On Friday Saints fans were distraught as Huddersfield won at MK Dons, it wasnt a Good Friday but it was a great Saturday.
In times gone by the Easter period with its run of games over the holiday weekend always looked to be a point where the wheat was sorted from the Chafe and that is looking the case in the race for promotion in Leaguie 1, the pendulum swung right in favour of Hudderfield on Friday but Saints grabbed it at brighton and pulled it back in their favour with a victory that could not have been expected by anyone, least of all the Yorkshire hopefuls.
After this first batch of matches Saints task is crystal clear, if they win 3 out of their last four games then they are up automatically, yes mathematically Huddersfield could take us on goal difference, but at the moment we are 12 goals better off than them, assuming we won those three games and lost one that would mean the difference befoe their games were taken into account would be perhaps 14, in short they would need to win everyone of their final three games by five goals, given one of them is at the Withdean, its possible but unlikely.
So the task is now completely written in stone, three wins and its done, for Huddersfield it must now look a mountain, they know its not only not in their hands but Saints have leeway to drop points where they have no such luxury, tommorrow they face Dagenham & Redbridge at home a team fighting for its life and a team that as they showed at Brighton recently, will not lie down and die, on paper its an easy Huddersfield home win, but now they are on the doorstep of the last chance saloon will they be able to handle the pressure, on Friday they must have felt confident they had made a big leap forward, our win at Brighton must have been a hard blow to take when they didnt expect it.
Tommorrow is a big day for both clubs, Saints have to just do what they have been doing and thats winning at home, do that and they are on the cusp of promotion, indeed if they follow that up with a win at Brentford, assuming that they have beaten Dagenham, Huddersfield then have to win at Brighton a defeat for them would see Saints all but promoted on goal difference, indeed even a draw for the Yorkshire club would see Saints just needing a point from the last two games.
This is the time of season to hold your nerve and the momentum is now right back in Saints favour.
In the chase for play off places, Bournemouth could have been all but safe in 6th place, till the final four minutes at Yeovil when the Glovers scored twice to earn a point and leave Bournemouth just three points ahead of the chasing trio of Rochdale, Orient and Exeter
Tommorrow Bournemouth face a game against Bristol Rovers who are fighting for their lives as they showed at St Mary's, Rochdale seem to be shooting themselves in the foot, Orient are too inconsistent, but I would watch out for Exeter whose final three games are away to Tranmere, home to Plymouth and away to Sheff Weds, all winnable and with Bournemouth hosting Rochdale on the last day, could they just slip in at the back door to that final play off spot ?
In the relegation zone, Swindon are virtually down they have to winn all thierlast three games to stand even a vague chance, likewise Plymouth who could actually be mathematically down by losing at big rivale Exeter next Saturday, then its perm two from four, although Notts County are now on a mini revival that looks to drag them clear from that group,