Post Brighton 0-0 Reaction

[doddisalegend]

He defended brilliantly tonight. I am sick to my back teeth of watching Harding time and time again get turned inside out by attackers. Yes, going forward Harding developed a good working relationship with Lallana, which is why I think people cream themselves over him. But IMO, he is one totally average League One defender. Dickson is still very new to the first team, so we are far from seeing the best of him, but I firmly believe that Harding will be having to work extremely hard to get anywhere near the first team in the future.

 

I don't think so Harding is better defensively than going forward few people get past Harding even playing on the wrong side last season he was difficult to beat, I'll admit he had a stinker against Carlisle but one game doesn't make a bad player. Is not as if Dickson had much defending to do tonight I was expecting Brighton's wingers to be quite dangerous from what I heard about but they looked as poor as the rest of the seagirls team.

[eurosaint]

Can't believe some of the negativity on here tonight !

We dominated the game against the (current ) league leaders, we had 21 shots at goal against their 8 and only a combination of last ditch defending, bad luck and poor officiating stopped us gaining 3 points !

Without getting carried away, I am even more confident now that we'll achieve automatic promotion !

There is nothing to fear in this league, especially if that is the best that 'high flying' Brighton can offer and given their spoiling tactics, I sincerely hope that they fail to prosper !!

[Tractor_Saint]

Did manage to get a video of the Lallana incident but not a great one, still think it was a penalty though.

 

Well I thought it was a penalty but I think 'inconclusive' is the best way to describe it from this:

 

 

[Benj]

Have no concerns about hunting Brighton down given that performance. They came to play for the draw and were time wasting in the first minute. We absolutely tore them to shreds and should have scored at least twice.

 

Have to question why Guly came on though, once again gave the ball away EVERY time he got it and was generally crap. Hope Adkins isn't considering keeping him on.

[CityRanger]

Listened to the 2 interviews on Solent with Adkins and Kelvin whilst driving home from work.

Adkins impressed with his bullish comment when asked "Do you think it could be a two horse race between Saints and Brighton for the title?". Adkins said: "If they can keep up with us", and then he referred to January. I take that to mean the squad will be bolstered significantly as he has referred to Jan several times.

Kelvin Davis made two very interesting comments at the start and finish of his interview. Firstly he commented when asked if the dressing room was disappointed not to take all 3 points:"We are, considering the firepower at our disposal". And when asked whether Saints can push on and improve as a team he said: "Definitely, certain individuals and as a team of course too."

To me he was speaking about Lambert. I think he'll be gone in January.

[hypochondriac]

It looks increasingly like Lambert leaving will be a good thing if we can get a decent striker in.

[Saint_Jonny]

It looks increasingly like Lambert leaving will be a good thing if we can get a decent striker in.

 

this is a joke surely.

[Saint_clark]

It looks increasingly like Lambert leaving will be a good thing if we can get a decent striker in.

 

He still created a lot of opportunities today.

[eelpie]

Terrific game! We were denied a sure penalty and Brighton's was a wrong call by a biased ref (and Itchen side lino). Thank heavens for Kelvin.

 

And if only Ricky could score again. He had a decent match in a midfield sort of way, but never looked

like getting near the goalmouth.

[corky morris]

Just got back after 2 1/2 hour drive to Birmingham Airport for 6.30am flight. Brighton were horrible. Niggling, pushing, moaning, time wasting etc. Saints great first half. Not so good second. Great save from KD.

Why are we so rubbish at set plays? Corners in particular?

Why is weston so anti Morgan? Hammond was not great tonight.

Very disapointed not to win.

[Saint_clark]

Tacticaly quite smart though. They know Saints like to keep it moving, quick throw ins, high tempo. Dragging it out was a way to unsettle our rythmn imo.

 

They play like that every game.

