Report
IBO Reporter: channonite
|When I got up on Saturday morning, I felt very pessimistic, which is not like me. Usually, I always find something to be optimistic about. Not this morning. That feeling only got stronger the nearer we got to Southampton, and not even the complete lack of traffic jams in Southampton helped. We got to the restaurant early and were given our favourite table. Did that help? No. We got to the ground, and there was no queue. Straight in, but undoubtedly that must have helped? No. The misery moped was the choice of transport in my mind today.
Once I sat down, I thought I might feel more optimistic. Was I? No! I was a right misery today. The teams came out, and I thought Martin’s team selection just confirmed my mood for the day.
Saints then proceeded to confound me and started positively, almost immediately putting pressure on Leicester around their penalty area and winning a corner. Manning took it, and Joe Aribo thumped a header against the crossbar. It came back to Bednarek, and he flicked it towards Archer, who, although facing the wrong way, almost managed to get a shot on target, but it went wide for a goal kick. That woke me up.
Shortly after, Manning was booked for what seemed to me to be an innocuous tackle, and their free kick came to nothing, with Ramsdale gathering the ball. He sent a perfect pass about 30 yards to Fernandes, who had his legs hacked from under him. Although Anthony Taylor (Remember that name 🤬) gave a free kick to Saints, he didn’t even speak to the guilty Buonanotte, let alone book him. Saints took the free kick quickly, and Walker-Peters set off down the left wing, passing outside to Manning as he cut in. He played a first-time pass across the face of the goal, and there was Cameron Archer to tap it into the net. 1-0 Saints and less than ten minutes gone. Wow!
Saints continued to look good and got a stranglehold on the game, and for a while, Leicester couldn’t even get out of their half. You just felt that another goal was coming.
Then, Fernandes passed to Walker-Peters, who was continually turning the Leicester defence inside out. He got to the byline and cut back to the waiting Joe Aribo, who had the simplest of jobs to score from no more than six yards out. 2-0 Saints, and not even half an hour gone!!
The misery moped was consigned to the bin, but not before I commented that we only needed to score one more to get the draw...
We almost got the third when a long throw-in from Sugawara found Harwood-Bellis, who headed goalwards but without any power. In amongst a gaggle of Leicester shirts, Downes managed to swivel and shoot, which went between Hermansen’s legs, but the keeper quickly spun around and recovered the ball.
At this point, I am sure that Saints thought that, at last, this was going to be their day. Leicester were not quite down and out though. With some clever play down Saints right, Kristiansen made space and fed El Khannouss, who sent a vicious shot across the face of the goal, cannoning off the inside of the far post and out again. A warning to Saints.
We got to halftime with the score still 2-0, and for the first time this season at St.Mary’s, we felt good. Two precious goals scored, and none conceded. Surely we could go on to win this? It is probably worth mentioning at this stage that Anthony Taylor (Remember him?) had shown yellow cards to Manning (6 minutes), Fernandes (10 minutes), Harwood-Bellis (33 minutes) and Dibling (36 minutes) without booking any Leicester player. This would suggest Saints were the aggressors, but to be honest, the match wasn’t at all like that. There was no talking to the players first, and they were then only issued a yellow if they continued. The slightest thing, and it was yellow. Maybe the Saints coaching staff should have taken notice.
Anyway, the second half began with Leicester replacing Skipp with Winks.
Several around us were a bit tardy returning to their seats, and they nearly missed what would have been one of the most spectacular own-goals you are ever likely to see. Sugawara sent a long speculative cross from deep in the Saints’ half, and the Leicester No.3, Faes, sent a crashing header towards what seemed a certain goal, but luckily for him, Hermansen made a spectacular diving save. Quite what Faes was trying to achieve only he knows, but it was another Saints chance which got away.
Sugawara then received a yellow card from Mr Taylor, which was odd, as he had been clattered regularly, without so much as a Leicester player being spoken to.
However, the warning signs had been there for a while now, and Vardy (spits...) almost scored, but for a wonderful block by Fernandes.