Saints 2 Hull 1 - Post Match Reactions

[vince]

I felt sorry for Davis because his initial save was stunning.

 

Certainly looked good on the SSN clips - looked like he was initially going one way and made a great one handed stop after having to completely readjust the other way.

[Sour Mash]

Yes, hence our lack of energy and sparkle in the second half.

I make him right. We are looking sluggish and a bit of fresh blood wouldn't do us any harm at all.

[dronskisaint]

Just back at the hotel

 

Strangely lacklustre in the first half although we should have scored with at least two headers...Guly was the main offender but 'Ull always looked neat and tidy without producing many shots of note. They got the run of the ball for their goal and the number of offsides against us was unreal...felt like were were playing the linesman as well!

 

Second half we just upped it...credit Nige for turning it round tactically. I thought Cork was our busiest player in the first half so was surprised to see him come off but the balance worked better with Schteeeeve on -Adam's goal put the zing back in his legs that I've thought was missing since his injury...good to see. I thought the red card looked deserved but I was in block 38...looked studs up?

 

Good and important win and showed real character throughout...Hull are a good team and will be there or thereabouts at the end and we forgot Saturday, overcame a 46th minute goal and marched on to win gloriously...what a team!!

[CanadaSaint]

Very pleased with the come-from-behind win against a good team but we can't get Chaplow back quickly enough.

 

It's not just his all round, box-to-box play that we need but also the work ethic he sets for others.

 

That IMO may well be why we've looked "lacklustre" in the two games.

[Weston Saint]

We lacked energy and passion in the first half and it was no surprise when a well organised and passing Hull took the lead.

 

Two friends either side of me at half time - one said for the first time this season he was worried we would not get it back in the second half - other said we lacked the balance some one like Chaplow gave us.

 

De Ridder on for the second half and we seemed to up our passing game.

 

Great win against a good side. Not worried about West Ham. Automatic promotion is what we want and them beating teams just below both of us has to be a good thing.

[Dr Who?]

Good win, but feel we need to freshen things up with a couple of signings, as I can see this being the difference between automatic promotion and the playoff. Game on Saturday and the first half today we did not look fresh.

 

The half time cuppa was a special one!!

 

Not complaining we still have one of the best teams in the league.

[DG]

Thought we were poor tonight but still created plenty of chances, Hull started well but there was only going to be one winner.

[Kingsland Red]

Listen, not all visitors to St Marys will roll over.We take the three points, draw a blue line under it and move on to Donnie.

[Weston Saint]

It's no excuse though. We weren't lacklustre without chaplow before his recent form. His absence is a blow, but it shouldn't stop maximum effort from everyone else.

 

I don't think trying to play Morgan, Hammond and Cork together works though.

Agree with this. that is the lack of balance my friend commented on. He posts on here as Derry

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

Odd game. Felt so subdued, maybe tired players. Couldn't see a scoreboard so didn't know what minute it was. Thought we played well for 10 minutes, scored twice then sat back. Still can't score v 10 men! Nice to know we can step it up and score like that, but the rest of the game wasn't anywhere near top form. Wasn't bad, just a bit lacking in energy, urgency and drive.

 

Still, 3 points. Thought Hull were poor too, little end product. Could have been different though, was amazed Kelvin got a yellow. He was never getting anywhere near that ball, crazy decision and expected the red card.

 

To be fair to KD he didn't actually touch. The guy and the ball was heading out anyway.

[EBS1980]

was it a 4-4-2 in first half or 4-3-3 or 4-5-1?

[S-Clarke]

was it a 4-4-2 in first half or 4-3-3 or 4-5-1?

 

4-4-2 from what I could make out, with Morgan playing on the right wing.

 

It didn't work, lacked any real shape or balance as others have said.

 

When we had 2 out and out wingers in the 2nd half we played that formation much better.

[PokingFun]

Just got in and have to say not the best performance I've seen, but the points are in the bag and bouncing back after Saturday is a real positive.

