wotton, but also the midfield with Gillett, Schneiderlin and Holmes all injured, as well as the versatile Wotton (I know he cant be in two places at once)

In truth it wasnt a great start for Saints although they did get forward and indeed David McGoldrick had a great chance, in the main the opening half hour saw the Canaries target Joseph Mills at left back and poor all their efforts into getting down that wing and getting the ball across and in truth Saints were lucky to still be on terms in that period, but the team and the individuals stuck to their task, didnt hide and kept saints in the game.

No one knew what to expect from Jordan Robertson, the indication was that he was a striker, yet here he was playing wide left, one thing he did seem to have though was a lot of heart and a willingness to work, unlike the man who has gone in the other direction, on 31 minutes though he scored a stunning goal, cutting inside and curling a delightful shot into the top left corner, in a split second he had equalled Dyer's league tally and some would say done more than the now Sheff Utd loanee had managed in nearly 70 appearances.

But the game was still there to be won and another goal could have been scored from either side, BWP hit a thunderous shot against the bar on the stroke of half time but the score remained the same.

The game was decided though in the space of a hectic few minutes around the hour mark, firstly Kelvin Davis produced a couple of stunning saves to keep Saints lead and then Adam Lallana ran at the Norwich defence and was cynically brought down by ex Pompey man Stafanovic, Saints third penalty in two games were given and Stefanovic was sent off, the only question was who would take the kick, McGoldrick stepped up and the win was in Saints grasp.

The lead really should have been extended in the final third, only a combination of solid defending, great goalkeeping and to be frank poor finishing kept the score at two, some would say that of course Saints would dominate against ten men, but QPR didnt run riot against us when we had a man sent off in the way we did against Norwich, but our finishing let us down.

It wasnt all one way though and right up to the end Kelvin Davis in undoubtably his best game for us, had to be alert right up to the final whistle, denying a consolation with a great save even in injury time, I and many Saints fans have been harsh on the keeper, in truth with good foundation, but it has to be said he is in great form, he made several superb stops and his all round handling and command of the box was excellent, if you are marking out of 10, logic would have to give him a perfect score, he didnt put a foot or glove wrong and provided the foundation of the win.

It wasnt perfect though Oliver Lancashire although solid, seems to lack a first touch and put us in trouble because of it on more than one occasion, Lloyd James still doesnt like to get in and get hurt and Mills is raw, however spirit pulls them through and they can only improve.

To p[ick a man of the match would be hard, Kelvin Davis would be an obvious candidate, Lallana once again was in the thick of everything as were Cork and Surman, another contender would be Robertson, the type of big and powerful player that we lacked, he added another dimension both out wide and up front.

Only real disapointment on the night was the crowd, well not those that were there, they were magnificent, but the empty seats deserve to be filled for the visit of Watford, after all we have a young passionate side, four league games unbeaten, playing good entertaining football and scoring goals, what reason could there be for staying away now.        

Photo: Action Images

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