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Saints 1-0 Palace - Post Match Reaction


Arizona

Man of the Match?  

392 members have voted

  1. 1. Man of the Match?

    • Davis
      17
    • James
      37
    • Perry
      9
    • Size
      65
    • Skacel
      13
    • Wotton
      33
    • Lallana
      89
    • DMG
      111
    • BWP
      13
    • Euell
      5


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I think the mere fact that we play Forest on the last day means one of us and Forest are likely to drop, but probably only one of us.

 

One thing we do want to happen is for Burnley to have secured a play-off slot before they come to St. Mary's!

 

Burnley got spanked today but I don't think it's particularly important.

Swansea are the only team who can realistically break into the play-off places and they're a few points back as yet.

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all i can say is "phew" Thought it was a poor game today and have to say Im glad we played a very very poor palace team. They had no shape no decent movement. But who gives a toss 3 points is 3 points although does this prolong the agony!

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lookin at the run in i think that 2 wins out of the next 3 will do us.

barnsley and norwich both have very nasty remaining matches so 50 points might do the job

 

yes...that seems right to me, too.

 

Our last three fixtures are pretty good, really.

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An up and at 'em performance where it appeared the players were ready to give their all.

 

Palace (like many teams in this division) didn't look great shakes and have to say our team is definitely better than our league position (that's not ignoring the harsh reality, just suggesting that we have massively underperformed).

 

As for points:

 

Davies - 7 - Didn't have much to do, but looked a lot more confident

 

James - 6 - Played OK, but didn't really push on

 

Perry - 8.5 - My MOM and very cool, calm and collected.

 

Saiejs - 7 - Much better than the last home game and got stuck in.

 

Skacel - 8 - Up for the battle, got stuck in and his experience told

 

Lallana - 7 - More involved and well up for it. A couple of wild lunges, but at least he was trying

 

Wotton - 6 - He's just not that good, misplaced distribution but did get stuck in and wound others up

 

McGoldrick - 7 - Very good strike (I'm sure it wasn't a toe punt!!!)

 

Surman - 5 - A shadow of his former self and never really got going

 

BWP - 7 - Ran around a lot, but lacks that finesse.

 

Euell - 7 - Got involved and led the line well

 

Subs:

 

Saga - 7 - Showed flashes of what he is capable of

 

Schneiderlin - 5 - Didn't do much and flatterd to deceve

 

Liptak - 5 - Not really on long enough

 

 

Worthy winners, just a shame about some of the other results. A bonus is Barnsley being back in the mix.

 

Next week's fixtures

 

Us away at Sheff Weds (won't be easy)

 

Norwich away at Ipswich (derbies can go either way)

 

Forest at home to Coventry (worrying)

 

Barnsley away at Reading (toughie)

 

Get a point at Sheff Wed and hope other results go our way for a change.

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Davis 8 - little to do, great save in the 93rd minute

James 7 - looks more the part with every game. A must keep for next season whatever league we are in.

Saeijs 9 - Has a lot of ability and played superbly today. Not content with just clearing it - he wants to play it on the ground.

Perry 7 - Solid display keeping Kuqi quiet.

Skacel 7 - It's a waste of his ability being at LB but he does it well

Wotton 8 - won everything there was to be won, not so clever with the ball but we all know that anyway. He's the on field captain and we need him there.

Lallana 8 - best game for 6 months, made direct runs and was always a threat to Palace

Surman 6 - not up to the speed of the game, contributed little as a result.

McGoldrick 6 - did **** all until the goal, but what a goal....

Wright-Phillips 7 - a decent display in parts but he has no brain (flick ons to no one) and no composure in front of goal.

Euell 6 - Put himself about and got sod all off the ref. Unlucky to be subbed I thought.

-------------

Saganowski 4 - didn't contribute much at all

Schneiderlin 6 - did his job with some nice touches.