 

Too many players off the boil tonight and a bit of a worry for me over our fringe players. Credit to Hull, they're not a bad team at all and had us under the cosh for long periods. A draw would probably have been fair, but maybe tonight was a trade off against games we should have got something out of.

 

Players not on form tonight included Lallana (is he still struggling with the injury?), Guly (didn't look interested at times and not sharp, but then gets us back in the game), Hammond (game was passing him by at times). We just didn't seem to get the ball moving as we have in recent matches. Think Hull did a bit of a number on us and could also pass it about themselves.

 

My other worry was the subs. De Ridder gave us width and an outlet, but I'm still to be convinced he is up to it. Barnard threw himself about a bit, but I can't help but feel he's not the quality we need and Holmes contributed zero.

 

Sending off looked a but harsh. Definitely a rash challenge, but not sure it was worthy of a red.

 

Overjoyed to have bounced back, but certainly need to step our game up I think.

 

Excellent summary, pretty much summed up my view and saves me a lot of typing :-)

[EBS1980]

think we should have gone 4-5-1 with Lallana and Guly wide to support Ricky with the midfield three in the middle.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

That was probably our best win of the season.

 

At HT we were in big trouble, we didn't penetrate enough in the first half or create much. They were always neat and tidy on the ball and carried a threat, whilst they were solid closing us down with a really fluid and dynamic midfield.. As soon as they nicked the lead when they did it looked a long way back. I felt sorry for Davis because his initial save was stunning.

 

We came out in the 2nd half like a train, the first 10 mins we stepped up 2 gears and turned the game on it's head. I didn't see that turn around coming based on the first half! All of a sudden we had width, we had pace and penetration in and around the box and it paid off. After that initial spell we kind of gave the impetus back to Hull and they stepped it up and passed it around very well, their pace up top through Maclean caused us a real issue at times.

 

They were easily the best team we've played at home this year and they will be a force in the 2nd half, no doubts about that. They've got some real quality, which is why this win is so satisfying - we dug in and won that like a team that knows how to win games, from any position. That's what 2 years of winning in L1 with the same players gives you.

 

Not too bothered WHU won, I'm more pleased that the gap between us and 3rd is increasing. It looks at the moment to be us and WHU going nip and tuck at the top, with the rest playing catch up. I never thought I'd be saying that.....!

 

This is an accurate and sensible report back from S-Clarke, However.

A few observations of my own if I may

Schneiderlin is not Chaplow (unfortunately). Elegant and good looking on the ball he maybe but he does not make his presence felt.

De Ridder is an impact player whereas Chamberlain could do it from minute one - what a shame we could not have held on to him for one more season.

Lambert must have either been ill or carrying an injury - NA never subs him.

Lallana is not firing on all cylinders - don't know why but something is not quite right there

Tonight was unconvincing but full marks for grounding out 3 points which at HT looked unlikely.

We won tonight because between 45 and 55 mins we were unplayable - what a shame we could not have sustained our supremacy a little longer and particularly after their man got sent off

Ref was good - hardly noticed him and I think only Kelvin Davis got booked for us.

Thought the Hull sending off was a little harsh but I have not seen any replays.

Do Prado had one of those infuriating games when everything he did looked cumbersome...but then he scored. His unpredictability is his greatest strength.

[um pahars]

Agree with this. that is the lack of balance my friend commented on. He posts on here as Derry

 

And I'll third that, Morgan, Spiderman and Cork just seem too similar style, whereas Chaplow gives us an outlet and something different.

[Secret Site Agent]

I had faith we would do it.

 

Teeth-grinding, sphinter-clenching, shout-at-the-radio, throw-things-around, shaking-with-rage,sweating-profusly, telling-merrington-to-eff-off-you-jinxsie-bstardos, throwing-coffee-depresingly-into-the-cup, huffing-around-the-office,trying-to-be-positive,screaming-out-loud, screaming-out-loud-again, dance-around-in-my-pants, sack-my-skate-workers, make-them-have-it, type of faith.

