Report
IBO Reporter: channonite
|It was a 7.45 pm kickoff at the ground that I literally have no good memories of. One in particular sticks in my mind: the day Peter Osgood and Stevie Williams received their marching orders from the ref. The Saints fans blamed John Bailey, Everton left back at the time, and for as long as he played football, he got roundly booed every time he came to The Dell. Saints have the dubious honour of being the last away side to play at Goodison Park. I hope they burn it down afterwards. Not that I hold a grudge, of course.
I was listening to Adam and Jo on BBC Radio Solent, and it quickly became apparent that there was little atmosphere at the ground. You could clearly hear Lallana barking instructions to the other Saints players. The only entertainment for us at home was Adam complaining about how little room there was in the press section and how the unadjustable table was cutting into his legs, much to Jo’s amusement.
The home side has had just as bad a start to the new Premier League season as Saints, so it would be a good chance for both sides to taste a small amount of success.
McCarthy was immediately called into action, saving smartly at the near post from Beto. Apart from this brief moment, the away side didn’t really look troubled until just before the 20th minute...
Harwood-Bellis blocked an attempted cross, which went behind for a corner and was taken quickly. Saints could not clear it, and it bounced around off a couple of heads before Doucouré stole in and headed it past McCarthy. Twenty minutes gone, and it was 1-0.
Shortly after this, Everton had a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 when two players broke clean through the Saint’s lines, but McCarthy stood firm and saved from Lindstrøm’s tame shot.
The game was end-to-end, and after a Harwood-Bellis challenge on Beto in the Saints area, he threaded a pass through to Ugochukwu. In turn, he passed out to Fraser on the left wing. Dixon wiped out the wee Scot as he tried to cross the ball, for which he was booked, and Saints had a free kick. Fraser and Taylor stood over the ball, and when the ref blew, the left back whipped in a terrific cross, which met the diving head of Harwood-Bellis, and it flew into the net past keeper Virginia. Just over the half-hour, and it was all-square at 1-1.
Shortly after, that man Lindsrøm broke through the Saints’ defence again and was one-on-one with McCarthy, but again, the Saints’ goalie stood his ground, narrowing the angle, and the Dane fluffed his finish, with Alex making a great save.
So, we arrived at the end of the half-all square. At the restart, Fernandez replaced Lallana, which presumably was planned management of Adam’s minutes as he gradually gets match-fit.