x

Southampton V Manchester United The Verdict

Saints continued their unbeaten run at Old Trafford and came from behind to earn a well deserved point in a game that saw them have to work hard against a United side with plenty of talent but lacking work ethic.

Ralph Hasenhuttl kept an unchanged team from the great win at Spurs on Wednesday, but Tino Livramento did come back into the squad and was named on the bench.

United are in the middle of a crisis, but for them that means being 5th in the league and worrying about not being in the Champions League, they still have plenty of talent, but the chink in their armour is that although they love to showboat they don't like to role up their sleeves and graft.

In the early exchanges they could have scored earlier than the 21st minute in which they did open their account, put bluntly we lacked organisation and on several occasions we piled forward but left ourselves open at the back and only some desperate defending and good fortune meant that they didn't score.

But on 21 minutes we ran out of luck, once again an early ball caught us short at the back as they broke quickly, crossed and Sancho slotted home from close range, at this point things didn't look good.

But as at Spurs we dug in and got a foothold in the game, we created chances and looked good going forward, but at the back we were in a bit of disarray.

For some reason Oriol Romeu appeared to be playing in the centre of a back three with Jan Bednarek & Mohammed Salisu with both Romain Perraud & KWP wing backs, but although we looked good going forward we kept getting caught.

At half time a change was made, off went Bednarek and on came Jack Stephens and we reverted to 4 at the back with Romeu restored to the midfield, it paid dividends almost immediately, Che Adams was played through and slotted home with a clinical finish to send the Saints fans behind the goal ecstatic.

But in truth the marking at the back was still terrible and we had to rely on the linesman, VAR, Fraser Forster and some dogged defending to make sure that we stayed on level terms, we had our chances, but so did United and Forster was probably the man of the match for a string of good saves.

But it was still a good performance from Saints for the way we stuck with it, Ralph made substitutions at the right time and we kept our shape, we could have won it ourselves, but make no bones about it, Fraser Forster was the busier of the two keepers.

Saints will feel miffed that United finished the game with 10 men, Pogba argued with the ref after receiving a yellow card and from the way he was haranguing the ref should have had another, a punch was thrown at James Ward Prowse, yet the offender stayed on the pitch and then Harry Maguire appeared to firstly push Armando Broja over in the penalty area and then stamp on the players leg, yet the referee and seemingly VAR saw nothing in it.

Then there was the bizarre offside decision that took minutes to decide, yet the footage showed 5 United players all off side and not even being close to being on, God knows what they were thinking.

Sometimes you have to have a bit of luck though, we deserved it for the way we battled and kept going, but it was a day things went for us, on another day they won't.

Some great performances, Fraser Forster was my man of the match, he looked back to his best and made some top draw saves, in the outfield Armando Broja gets all the headlines, but his 6 goals are matched by Che Adams half dozen scored in less games, Adams has always been the unsung hero, but he is a quality striker and looks set to hit double figures this season.

This side has spirit, it is getting better all the time, it is still missing something, but hopefully that will be addressed in the summer, in the meantime we just need to enjoy watching a team that is blossoming and playing some good football and you never know what might happen, let's just enjoy the ride.

This verdict seems a little harsh, those at the game certainly felt that the team had put in a good performance and they were right, but we are still a work in progress and need to learn from each and every game.

A few short months ago some were calling for the head of Ralph Hasenhuttl and tipping us for relegation, that has changed, now everyone is starting to see what we are trying achieve and as the club's official twitter account said "Well it went a little bit better than last year"

What to read next:

Southampton 0 - 1 Stoke City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Saints V Stoke City A Look Back In Pictures 2
In the second part of our pictorial look back at some of our games against Stoke City from the past, here we look back at more recent games, so most of you would have been at them.
Saints V Stoke City A Look Back In Pictures
We have looked through our photo archives for a look back as some games against Stoke City over the years, what are your memories of these games ?
Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
Saints go into the last two games of the season with their hopes of automatic promotion ended, even the hope of finishing 3rd is only a point away from being ended, but they do have something to play for and that is getting back the togetherness, character & fight Russell Martin has recently be moaned.
No Togetherness No Character No Fight
Not my words, but those of Southampton manager Russell Martin, who should ask himself the question why two months ago we had all those attributes and now we don't !
Southampton At Leicester The Debacle
The big question is how can a side that was so tight at the back, so clinical up front and who could pass the ball around almost with their eyes closed, become the disorganised rabble that they were at the Leicester City this evening.
Southampton Side Announced For Leicester Game
Russell Martin has revealed his side for the game against Leicester City, find out what surprises he has for Saints supporters this time out.
Southampton At Leicester City The Preview
Saints travel up to Leicester knowing that it is almost certain that they will just be in the play offs come the end of the season, however there is still the feint hope of 3rd place to play for, however the Foxes are playing for a bigger prize.
A Rough Guide To Leicester City FC
Saints head up to Leicester City this evening with their automatic promotion hopes just about over, so for the 3,000 fans who bought their tickets when there was hope here are the details.
Southampton At Cardiff City The Verdict
There can be no excuses for this defeat, a loss that effectively means that it will be a play off spot and not an automatic promotion place for Southampton, so where did it all go wrong.