 

Well done to come back from 1-0 down and have the belief and hard work to engage and win 2-1.

Shame we couldn't do this on Saturday, but bring on Donny.

And start SSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE De Ridder please our Nige.

[Saintandy666]

Didn't think anyone particularly did amazingly today. Richardson excepted. A lot of players were just average(which is fine I guess), and others were below par... Guly - thanks for the goal, but today sort of looked lost and couldn't get into it. Lallana - ascended towards the end of the game, but still no spark for most of it. Steve de Ridder looked good sometimes, but ****ed it up other times...

 

Lambert's first touch is incredible though.

[EBS1980]

Just seen the goals on SSN, Great cross for Lallana's goal, simple head in. Also says we had 70% of the possession!

[Benj]

Dominated the game, the goal we conceded was very very sloppy defending and we wasted too many chances in the first half however we totally bossed it start to finish, not the most fluid and flair filled performance but we got the basics right and ground out the win against a very capable Hull side.

[Chez]

Quite a painful game to watch. We may have been the better side in the first half but we still looked way below our best. I would put that down to one or to key things. Firstly losing Chappers has taken a lot of energy in midfield away. Not only our we making less runs off the ball but also our closing of opposition has been reduced not to mention the number of interceptions. Lallana's energy and sharpness levels have been poor since returning from injury (I'm assuming he is not fully fit) and he was average going forward and woeful defensively (note he was a major reason Adomah ran riot on Saturday). The second reason was we carried Guly tonight. He had one of his worst games in a Saints shirt. Everything he did was poor, even the goal was a result of a poor initial shot and a massive slice of luck that it fell straight back to him. His work rate was poor, his first touch was poor, his body language...yes you've guessed it, poor. Quite frankly I'm amazed he was not subbed at half time. Still despite this we battled through and a side playing poorly and still winning is a championship winning side.

 

Davis 6 not much to do. Went long a lot. Some will be happy. Woeful decision making for his booking. He was left exposed but he took an age to make his mind up to come out and by then it was the wrong decision. Thankfully he got there just in time to get a piece of the striker (although it looked a dive to me). If he did foul him he was lucky to stay on the pitch.

Richardson 7 decent game, strong in defence. One criticism would be when coming inside he got robbed a couple of times because he took too long to get it onto his favoured right foot to make a simple pass.

Fonte 9 Best game of the season for me. When we were caught out he covered round brilliantly, strong and composed

Jos 7 some very poor headers in the first half but decent display overall

Harding 7 Solid in defence despite little cover from Lallana, but didn't do a great deal going forward. Thought he made a meal of the tackle (although it was a strong one) and the fact he got straight up and back into it after the player had gone tells me he wasn't badly hurt at all. Prefer Fox.

Morgan 7 not too bad out wide, made some decent runs, but really got hold of the game when moved into the middle in the second half, faded at the end though with some poor decision making. Strange game then all in all.

Cork 7 I thought he was our best midfielder in the first half and then Adkins took him off. Weird.

Hammond 7 Very average first half although no lack of effort (put his head in where it hurts on a couple of occasions) but improved and kept us solid. I think I'd of taken him off rather than Cork.

Lallana 6 Nice finish, some nice tricks, but he is not sharp enough and that lead to him losing the ball much more often than we are used to. Tracking back and closing down were very poor. He looked tired. Amazed he was not subbed. He did wake up when moved up front, but not really effective.

Lambert 7 worked hard and played well I thought, very surprised when he was taken off. Guly was having a shocker

Guly 2 Woeful display

 

De Ridder 8 fantastic effort, turned the game on its head. When he came on we closed men down, we upped our tempo, put them under pressure and won the ball back. Once in possession he was dangerous, sharp and useful. Adkins did not learn from Saturday at all. Should have started.

Barnard 3 touch was terrible, I guess the lack of games is a very good excuse, but IMO he isn't good enough.

