itsbeautifuloutside

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Intro and Team News

IBO Reporter - channonite

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|A cracking match, where Saints really rode their luck at times and won it with a bit of individual brilliance from Moussa Djenepo. What a find this bloke is turning out to be! Pace, skill, strength and vision. Not so much a second Mané, rather a first Djenepo.

With no Danso, after his sending off in the last home game, there was bound to be some shuffling of the pack for this match. What wasn't expected was to see Djenepo as the left wing back. What?!

So we had the ever improving Angus Gunn in goal and a back three of Bednarek, Vestergaard and the returning Yoshida. The wing backs were Cédric, still keeping Valery out of the side, on the right and Djenepo on the left.

The midfield were Romeu, who now seems to be back to his best, after being sidelined by previous so-called 'managers', and captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. Playing wide, either side of Che Adams were Ward-Prowse and the reinvigorated Sofiane Boufal.

That then was how they lined up, but as ever, changes were made during the game and it wasn't until Djenepo was moved to a more central role, that the goal came.

I am really looking forward to the day when the planets align and we see Redmond, Adams and Djenepo, with Danso adding some pace down the left, or even in the centre of defence. With Danso, I really don't know where his best position is. Will he turn out to be like van Dijk and be capable of playing several different roles?

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Match Report

IBO Reporter : channonite

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|This game was Saints third away win in a row, the Premier League win at Brighton and the League Cup win at Fulham were the others and an important win it was too, lifting Saints to the dizzy heights of 10th in the league.

Although Djenepo scored the goal and got the plaudits, there were several good performances across the team, with notable contributions from two players who have been reintegrated into the Saints fold, after loan spells away last season. Firstly there was Boufal, who is looking better now than he has ever done before, including defending and generally working hard, which was not something he was famed for doing in the past. Secondly was the resurgence of Cédric, who previously was good going forward, but not so hot at defending - a bit of a problem when you are the right back. Now he is defending better than I have ever seen before and he is a real threat going forward. Both players seem to have responded well to Hasenhüttl's brand of managing.

From the kickoff Saints showed attacking intent and Boufal was heavily involved, with the Sheffield United defenders having difficulty pinning him down and resorting to fouling him. One trait that Saints No.19 hasn't shaken off, is that when fouled, he has a tendency to roll on the floor as though he has been given a kicking by a load of thugs, no matter how slight the touch. It doesn't impress me and it certainly doesn't impress the officials, so why do it?

There were chances at both ends and once again Che Adams should have broken his duck, initially hitting the upright, after shooting from the edge of the penalty area and then being denied by a wonderful save from Henderson in the Blades goal. You just know that when he does score, then he will go on a run, just like James Beattie used to do all those seasons ago.

At the other end ex-Saint, David McGoldrick was denied firstly by a superb stop from Gunn and secondly when he couldn't quite stretch far enough to meet a teasing cross across the face of goal.

At half-time the score remained 0-0, but all the same it had been an entertaining first 45 minutes.

The first meaningful action of the second half came with Vestergaard clattering a United player and being booked for his troubles. From the resulting free kick McBurnie thought he had given the Blades the lead, when he netted from the far post. Immediately all the Saints players were appealing for offside and VAR confirmed that two of the Sheffield players were indeed offside. A lucky escape.

Then came the moment that turned the match. Sheffield United were playing out from the back, but a poor pass was intercepted near the halfway line. Moussa Djenepo picked the ball up just inside the Blades half, wriggling free from one defender, dancing past two more defenders he drilled the ball to the right of the goalkeeper and it was 0-1 to Saints. Brilliant. Fan. Tas. Tic. This bloke is dynamite. Watching the replays after the game it looked even better.

There was still more than 20 minutes of the game left and Saints were living on their nerves, with crucial stops from Gunn and a block from Bednarek saving a certain goal. Romeu and Ward-Prowse gradually got a handle on things, slowing the game down and frustrating Sheffield United. That frustration eventually boiled over five minutes from normal time when another ex-Saint, Billy Sharp, went in really hard on Armstrong and referee Lee Mason had a perfect view and had no hesitation in showing Sharp a straight red card.

Saints managed the game well for the final few minutes and when the final whistle sounded the Saints fans and team celebrated a hard fought victory and another clean sheet.

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Man of the Match

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Just for those few seconds of magic that resulted in the winning goal I am going to say that Moussa Djenepo was my MoM. He is just electrifying when he is on the ball and there is a little buzz of excitement from the fans that I don't remember since the days of Mané.

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Match Stats

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Referee: Lee Mason

Attendance: 30,985