[Lighthouse]

A bit of a naff result but still plenty of possitives to take from it. For a start if Brighton really are the best side in League 1 at the moment, it really is wide open. They were gash. It was mostly hoof stuff and nicking the odd corner from long punts down the flank. We completely out played them first half. Second half, I don't want to blame 2 games in 4 days, but we were pretty sloppy in possession. Not sure about their pen. but Lallana DEFINITELY should have had one in the first half. Matey was all over him. I'd say we missed Chaplow and Morgan was pretty annonymous. Could use another CM in January if that substitution was anything to go by. 3 wide men in midfield.

 

Hammond was my MOTM as I think he put in a good battling display. Dickson was pretty good too and Kelvin had the penalty save. Jaidi won everything in the air, but his distribution was awful. I'd still take Martin ahead of him and Saturday's game is the perfect time to try it.

 

Hardly a classic, but before the weekend Posh and Brighton were being billed as tough games. I'd have taken 4 points then and I'll take them now.

[CityRanger]

this is a joke surely.

 

I don't think so. Last season was last season. New manager. New regime. New striker(s). If Ricky aint bangin them in by December we can't afford to wait all season for him to "find his form". Davis on Solent alluded to to the frustration with his comment re "with our firepower we should have won" comment.

The king is dead, Long live the king...Something stinks with Lambert and I feel he'll go the way of Puncheon but not so readily as there's more of a PR job to do for the club with this one.

[hypochondriac]

this is a joke surely.

 

Why? At the moment he isn't contributing enough on the pitch. He looks nothing like the player from last year. If it continues till January then it might be beneficial to make a change, especially if it looks like we will get promotion. Not sure Lambert will be much of an option in the CCC unless he makes a dramatic improvement.

[hypochondriac]

He still created a lot of opportunities today.

 

See I'm not sure he did. He doesn't offer enough to justify a starting place every game IMO. We shouldn't pick players on their name alone and at the moment he isn't gving enough.

[hypochondriac]

I don't think so. Last season was last season. New manager. New regime. New striker(s). If Ricky aint bangin them in by December we can't afford to wait all season for him to "find his form". Davis on Solent alluded to to the frustration with his comment re "with our firepower we should have won" comment.

The king is dead, Long live the king...Something stinks with Lambert and I feel he'll go the way of Puncheon but not so readily as there's more of a PR job to do for the club with this one.

 

My thoughts exactly. If it was any other player he would have been dropped by now. He can't live off last season forever.

[Matthew Le God]

Not a penalty for bear hugging in the area?

 

[Lighthouse]

Not a penalty for bear hugging in the area?

 

 

Well, they are a bit like that.

[hypochondriac]

Calderon was sh*te. Glad we didn't sign him.

[Saint137]

That's not a bear, its Jaidi

[eelpie]

Interesting that Adkins took Oxo off to bring on Butterfield towards the end. Was that a recognition that he had made a tactical mistake with earlier subs or was it that we needed beefing up at the back to withstand a Brighton onslaught? Could he have brought on Gobern or Doble instead in the hope that one of them could have nicked a goal or were we under siege or something?

 

Yes. Oxo had cramp. Just before Nige had subbed a defender and striker off with two strikers on -a bold move which nearly succeeded. Llalana in the hole was more penetrating though Goolie muffed chances. Butterfield came on to bolster the defence as Brighton were becoming dangerous.

[hypochondriac]

Did Adkins mention the penalty save at all? Hope he gave Davis credit.

[CityRanger]

No, but they didn't really ask him about the save, but for his views on the penalty decision against us and one we might have had when Lallana was fouled (almost identical) He played a straight bat and said something along the lines of...you know manager speak, look at the video etc...!.

[Saint J 77]

Points dropped, but a point gained... Gus seems like such a dirty word :-P

[Appy]

I think Brighton's aims for tonight were summed up when Poyet went over to their fans at the end of the match, celebrating and fist pumping over a 0-0.

[saints triumph]

Our midfield was excellent Hammond was like a different player tonight constantly closing down and tackling Morgan was very good too unlucky to get a card for a nothing tackle.