Holmes some neat touches

[Jack]

What the hell was up with Guly? I'm a big fan, but I thought his attitude was shocking tonight. He looked slow and lazy, few poor touches. Then when the board went up on 70(?) mins he was straight over to the sidelines, only for Lambert to be subbed, and from then on he appeared to signal to the bench a couple of times, and managed to look even less interested, moping around with his face in his shirt. Think Lallana had words with him about making himself available, shortly before he was hauled off. Really poor attitude IMO

[Weston Saint]

Just to update on Lallana. A few weeks ago I was told he is still carrying that arch of foot injury. It is one of those injuries that does not stop you playing but needs time to fully resolve. He is limited in training to try to manage and that might account for his less than 100%

[saint-crinny]

Impressed with Hull today, really neat passing at times in and around our box - best side to visit us so far this season.

 

SDR made a good impact from the bench, but key for me in the second half was moving Morgan inside. For me, our most creative player and for those first 20 mins of the second half he really made us tick. His ability to pick a pass really started to bring Lallana into the game, probably for the first time since he has been back from injury.

 

Great win anyway - showed some great character and desire to come out and win that game. Delighted

[Crazy Diamond]

Not the best win you'll see all season.

 

For me the game was about Guly. Got the goal to put us back in it, but other than that was terrible. He was sulking when defenders pushed him or tried to play him offside, rarely ran, played stupid short passes that undid an attacking move to get it to the right end of the pitch and in general was incredibly poor.

 

Well done to whoever shouted "Walking isn't going to help you lazy git", because you were quite right. The goal he scored - I've had the benefit of seeing a replay and initially he couldn't have picked a worse place to steer his initial shot, straight into the hands of the keeper who barely had to move, he then put away the rebound.

 

Far from pleased with him, very pleased at grinding out the three points. Nigel seemed happy.

 

DEFINITE red card by the way. Brady trapped Harding's leg and it could have been very different - i.e a leg break. Nick Barmby disagreed however and had a face like thunder in the tunnel.

 

Too many offsides as well. Game didn't flow at all.

[Chap in the Chapel]

A ground-out win when not playing well? Yes please...

Hull were good value for the half-time lead and it was obvious that we were unbalanced in midfield without Chaplow on the right. If we must have Hammond, Cork and Schneiderlin in the same team while he's injured then I think we may have to play a narrower diamond formation as Morgan is far less effective when not in the centre of the pitch. De Ridder did well when he came on but he's still an impact player and not a starter. Our best performers were probably the back four, but it's difficult to pick a man of the match for us tonight. Barmby showed his managerial inexperience though - why on earth was that huge bloke who came on in stoppage time not on 10-15 minutes sooner? They didn't have any chances in the second half as they couldn't get the ball to stick up front. Overall a vital bounce-back victory for us though. League positions are dictated by results gained on bad days, not good ones.

[doddisalegend]

That was probably our best win of the season.

 

At HT we were in big trouble, we didn't penetrate enough in the first half or create much. They were always neat and tidy on the ball and carried a threat, whilst they were solid closing us down with a really fluid and dynamic midfield.. As soon as they nicked the lead when they did it looked a long way back. I felt sorry for Davis because his initial save was stunning.

 

We came out in the 2nd half like a train, the first 10 mins we stepped up 2 gears and turned the game on it's head. I didn't see that turn around coming based on the first half! All of a sudden we had width, we had pace and penetration in and around the box and it paid off. After that initial spell we kind of gave the impetus back to Hull and they stepped it up and passed it around very well, their pace up top through Maclean caused us a real issue at times.

 

They were easily the best team we've played at home this year and they will be a force in the 2nd half, no doubts about that. They've got some real quality, which is why this win is so satisfying - we dug in and won that like a team that knows how to win games, from any position. That's what 2 years of winning in L1 with the same players gives you.

 

Not too bothered WHU won, I'm more pleased that the gap between us and 3rd is increasing. It looks at the moment to be us and WHU going nip and tuck at the top, with the rest playing catch up. I never thought I'd be saying that.....!