Edited by Billy Shite
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Quite a dominating performance, i'm having trouble thinking when Palace actually had a shot on target? Lallana, BWP, Wotton, Perry, Size, James all had good games. Wotton won nearly everything in the air and could tell the passion was there.

 

Good performance, although we need to bury our chances. Should have been 2/3. Vital 3 points, bring on next week.

 

How the palace player wasn't sent off i don't know. 3 Elbows, one which didnt even get carded.

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It was an entertaining game and really Palace hardly threatened us at all until the three corners right at the death. The difference between the two teams was largely that we won the majority of the 50/50 balls and looked up for it, which we didn't at the Charlton match. We had some nice flowing moves and some neat passing too, but lacked the impetus to put the ball in the net with a succession of shots made more in hope than expectation. Up until the McGoldrick goal, it looked as if we could dominate that game and still not score even if we had another 90 minutes. But once the goal went in, we both had to ensure that we didn't let that lead slip, but equally Palace had to show a bit more ambition too and left some gaps which we exploited hitting them on the break.

 

Many had called for Scacel to be given a roaming role and he did in fact get forward often and made some really telling passes to feet in the box too. Euell also did a great job of holding the ball and looked solid. I did wonder why he went off. The sustitution of McGoldrick for Liptak was a prudent one to hold onto those vital three points for the dying seconds, which was heart in mouth time as usual with Saints.

 

I don't think that the referee had a very good game, but as the three points are ours for a change, it doesn't really matter. Cardiff had complained at how physical Palace were against them and I expected that they might have tried to bully us too. But it didn't look as if they bullied us; in fact, I think that we generally gave as good as we got.

 

This was only my second win witnessed at St Mary's this season, having missed the other recent ones because of my boycott. What a lovely end to the Easter weekend, the sun shining and a good win. A glimmer of hope still exists, although we have an uphill task ahead of us. But hopefully the confidence gained will give us impetus.

 

We were in the upper Itchen near the Northam corner and I must give a mention about the superbly vocal support up there. It hardly stopped the entire game. Excellent.

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A crucial win and fully deserved.

 

Palace are safe for another season, and they played like a mid-table Championship side with little to play for.

 

We were by far the better side and but for some better finishing, the scoreline could have been alot more emphatic.

 

I don't think any Saints player had a bad game, although I expected more from Surman. It wasn't through lack of effort though!

 

Saeijs was back to his usual self after a disappointing game against Charlton, and I thought Wotton looked solid and dependable.

 

Lallana showed why there were/are Premiership clubs sniffing around, with his first good performance in a long while. Much improved.

 

Special mention to BWP too. Looked lively in attack and worked his socks off. Palace struggled to deal with his direct running and pace.

 

All in all, a thorougly enjoyable game and a fully deserved 3 points. There is still alot of work to be done, but it's a start.

 

3 more points at Sheffield Wednesday, and I might just start to believe that we really can do this again . . .

Edited by Bailey
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Wow, it's all over. Forgot about the early Easter K/O times. Good stuff. At least we might make the last day with some hope...I remember penultimate day (?) vs Forest years ago in the Prem and a certain Micky Evans saved us and sent Forest down. Who will our saviour be this time round?

 

COYf'Rs!

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Good result today and results around us show how important the win was to keep us in with a chance, cracking from DMcG lets hope he has a few more in his locker for the run in, didn't have to sigh at Skacel today which makes a pleasant change and good to see all up for it, the negative on the field would be that Surman needs a rocket and sad that some around me almost excuse him as he's always like this toward the end of the season, not good enough not with what we face.

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Good display by saints should have scored about 4 goals, thought BWP and Euell worked well upfront. Both full backs did a good job along with Perry and Saeijs. Lallana showed his potential, Surman again didn't quite do it for me. Wotton, granted we have no better option at the moment but sometimes he sits to deep and invites the attack which doesn't help us, and some of his passing is apauling. How the **** did the palace player stay on the pitch after that elbow on Rudi, or have a fallen victim to Rudi's dramatics?