But he couldnt hit a cow arse with a banjo, on tonights showing

[doddisalegend]

But he couldnt hit a cow arse with a banjo, on tonights showing

 

True but chaplow has missed a few sitters too this season.

[Red and White Army]

Your post, supports the theory that there should be a separate thread for those that went to the match and those that didn't.

 

I think we should have a separate forum!

[John B]

Have no concerns about hunting Brighton down given that performance. They came to play for the draw and were time wasting in the first minute. We absolutely tore them to shreds and should have scored at least twice.

 

Have to question why Guly came on though, once again gave the ball away EVERY time he got it and was generally crap. Hope Adkins isn't considering keeping him on.

 

Although we had a lot of the ball we hardly tore them apart making very few clear cut chances and set play s were terrible

[Greenridge]

Haven't managed to get to many games this season so was quite interesting to see the changes in personnel compared to last season. A good first half where Saints dominated right up until their man got stretchered off in the 40th minute or so then Brighton had a decent 5 minute spell. Poyet changed something at half-time that completely changed the face of the game and the second-half was stalemate. For me Poyet won the second-half tactical game. The time-wasting from their keeper was frustrating, he was clearly happy for a draw and if Brighton are top of the league we have nothing to fear.

 

Chamberlain had a quiet game and it seemed to pass him by at times but time and experience will no doubt help him. Lambert, as has been said by many, is a shadow of last season's player although I thought he showed plenty of endeavour. Barnard worked his socks off and on another day could have bagged a couple.

[JustMike]

A wholy inadequate response to last Saturdays result and the significance of tonights game.

 

Our midfield doesnt seem to make things happen when Chaplow is not there and Schneiderlin is playing. I hope we sign Chaplow permanently.

 

sorry but dont agree. we didnt play badly, in fact for a 0-0 it was a good game, only reuined by some shocking refereeing and his assistants. what it does show though is that the depth of the squad is weak (not that we needed reminding)

[JustMike]

It looks increasingly like Lambert leaving will be a good thing if we can get a decent striker in.

 

oh dear god!

[dronskisaint]

Calderon was sh*te. Glad we didn't sign him.

 

Now on this I do agree...nasty, niggling, cynical Hispanic

[thesaint sfc]

All the platitudes in the world expressed on post-match reaction threads cannot hide the fact that we are wholy incapable of beating the teams around us. We've only beaten Oldham and Bmth of the top 9 or so.

 

Just in case no one else on here has said it, we beat sheffield wednesday too.

[John B]

sorry but dont agree. we didnt play badly, in fact for a 0-0 it was a good game, only reuined by some shocking refereeing and his assistants. what it does show though is that the depth of the squad is weak (not that we needed reminding)

 

I thought was a poor game with very few chances and a few some strange refereeing decisions but certainly not ruined by the Ref.

 

Brighton came for a draw and got it SFC knew that was probably going to happen and failed to respond.

 

Jaidi was a liability in the second half but excellent in the first

[dronskisaint]

It looks increasingly like Lambert leaving will be a good thing if we can get a decent striker in.

 

Whilst he's not got the confidence he needs currently to be the goalscorer of last year he's far too proven a striker to let go. I also think that some of his touches & lay offs last night were central to our dominance of our play in the last third.

 

It's a tired cliche but class is permanent...watch him go once the chances go the right side of the post. He's been inches & paint thicknesses away from being this year's top scorer...we have to stick with him in my opinion.

[View From The Top]

Whilst he's not got the confidence he needs currently to be the goalscorer of last year he's far too proven a striker to let go. I also think that some of his touches & lay offs last night were central to our dominance of our play in the last third.

 

It's a tired cliche but class is permanent...watch him go once the chances go the right side of the post. He's been inches & paint thicknesses away from being this year's top scorer...we have to stick with him in my opinion.

 

Only an idiot would disagree.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

Yikes...! Which one was it fellas, or were you at different games....!

One watched Saints, the other watched the match.