 

Well that's saved me some typing pretty much spot on assement of the game from were I was sitting in the chapel. Have to say I was impressed by Hull they played some nice football and unlike Posh and Brighton didn't let going down to 10 men stop them having a go. Felt we could have made the extra man count a bit more (did no one see Lee holmes stood all on his own in acres of space?) to make the last bit of the game a little less stressful but a good win well pleased.

[corsacar saint]

Really good comeback against a decent side. However how the hell did we manage 70% possession. The stats make the game look a walkover and it was far from that.

[St Marco]

Pretty crap game and think we were lucky to win. Even when we had an extra man they looked lively and created chances.

What is worrying me is that Morgan should not be out on the right. It isn't working and has never looked like it would. If we are struggling to put someone there then why not put Fox at left mid and Lallana at right mid?

I want to like Shteve i really do but he has become one of those players who really frustrate me ala BWP, DMG etc. He has bags of pace and enthusiasm but he clearly lacks some of the basics. I wonder if he was given more starts would he learn and improve? When you compare him to the 17 year old who he replaced he is nowhere near that level. I think it was the 80min mark or so and he got the ball, poked it round their left back and could of run 1 on 1 with the last defender. But he ran over to the right side and passed back to Richardson who was then under pressure and had to try and make a pass which was intercepted by Mclean and he then ran at the two defenders and almost got a ball across the goal line. On another day that mistake could of cost us. I admire his energy to try and run down the ball but really you have to say our right wing continues to be a problem since Chambo left.

I think Nige is obviously not starting him for a reason, instead rather playing someone who lacks experience there. But we have Holmes and De-Ridder who are natural wingers. Either start with one of those guy's or bring someone in who can start games there. It really is a shame we didn't keep Alex for a further season. He would of been tearing teams like Hull a new one.

 

But a win is a win and we will take that every time.

[doddisalegend]

We lacked energy and passion in the first half and it was no surprise when a well organised and passing Hull took the lead.

 

Two friends either side of me at half time - one said for the first time this season he was worried we would not get it back in the second half - other said we lacked the balance some one like Chaplow gave us.

 

De Ridder on for the second half and we seemed to up our passing game.

 

 

 

Great win against a good side. Not worried about West Ham. Automatic promotion is what we want and them beating teams just below both of us has to be a good thing.

 

 

Have to disagree doesn't anyone want to see saints win a league title? I hated coming second to Brigton last season. Really the idea of football is to win stuff like cups and titles not to come second.

Edited 29 November, 2011 by doddisalegend

[EBS1980]

Cork had a dead leg, which is why he was the one that made way at half time.

[RedAndWhite91]

Everyone has said what I think. Hull were decent at times. Guly was awful. Game of two halves. Hard fought victory. 3 points. Happy days.

[Wes Tender]

The first half the atmosphere in the stadium was as flat as I've ever known it. It wasn't helped by Hull having only a small fairly quiet contingent and block 43 being our fans next to them. It was almost as if most of our fans were somehow nervous that our home record was going to tumble, accepting that Hull are a decent side and we came into this match on the back of a poor defeat by Bristol City. It wasn't helped either by a slow and seemingly languid start by the players. As others have said, Chaplow with his gutsy effort would have given a lift both to the fans and to the players around him. He's becoming a talisman, producing the spark that lifts us above ourselves.

 

It was almost inevitable that Hull would score sooner or later, playing neat passing football in a similar vein to our normal game. They had a couple of decent opportunities before they scored at the worst possible time, just before half-time. But whatever Adkins said to them during the break produced the desired effect, together with the tactical change of bringing on De Ridder who added pace and some urgency to our game. Two early goals in quick succession, their sending off, the crowd rocking and the the whole game was turned on its head.

 

But then 15 minutes later, the impetus seemed to leach away again and the atmosphere went flat again. But thankfully we kept that lead and gained the three points that kept us top, frustrating WH who for a brief spell were top of the league. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do to them what we did to Huddersfield last year; match them point for point.