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Davis 8

James 7

Saeijs 9

Perry 7

Skacel 7

Wotton 8

Lallana 8

Surman 6

McGoldrick 6

Wright-Phillips 7

Euell 6

-------------

Saganowski 4

Schneiderlin 6

 

spot on marking. Saeijs had a stormer. Nice to see McGoldrick score again, might get a few more of you off his back for a while.

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We played pretty well with a good tempo. The back four battled all match.

Davis made one trademark save that saved us at the end.

 

The less said about the diamond the better. Wotton worked hard but his passing was awful. Lallana had his first decent game since september, still needs to add end product, plays a bit like a butterfly flitting around on the edge of things. Surman tried hard and was up for it but needs to get his form back.

 

BWP and Euell tried hard, BWP was very wasteful but the worst thing for me they played too far apart, they need to be a pair, feeding off each other. Euell has no subtlety, needs at least one player with a bit of guile up front. Saganowski when he came on for Euell worked hard but never really threatened.

 

McGoldrick tried hard, he must have shut his eyes when he hit that magnificent goal not like him at all. Schneiderlin came on helped pass the ball in midfield, but then the ball was mostly lost.

 

The thing that gets me about Saints is that they play off the cuff all the time, and are a lot of the time there for the taking.

 

They have no plan to close the game off and break up the oppositions play. They keep playing little square ball throwins and loads of little triangles which break down regularly and let the opposition counter attack.

 

They have to keep forcing the ball down the touchlines, making the opposition keep conceding throwins and work it into the corner. They only have to play the ball off the opposition then attack down the line into the corner. Take a short corner, just knock it off the opposition but don't let the ball come out into the centre of the field. They don't seem to know that.

 

At corners etc JP Saeijs is running around like a rabbit to try and lose his marker. Him and Perry are the only ones likely to get in and win headers, stop messing about, get Euell and Wotton to run interference on their markers, get in between Saeijs, Perry and their man to man markers it causes chaos because the other two markers are in the end marking nobody and getting in the way of the main markers. This allows our best headers to get free.

Edited by derry
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The whole back four played well today (davis' one save was in stoppage time?). They also got excellent protection from Wotton & McG.

 

Everyone battled for the cause today. Everyone.

 

However, I would like to give extra special mention to Lloyd James.

 

Not only did he deal superbly with Victor Moses, arguably one of the best left-sided players in the CCC, but he also gave us a threat going forward.

 

I think he has been the biggest plus from what has been a very very difficult season. We may have unearthed a solid right back out of a central midfield linch-pin.

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spot on marking. Saeijs had a stormer. Nice to see McGoldrick score again, might get a few more of you off his back for a while.

 

Not me. He was absolutely woeful until he scored. Lazy, uninterested and his first touch is awful.

 

But once he scored he got a bit more confidence, and being moved out of central midfield helped him. Surely Lallana is a much better option for that role? If McG is going to play, it should be up front or on the right, not in central midfield where all his weaknesses are highlighted.

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My rating for the players:

 

Davis 6 Never a busy afternoon and kept a clean sheet.

Skacel 6 Solid defending and passed the ball well.

Saejs 8 Rock solid performance, won plenty of headers, great interception, blockings and vital clearence all the time.

Perry 7 Reliable performance at the back as usual.

James 6 Solid defending and put in some good crosses.

Wotton 6 Can't pass, can't tackle, can't run, can't take corrners. However his very good heading ability did contribute to our vital three points.

Surman 5 Good first half but a very poor second half

Lallana 8 Worked his socks off, always will and able to help the defence. Created lots of chances and was our only playmaker today.

Mcgoldrick 8 Didn't play as well as usual but without his remarkable long range strike, there won't be a win today.

BWP 6 Did run a lot, but missed a sitter in the first half that could be unforgiveable.

Euell 7 Did play well as a target man, suprised to see him coming off for Saganowski in the second half.

Saganowski 6 Looked really off form at the moment, fortunately still had good touches

Spiderman 6 Did what he supposed to be good at, passed the ball well in the middle of the park.

