Due to computer problems in Milan the verdict is a little delayed, but here it is now and the final word will be patience.
This was a great in the history of Saints and probably the landmark of around 7,000 Saints supporters experiences following the club.
It was all about going to one of the most iconic cities and footballing stadiums in the World and perhaps thats where we went wrong on the pitch as well as off it.
The game was perhaps always going to be an anti climax and that being the case it was no surprise that we should lose it after almost totally dominating it and only allowing them one shot on target which sadly they finished with aplomb to win the match.
As was mentioned before the game, the stadium was eerily empty and it seemed like there were a lot less than the 26k the official attendance was given as, the Saints supporters were tightly packed into the second tier behind one of the goals and I would have said there were no more than around 19,000 in the ground, we were certainly not outnumbered by 3-1.
We were certainly not outsung 3-1 either and the support was superb, the truth was Saints played well, but as has been the pattern not just last season but the two preceding it, we do not take enough of our own chances and seem to let in far too many of those against us, we seem to need 7 on target to get a goal where the opposition seem to need only 4 or 4 at most on target and in this case only 1.
But we were a team decimated by injury, there will be those who will accuse the manager of fielding a weakened team, but the truth was that only Jose Fonte was a player we really should have played to ensure that there would be no mishaps.
But his exclusion could not be blamed for the goal, indeed Gazzetto Del Sport gave his replacement Yoshida top marks for Saints in their report, likewise James Ward Prowse who was in for Steven Davis.
The issue was not about lack of quality in the team, nor the manager tinkering, it is all about working on the finishing and concentration, do that and there are not that many problems.
Some Saints supporters after the game seemed to have forgotten about the horrendous run of injuries that we have and that some of the players out there were not 100% fit at the moment, but had to play, it is not a case of a thin squad, it is the number of injuries we have and indeed those having to play when they should be eased back into the team.
Jay Rodriguez was one of them, he should not be having to start games like this, he should be coming on for cameo roles as he was before his latest injury setback when he came off the bench to get a vital equaliser against Sunderland, showing that he still has what it takes.
Therefore the number of medical experts that we had in the crowd was amazing, so many people could tell that J Rod was finished, just by watching this performance, I do not think I have been on a metro train with so many top people in medical science since I went to the Royal College of Surgeons Xmas party in London a few years ago.
So that brings us to the last word and that is Patience, there will always be stormy waters and games that do not go for us, but overall we still continue to progress year in year out, those who like to sing "We come from League One" should remember that and ironically as we were in Italy, that Rome was not built in a day ( Funnily enough they also say that all roads lead to Rome, well the ones I staggered home along on Thursday night didnt, they didnt even lead to my hotel)
Anyway, I was going to leave Patience as the last word, but that would be unfair, we took a travelling army of 7,000 to Milan who were a credit to Southampton Football Club, we showed how to behave as football supporters and showed that even drinking the City dry before the game dos not mean that there will be trouble, much to the disappointment of the Carabineri after the game who just looked like they were looking forward to wading in given half the chance.
So the last word is Amazing