 

So we equal the achievement of the mighty Liverpool in having the best run of home wins in post-War history and do I understand correctly, we stand just four more wins from the greatest ever home run in British football history?

 

It is achievable and would be something to be really proud of. But rather than the nail-biting stuff that we endured tonight, couldn't we do it with a bit more style? Perhaps we could with Chaplow back.

[Roger]

Not playing with the panache we were but if I this has been our bad patch it aint so bad.

 

fraser motm for Saints, Adam good second half, we need him back top form, support complacent 1st ha

 

Start with SDR and Barny up front Sat, give Ricki a breather on the bench

 

I expect to see two top quality signings to blend into the squad come January

 

Rickie on the bench? Are you mad?

[Roger]

This is an accurate and sensible report back from S-Clarke, However.

A few observations of my own if I may

Schneiderlin is not Chaplow (unfortunately). Elegant and good looking on the ball he maybe but he does not make his presence felt.

De Ridder is an impact player whereas Chamberlain could do it from minute one - what a shame we could not have held on to him for one more season.

Lambert must have either been ill or carrying an injury - NA never subs him.

Lallana is not firing on all cylinders - don't know why but something is not quite right there

Tonight was unconvincing but full marks for grounding out 3 points which at HT looked unlikely.

We won tonight because between 45 and 55 mins we were unplayable - what a shame we could not have sustained our supremacy a little longer and particularly after their man got sent off

Ref was good - hardly noticed him and I think only Kelvin Davis got booked for us.

Thought the Hull sending off was a little harsh but I have not seen any replays.

Do Prado had one of those infuriating games when everything he did looked cumbersome...but then he scored. His unpredictability is his greatest strength.

 

Morgan is better than chaplow for me. Morgan dominated second half and is a different type of player. For me hammond could be compared more with chaplow.

[SaintBobby]

A win but the squad is getting tired. We need to get some good quality signings in January if we are to move on.

 

I'm still hopeful we'll scrape into 17th, are you?

[Leicestersaint]

That was probably our best win of the season.

 

At HT we were in big trouble, we didn't penetrate enough in the first half or create much. They were always neat and tidy on the ball and carried a threat, whilst they were solid closing us down with a really fluid and dynamic midfield.. As soon as they nicked the lead when they did it looked a long way back. I felt sorry for Davis because his initial save was stunning.

 

We came out in the 2nd half like a train, the first 10 mins we stepped up 2 gears and turned the game on it's head. I didn't see that turn around coming based on the first half! All of a sudden we had width, we had pace and penetration in and around the box and it paid off. After that initial spell we kind of gave the impetus back to Hull and they stepped it up and passed it around very well, their pace up top through Maclean caused us a real issue at times.

 

They were easily the best team we've played at home this year and they will be a force in the 2nd half, no doubts about that. They've got some real quality, which is why this win is so satisfying - we dug in and won that like a team that knows how to win games, from any position. That's what 2 years of winning in L1 with the same players gives you.

 

Not too bothered WHU won, I'm more pleased that the gap between us and 3rd is increasing. It looks at the moment to be us and WHU going nip and tuck at the top, with the rest playing catch up. I never thought I'd be saying that.....!

 

I think our best win of the season so far was against West Ham.

[LA77]

Interesting stat from the taters after we equalised ..... we have only been behind at SMS for 6 minutes all season

 

That is just crazy.

 

I think you should have had even better odds than that mate!!

 

flip flop bets used to always be 33/1. They can vary from 22/1 to 28/33/1. They are a nice bet to come up. The odds are about right.

 

Great win. These scrappy wins coming from 1-0 down are the things that champions/auto promotion is all about. 8 points (9 with goal difference) clear of 3rd. Very nice!

[monosaint]

We definitely miss Chaplow's unique style. Hammond, Cork and Schneiderlin do not ghost in to the box like RC.. He comes in late and noone picks him up because of that..