 

My conclusion about Wotte and Crystal Palace: In my opinion Wotte should have made the subsutition earlier and should never took off Euell. Still a win equals success. The Crystal Palace's goalkeeper is immense. Apart from Kuqi and the goalkeeper, all the Crystal Palace players were poor.

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Thought it was a pretty crap game to be honest. Neither sides keepers had much to do. Referee was a gimp. Palace were awful, guess they had nothing to play for.

But hey i'll take that each and every week! Three points and we are still in the mix. A great goal by DMG to cap a good display from him. He has been so much better recently. Sure we had to hang on a bit near the end but it was a deserved three points, we were the better team. Davis had pretty much nowt to do except that save at the death.

For me motm was the fans. Was a great atmosphere and reminded me of the old days.

Ronnie Size,Lallana and DMG were the three who stood out. Three more wins and we will stay up.

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Not me. He was absolutely woeful until he scored. Lazy, uninterested and his first touch is awful.

 

But once he scored he got a bit more confidence, and being moved out of central midfield helped him. Surely Lallana is a much better option for that role? If McG is going to play, it should be up front or on the right, not in central midfield where all his weaknesses are highlighted.

 

Didn't bother going today so can't comment but McGoldrick was excellent in midfield against Watford.

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My ratings for Saints v Crystal Palace (1-0 home win :))

 

K Davis 7 - The usual fine display from our best player & captain . Not especially busy today until late on .

L James 7 - Does the business well now and has been steadily improving all season .

JPS 7.5 - If we'd had him all season I reckon we'd be safe now , he's that good .

C Perry 7 - Take a moment to consider that this 34 year old has played virtually every game this season with hardly a injury or bad performance among them . Well played that man .

R Skacel 6.5 - Experienced player , flashes of quality coming forward & cool under pressure (without ever being outstanding) .

A Surman 6.5 - Put a decent enough shift in but didn't really stand out . I'm looking for more from him .

P Wotton 7 - A 'Marsdonesque' performance , great attitude and leadership compensating for limited abilty. He'll play an important role with Gillett out .

A Lallana 7.5 - Much better today than in recent weeks & seemed ready to take on more responsibility , put himself about splendidly until he ran out of steam .

DMG 8 MOTM - Was playing pretty well but that goal was as sweet as they come (at the Chapel End as well bless him). I said back in January he'd outscore Saga & I wish I had money on it now :( .

Mule 7 - Good pro he's the nearest thing we have to a play maker , unlucky not to score & a very odd substitution IMO .

BWP 6.5 - Quick and occasionally dangerous you can't fault the effort he put in today - I don't really rate him but looking a better bet than Saga at this time .

 

Substitutes:

M Saganowski 5 - On for Mule didn't have a chance to do much .

M Schneiderlin 6 - On for BWP I thought he looked (surprisingly) quite good .

Z Liptak . Very late sub .

 

Conclusion :

A quick glance at the League Table will show we're still in deep trouble but it was a really good effort today , any neutral spectator will confirm we were good value for the 3 points and could/should have won by 2 or 3 . I think this is our best team available for selection so well done to the Head Coach for getting the basics right and identifying it - which is easier said than done .

 

On a personal note I arrived at St Marys not really fancying it today & expecting a football funeral in all honesty , but it turned into a party instead and I left singing "Southampton till I Die" with a great big smile on my face .......it's a funny old game Greavesey .

Edited by CHAPEL END CHARLIE
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It was great getting 3 points but Palace were woeful and disinterested for most of the game.

BWP battled really well and highlighted how our lack of pace in other members of the team mean we are limited in attacking options. Shame his finishing is so poor.

I was shocked at taking Euell off as I would of put Saga on as well as we needed the 3 points but we hung on at the end.

Could be too little too late but at least we showed some fight today for a change.

Perry, Size, Skacel and Lloyd did well today and 3 points at Wednesday next week just may rekindle some more belief.

