Saints leapt into 8th place with a solid victory up on Humberside which owed much to teamwork than anything else.

In the early stages of this game you thought that it might be another one of those days for Saints as they wasted several early chances to take the lead, the worst culprit being Rickie Lambert who firstly hit the stanchion pole beside the goal from 10 yards when he really should have scored and then saw a close range effort blocked, again it should have been buried.

It looked like they might pay the price when Shane Long hit the post and Boruc had to tip the follow up over the bar, but this was perhaps Hull's best effort and Saints soon got into their usual stride, enjoying long periods of domination without really penetrating a well drilled Hull defence with as many real chances than they should have.

The breakthrough came in the 69th minute after a game of footballing pinball, from a corner that Hull will claim should have been a goal kick, firstly Jose Fonte saw his header blocked, a follow up shot from Rodriguez was also blocked and then Fonte hit another that although appeared to have been the third block looked over the line, Rickie lambert crashed the ball home to make sure but the referee's technology confirmed that the ball was in from Fonte and the goal was credited to the centre half.

If Hull thought they were going to mount a late onslaught they were to be disappointed, Boruc reacted well to block one shot but apart from that there was little danger of the lead being conceded as it has been too often this season.

A good team performance that saw the game closed out with the right substitutions made at the right times to hark back to the Autumn when Saints were the masters of a 1-0 win on the road.

The win see's Saints jump above Newcastle who meet Spurs at home on Wednesday evening as well as climb within two points of Man Utd who will do well to increase that lead as they travel to Arsenal.

A good day at the office for Saints who have stretched their unbeaten run in the League, now they need to turn their eyes towards Saturday and add another FA Cup game to that list.

Photo: Action Images

Fordy added 23:03 - Feb 11 One of the better performances this season. Looked comfortable throughout and stepped it up nicely in the second half with the pressure telling. Hull fed off scraps but I have to say that I think we do better against teams playing 442, whether it be Hull or Man City. Only time we didn't was against Spuds. I wonder whether Vic has lost his place for good now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him back away to West Ham.

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schatfield added 00:50 - Feb 12 good win and thanks for getting the post match verdict up same day Nick :)
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davepid added 09:12 - Feb 12 Good performance. Rickie should have done better , As could Jrod first half and Guly twice before the end . Guly clearly off the pace of the game. Cork's and JRod's shots an inch lower would have been spectacular goals though. Solid defensive shift by all, thought Yoshida fitted in very well and he was there for Fontes goal mouth scramble .Boric made a few good saves. Hull weren't the best opponents we will face this year. Too many long balls which we defended easily. Good banter on the terraces with good spirited Hull fans who sung their hearts out on loads of different ditties - perhaps that's why it's City of culture in 2017.

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ExiledSupporter added 09:35 - Feb 12 Yes, solid all round team performance in which we looked rarely troubled. But didn't feel we really capitalised on so much possession (as usual our forwards lacked precision, partly because balls played into them were often below the standard required). Felt Rickie looked slow and wandering about the pitch as tho' the ghost of Osvaldo was forcing him to neglect the opposition box. In MP's world of no 'qualified' wingers we simply don't provide him with the crosses that make him such a dangerous player in the air. For me this match proved yet again the need to have a first class No.10. A player with a good engine, who plays with his head up, who plays exact balls into the channels and who contributes a half dozen or more goals of his own each year. If we can't get Ramires to fill this role then we must do something about it as urgently as some of our other restrengthening needs next summer. I think for instance we would get at least a half dozen more goals out of Rodriguez each season. But of course it won't be a style that suits RL!

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Boris1977 added 09:40 - Feb 12 What a great result and symbolically one of the best of Pochettino's reign. A great psychological boost for the rest of the season – 39 pts by mid February. Can’t see that we will go much higher but the FA Cup has to be where Saints put the majority of their eggs now.
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slynch added 10:30 - Feb 12 Everybody played quite well even Yoshida.
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tiptop added 11:24 - Feb 12 We were a solid and continue to build on form steadily. Moved ball well in tight areas. But agree, we could up he crosses - Saints failed to open up the wide areas for CC or LS to cross enough. Haven't seen many of those signature RL back post headers recently. Granted we can pick our way through at times but... Good to see Cork stay on when Wanyama did make a brief appearance.

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SaintNick added 11:41 - Feb 12 Guly would be a bit off the pace he hasnt got that much Premier game time, but he made a few good interceptions including one in the last minute of the game when he won a tackle in midfield and enabled us to get and keep possession
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slynch added 13:03 - Feb 12 At least we now know why Osvaldo and Fonte had the bust up - they were both competing for the same position!
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aceofthebase added 14:59 - Feb 12 Great win, a few mistakes but pretty good performance. I just thought that we lacked that sharp crisp penetrating pass(es) to get into their penalty box. We resorted to high floating passes that were easily headed clear. A wonderful team effort.
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davepid added 17:13 - Feb 12 Yes I accept that if you don't play much you are likely to be off the pace as Guly was . Tell me he did hit the post with his prod from 5 yds didn't he? Only the saints website and every report I've sen in the press/ BBC omit any reference to him having done so.
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Fordy added 22:23 - Feb 12 Yes Guly played ok. Got onto the rebound and hit it in the only place he could but Davies made a great block and deflected it onto the post. I don't think Lambert would have done any better. The criticism of Guly in this instance is a bit harsh to say the least.
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