[shurlock]

Good, satisfying 3 points. When the dust has settled, the record books will show we beat a resolute side on a cold November evening and kept the meter ticking over.

 

Just a few thoughts:

 

Surprised NA started with Morgan, Cork and Hammond, with Morgan playing right wing at times. The game was set up for SDR to start, and with three CMS square pegs in round holes, you do wonder what SDR has to do to convince NA. Still I thought his introduction made the world of difference, especially with FR in close support on the right. What was particularly impressive about SDR's performance was his willingness to close players down - maybe that's the last piece of evidence he needs to convince NA of a start. Arguably, with a central midfield of Morgan and Hammond which is more defensive-minded than Cork + midfield, we have greater protection and room for relative luxuries such as SDR and Lallana.

 

Didn't think we played too badly first half - we enjoyed some good possession and worked some decent openings but weren't clinical enough in the final third. Guly and Lallana were both guilty of dwelling on the ball for too long; Rickie had and seems to have an aversion to shooting from open play; and too many crosses were underhit. Second half, we came out like an express train - and deservedly took the lead. After that, Hull came back into it; but they never really threatened. Rickie's substitution gave Barney a run-out, though he didn't add much - was brushed off the ball too easily and seemed a bit headless - wonder how close he is to full match fitness.

 

Thought Jos and Fonte were excellent tonight. Morgan was a candidate for MOTM as he was central to us playing at a higher tempo in the 2nd half. But my MOTM goes to Frazer. His no-nonsense, selfless character and his ability to get up and down the pitch, a proper dynamo, is making him a cult hero for me. IMO, he's represents everything that is good about this southampton side.

[sandwichsaint]

Great result, if not a great performance. Saints started very flat and looked unbalanced from the off with MS alternating between a narrow right and wide right position and not being very effective in either. Gully and Lambert also failed to connect, add in a fairly limp AL and a midfield that failed to deliver very much quality ball to the strikers and it was always likely that Hull would score first. As others have said Hull were neat and tidy and pretty much out-played Saints at their own game for large parts of the first half, they must be strong play-off contenders on this form.

 

Second half Saints were a different side (literally, with SDR on wide right and a more orthodox 4-4-2 shape) and scored two good goals (though Gully was very lucky to get a second go at his after missing a really straightforward chance that the keeper could only parry back to him). Unfortunately after this rousing 10 mins Saints were unable to apply the coup-de-grace of a third and Hull forced themselves back into it in the last 20 minutes and might consider themselves unlucky not to take a point from the game; at half time they looked favourites to take all three.

 

KD 6, no chance with the goal and little else to do, but he never looked comfortable and his distribution was very scratchy. Bring back new improved KD immediately, I don't like old flappy Kelv much.

FR 8, solid game at the back and regularly raided forward to good effect.

JF + JH 7,7; both had a difficult first 20 mins but both settled well after that, now forming a really good partnership together.

DH 5, shaky first half (no cover from AL though), improved as the game went on but offered very little going forward, no comparison with Fox on this showing.

MS 7, out of position in the first half, and it showed; much better second half and made some crucial interceptions around and in front of our box.

JC 7, lively first 20 mins but faded out (prob due to injury?) and was replaced at HT

DH 8, excellent, did everything a skipper needs to do; got through shed loads of work and most of it decent, my MOM.

AL 7, prob his best game since his injury, obviously nowhere near his best but he still had the tricks and awareness to help us unlock a resolute Hull defence.

GdP 4, I'm a massive fan but this was probably as poor as he has ever been in a Saints shirt. Just couldn't get going and nothing he tried came off. Looked tired and I would rest him on Sat and bring him back fresh in 2 weeks to face Blackpool.

RL 7, great quality and endeavour (as always) but like Gully nothing really fell for him. Fantastic persistence for his part in the second goal.

 

SDR 8, looked fresh and lively and injected some much needed energy; I'm in a minority but I'm quite happy to see him continue in this 'impact' role at the moment.