Lallana was far better today and about time as he has contributed nothing since Christmas.

MOM the crowd who were superb.

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An elbow in the face, deliberate and seen closely by the ref who immediately gave a....yellow. Very strange decision.

 

The ref was odd, it's true. By and large the decisions that he made went the right way, it's just that he let an awful lot go by, and certainly that elbow deserved a red. I also couldn't believe he didn't book, let alone send off, Wotton for throwing a punch at that Palace player. I was glad at the time, of course, but on reflection is this how the game just gets more and more physical, and why refs don't get the respect they want? If they're not prepared to check bad behaviour, then will we eventually see out-and-out rugby tackles being considered fair play?

 

Just a thought.

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Did anyone see when the ref just seemed to fall over for no reason?It looked like heat exhaustion or something like that,because once he had a drink of water,he seemed ok.

Anyway what a good game and fantastic support.

 

All very strange; I saw him blow his whistle and then fall to his knees, but after a few minutes' delay carried on again right as rain?!

 

Good to see Lallana put in a decent performance today, although even then I think he flatters to deceive; nice touches and flicks but where does it get us?

 

MOTM Size by a distance for me; I really thought we'd struggle physically today but I don't think he put a foot wrong.

 

BWP very good too, although he missed a sitter right on the stroke of half-time.

 

I still fear too little too late, but at least we can get relegated any earlier than the penultimate game now!!

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My ratings for today

Davis - 7 - nothing to do, really, but never looked like he was going to concede

James - 8 - he has developed into a good little player, he crosses well and is a neat passer

Skacel - 7 - did pretty okay, but at times his use of the ball is disappointing

Saeijs - 7.5 - Kuqi never looked like getting the better of him

Perry - 7 - another good day at the office

Lallana - 7.5 - has refound his touch & looked a threat all day

Surman - 7 - also looked like he'd recaptured his belief in himself

Wotton - 6.5 - if he could only pass he'd be half decent

McGoldrick - 8 - seemed to be playing quite deep today, but when he runs at defenders he scares them (oh, yes, and he scores some cracking goals)

Euell - 6.5 - does his best, bless him, but never looked remotely like scoring a goal

BWP - 6.5 - got in some good positions, but his finishing was shocking

 

Saganowski - 7 - works hard but another one who doesn't look like he is going to ever score again

Schneiderlin - 6.5 - neat and tidy, but not much more

Liptak - 7 - how can you fault a man whose job it is to come on for stoppage time if we don't concede?

 

Wotte - 8 - When the diamond works (like today) it looks good & he was right to take off Euell & BWP - they were NEVER going to score

Ref - 8 - kept the game going well, but missed a blatant elbow on Skacel (Personally I'm glad he didn't send him off because Palace would have retreated even deeper + we always seem to lose at home to 10 men, so well done ref!)

Crowd - 9 - brilliant atmosphere all the way through

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Did anyone see when the ref just seemed to fall over for no reason?It looked like heat exhaustion or something like that,because once he had a drink of water,he seemed ok.

Anyway what a good game and fantastic support.

 

 

I think you will find him and a palace player cracked heads as they ran past each other.

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If we show the same fighting spirit and have a ref that doesn't favour the home team I fancy us getting a result on Saturday.

How the ref only gave a yellow for the elbow I don't know. Then we had Lallana blatantly shoved in the back in the penalty area before Surman was also fouled in the box. At that time I thought we were going to blow it.

Well done lads and more of the same for a couple more games please. Would be nice to go to Forest with smiles on our faces.

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If we show the same fighting spirit and have a ref that doesn't favour the home team I fancy us getting a result on Saturday.

How the ref only gave a yellow for the elbow I don't know. Then we had Lallana blatantly shoved in the back in the penalty area before Surman was also fouled in the box. At that time I thought we were going to blow it.

Well done lads and more of the same for a couple more games please. Would be nice to go to Forest with smiles on our faces.

 

Would be even nicer to come back with them too.:)

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