[sandwichsaint]

Good things: a decent first half for Saints, plenty of tempo and bite, plenty of variation in our attacks. Dickson looked good. Hammond really up for it and put himself about well. 26k in the third division on a Tuesday evening. Clean sheet, we rode our luck and were a bit last-ditch at times but we shut out the division's leading scorers.

 

Medium things: we created lots of half chances and bits and pieces (we only needed one to go in) but we failed to create too many really clear openings, don't be fooled by the 11-shots-on-target stats, I can't recall Ankergan(sp) making a meaningful save?

 

Not very good things: Gully was shocking, my first sight and he was truly awful on that 15 minute showing. Brighton's 'professional' attitude, timewasting and ref-baiting, it's obviously a winning style but I'm not sure I'd want to watch that everyweek. Atmosphere was carp where I was (third of the way up block 42) - the 'boyfriend' chants are just about the naffest thing in football, we failed to get any of our songs going properly and were easily outsung by the oppo (Saints fans at home really aren't anywhere near as 'good' as they used to be). M25 closed for 'maintainance' on the way home so a 30 minute detour through the very scenic Surrey hills and home at 00.45 ... gggrrrhhhh!

 

Onwards and upwards, we have a run of 'easier' games ahead and we really do need to get on a good run, I think we will be all right and I'm very much looking forward to 'January' as Adkins referred to it three or four times in his post-match comments on Solent.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

thank you finbarr

He has a problem in the pelvic area (Barnard not finbarr), which to me says hernia.

[Wade Garrett]

Best game I've seen Hammond play all season. Shame about his meidfield partner, apart from 1 sublime interchange with Lallana in the first half, Morgan was absolute garbage. Hopefully Chaplow won't be out for too long. Thought Dickson on the left was excellent, far better than Harding.

 

Lambert was playing far too deep again. He was hardly ever in the box when dangerous balls were played in, and the one opportunity he had, a free header, he put over the bar. He needs to be playing on their last defender again, otherwise he won't get in the goals. Barnard worked his socks off, has really improved since he came here.

 

Davis showed his class again last night, pulling off a really good save at the end of a first half where he was a virtual spectator. Second half he played the sweeper role really well with a couple of headers outside the box, took a couple of decent crosses and saved the penalty.

 

Glad we didn't sign Calderon. Did you see the little t0sser giving it the 'give him a card ref' when the penalty was given? Brighton pressed the ball well, but their tactics were largely negative, but you have to give them a credit, they didn't lose, which I think was their sole aim.

 

Thought Holmes was OK in the last few minutes.

[Phil the Saint]

I thought was a poor game with very few chances and a few some strange refereeing decisions but certainly not ruined by the Ref.

 

Brighton came for a draw and got it SFC knew that was probably going to happen and failed to respond.

 

Jaidi was a liability in the second half but excellent in the first

 

Why is it if a game finishes goaless people think it is a poor game? I thought it was a quality game that was far better than you would expect for a Div 3 match. Very entertaining.

[Saint Charlie]

Ending with Butterfield and Holmes as our wide men is a bit of a worry. Need another option off the bench IMO

[Dr Who?]

Should have won, was a chance to close the gap on Brighton and Charlton, but could have lost. Point not the end of the world as long as we can pull 9 points out of the bag of the next 3 games, which on PAPER is something we could do. Other results not to bad for us really as others will be thinking the same about closing the gap on the top 2.

[torsaint]

Surprised nobody has mentioned that Lambert was always marked by two Brighton players when the ball came to him in the air. Good tactics by Poyet and very hard to counteract although in theory it should leave one of our other players without a marker. no world class saves required from their slow motion keeper - reckon that the ball was in his possession for 15% of the game without any response from the ref. When Kelvin took a couple of extra seconds to take a goal kick the ref was on him like a ton of bricks. Curious or what? Overall not a bad result against a pretty nasty side and a fabulous penalty save by Davis.

[hypochondriac]

oh dear god!