LB 2, lots of questions at the moment but he doesn't seem to be coming up with any answers. We can do better, and hopefully we will in January.

 

 

Crowd 3, good numbers for a midweek game but a dire atmosphere for all bar first 20 mins of the second half. Do we just turn up and wait to be entertained nowadays? What's with all this leaving 5-10 mins early? Isn't being top of the champs, completing our umpteenth straight home win, and fighting back for a very creditable 3 points, worth 5 minutes of your time to stay and clap the team off? Unreal!

 

 

I enjoyed it, Saints weren't great but Hull were pretty decent and it ended up a very satisfying three points - a champions style performance.

[SaintRichmond]

Yeh will take that 2-1 win there against a not bad Hull team and shame about West Ham 2-0 to keep them on our tails but we won and that's all that counts!!!

Bring On Donny Next On Sat!!!

COYR !!!

 

West Ham beating Boro means we are EIGHT points clear of THIRD place, which is the critical factor IMHO

[70's Mike]

we have had better performances BUT to win promotion all that counts are results, we got that.

[Ziggy]

West Ham beating Boro means we are EIGHT points clear of THIRD place, which is the critical factor IMHO

 

I agree this is the critical statistic. I wanted West Ham to win last night.

 

A great win following Saturday's loss and I was not expecting us to win. It shows great character to react the way they did especially at the start of the second half. As I said to my lad walking back to the car - it's an old cliche that great teams win when not at their best. Saints weren't brilliant last night but still won. Well done lads.

[Frank's cousin]

Agree with this. that is the lack of balance my friend commented on. He posts on here as Derry

 

Did he not mention lack of width? LOL :-) ;-) How you doin' by the way?

[dune]

Superb character. Before k/o I thought we'd lose with Chaplow out and following defeat at BCFC, and at h/t I feared the worst. But we showed character and we sent out a message that we are tough and we don't bottle it. Welldone NA and the team.

[thefunkygibbons]

Have to accept that WHU will be at our heels the whole way

 

The gap over 3rd is pleasing though

[wild-saint]

Barnard 3 touch was terrible, I guess the lack of games is a very good excuse, but IMO he isn't good enough.

Holmes some neat touches

 

This is an interesting view. I had this discussion in the pub before and after the game. Personally im not convinced that barnard has what it takes to be anything more than average at this level. His touch was truely awful last night verging on pub league. Lack of fitness due to his length of time injured but a lack of touch is not excusable. He may have a lack of games but he has been training so his touch should be pretty much there. Although im sure he will get some goals in this league for sure.

 

I would like to see a forward with lots of pace and potnetial for the future to come in and I would like someone that can come in and challenge for a starting postion at right mid that has a little pace about him. De ridder has potential but not sure he is a starter at this point.

[sussexsaint]

Still can't quite believe the turnaround this year, whenever I see a league table I still always automatically look at the bottom first before thinking ,'oh yeah' - force of habit I suppose

[doddisalegend]

This is an interesting view. I had this discussion in the pub before and after the game. Personally im not convinced that barnard has what it takes to be anything more than average at this level. His touch was truely awful last night verging on pub league. Lack of fitness due to his length of time injured but a lack of touch is not excusable. He may have a lack of games but he has been training so his touch should be pretty much there. Although im sure he will get some goals in this league for sure.

 

I would like to see a forward with lots of pace and potnetial for the future to come in and I would like someone that can come in and challenge for a starting postion at right mid that has a little pace about him. De ridder has potential but not sure he is a starter at this point.

 

Barney has hardly played this season so people writing him off as not good enough seems harsh, let him get a run of starts and then decided if he is crap shall we? He works best along side Lambert which didn't happen last night. playing with Guly didn't work last night as they just kept getting in each others way and Kelvin banging it long and expecting Barnard to win it in the air is pretty pointless he was playing with his back to goal most of the time rather than being able to run the channels.

 

His first touch wasn't great last night but then you could level that charge against most of the team last night other than Morgan.