A game that Saints should have won a lot easier.
Its hard to comment on a game like this where only 1 of Saturday's starting 11 was on the pitch at the kick off, if things go well then great, but if they dont then it can all be attributed to it being a second string side.
Nigel Adkins side lined up pretty much as i predicted in the preview, the only difference neing the return of Danny Butterfield in the right back spot and Ben Reeves in for Guly,strangely here, perhaps due to a lack of personel available Saints opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation with Forte alone up front and Ben Reeves usually a left back sitting in behind him just in front of the midfield.
In the first half this worked very well and Saints controlled the game woring well along the wings, however too many attacks broke down once they got into the final third sometimes due to having only one man up front to aim at, but also some poor decision making for the final ball, De Ridder being a prime culprit on several occasions.
The breakthrough goal was well worked, Lee holmes put a curling corner in from the right hand side, Reeves nodded it back across goal from the far post and Hooiveld headed in from close range, Saints were in the driving seat.
But they didnt build on the goal and in the second half they started to lose their grip on the game with Forte being increasingly isolated after Preston upped their game and equalised five minutes after the break, the goal was sloppy, Bialkowski saved but couldnt hold the shot and the three Saints defenders in the vicinity didnt react quickly enough to clear the loose ball and the Preston man did and it bobbled in off his shins.
North End could see an upset in the making and Saints looked ragged, Nigel Adkins made a change just after the hour mark, Lallana came on for De Ridder who to be blunt had flattered to deceive and within a minute Saints were in front again.
Lee Holmes did some good work on the right, tok on his man, got to the byeline and put in a cross that screamed to be headed home and up poppped Lallana for a rare headed goal.
From then on Saints were in the driving seat again and this time they didnt let go despite Preston bringing on main striker Neil Mellor for a last push.
Overall Saints were good for their win, and the depth of the squad was there to see, Hooiveld again did well and is confounding his sceptics with a series of tight displays, Lee Holmes is starting to look the player that he should have been before his injury problems, he is comfortable on the ball, has quick feet, but more importantly is able to deliver with accuracy.
On the other wing Steve De Ridder is a different matter, yes he has pace, yes he has skill and yes at times he does things that excite crowds, but in all the games I have seen him so far, I have yet to see him make the correct decision with the final ball, whether that be to cross it or shoot, last night saw a prime example of this in the first half when a sublime piece of skill and turn of pace by the Belgian saw him through on the last man with at least two unmarked Saints players supporting, all it needed was a simple pass to one of them to put them through on the keeper, he hesitated, went for glory and before he could get a shot away was robbed of possession.
Of course sometimes he will get in a decent cross etc, but at the moment the flaw in his play is his final delivery and perhaps the job of Nigel Adkins is to get his decision making right, if we can do that then we could have a hell of a player on our hands, but at the moment all his good work is coming to nothing.
On the night Saints deserved their win and once again as mentioned the versatility and depth of the squad were there for all to see.