 

Why is it so offensive to some to give an opinion they disagree with? People say 'he will come good' but how long do we wait for that to happen with the possible consequence that we drop some points? I think he looks very slow and lazy and doesn't want the ball half as much as he did last year. We can't stick with him indefinitely and if this form were to continue until January then it may be time to start thinking about getting someone else in if it looks like we will get promotion. As I said he can't live off last season forever, there comes a time where you have to say enough is enough. Now am I allowed to hold that opinion without people acting in mock surprise as if I have uttered the most stupid words possible? In my opinion it is just common sense. If he wasn't a 'name' then he would have been dropped ages ago.

[Tom28]

I thought both sides lacked any real fluidity. Neither side can claim to have dominated. Brighton try to pass the opposition to death but NA had his tactics spot on. Lambert and Barnard pressed their centre backs and full backs all night to stop them playing, and Schneiderlin too was right up there pressing whenever Ankergren had the ball. There were glimpses of good football from both sides but the pressing from both sides defensively meant that most attacks dried up. It was a great tactical game to watch. The shots stats surprised me-I can't remember too many good chances we had. The best was Lamberts header in the second half. Terrible miss and that should spell the end of his run in the team for a few games-I'm sorry but he's just not scoring and if he was anyone else, he would have been dropped by now. He should have scored from that chance. Barnard was class again-player of the season for me so far. Thought defensively as a team we were superb. Can't fault anyone though on overall performance. Having Punch from the bench tonight might have been useful. Where was Connolly?

[Wes Tender]

I don't think so Harding is better defensively than going forward few people get past Harding even playing on the wrong side last season he was difficult to beat, I'll admit he had a stinker against Carlisle but one game doesn't make a bad player. Is not as if Dickson had much defending to do tonight I was expecting Brighton's wingers to be quite dangerous from what I heard about but they looked as poor as the rest of the seagirls team.

 

Agree wholeheartedly that Harding is the best LB in the division and hardly ever allows a player to get past him. As I already mentioned after SCOTN's post earlier, towards the end of the game, Brighton had identified our left flank as our weak point and exploited it. We looked tired there, but Harding battles right to the 90 minutes. Maybe Adkins is allowing Dickson a bit of a run to make his assessment of him and perhaps Harding has to wait until Dickson has a poor game, but Harding could come back in at any time and do a good job as far as I'm concerned.

[Ken Tone]

Once the ball is in play, unless the goalie keeps it in close control for over 6 seconds, there's nothing the ref can do ....the git can time-waste all day if he wants to. It's up to us to force him to pick it up. What appalled me though was that the ref let him take ages over each goal kick ...the ref can penalise him for time-wasting in that context, yet he didn't even speak to him, let alone book him.

 

 

For what it's worth btw, from where I was in the kingsland, I'd have given both their penalty and ours for the trip on Lallana.

 

Lambert contributed some good target man play, and put in an awesome freekick that the goalie only just turned onto the post, but he really ought to have scored with the header over the bar, and passed on a couple of occasions when I'm sure he would have shot last season. In fact IMO if last season's model of Lambert had been playing we'd have won.

[Dimond Geezer]

I can’t believe that after such a good performance people still come on here with negative comments. As I saw it, we played the league leaders off the park in the first half, completely dominating the game, and should have gone in with a lead. The second half was more even, and thanks to Super Kelv we didn’t concede.

 

I came away from the game disappointed that we didn’t win, but excited by what I saw, having watched an exciting game of footy. If Brighton are the best team in the league, as their league position would indicate, then we have nothing to worry about.

 

I thought Hammond had one of his best games for a while, he looked sharp and in control. I assume that Morgan ‘took one for the team’, serving his suspension for the cup game, I hope Chappers will be fit.

 

Does anyone know how their player is? He looked in a bad way when he left the pitch.

 

Question:

Why was a free/goal kick awarded after the penalty save. It looked from where I was that Kelvin pushed it for a corner?