Match Report

Reporter: Spot51

Intro

|When we went to Charlton in November and won 5-1, it was fair to assume Saints had turned a corner in what had looked like another shocker of a season. Three home wins and a draw with runaway leaders Coventry (albeit with 10 men) was decent, and a close run loss at Millwall was acceptable.

Away, however, we have lost to struggling Norwich and now to lowly Oxford in soulless displays, suggesting Tondas’s early successes were a false dawn. Away at Birmingham, who we beat at St.Mary’s, now looks a tough game.

Millwall at home, then away at second-placed Boro, also presents challenges we may be unable to rise to. The Championship is a tough league if you are not bang at it and, sadly, we no longer seem to be.

Our scorers are not scoring, our creators are misfiring, and the defence continues to look incapable of gaining a clean sheet against anyone. The pride we felt in November has evaporated as Saints fans wonder where the next point is coming from. Not a very merry time at all for us.

Match Report

|This match started late as it was the second of two “main games” on Sky. In the first, Ipswich had won at Coventry and looked nailed on to overhaul Boro for the other automatic place.

While France and Germany enjoy their winter breaks, leagues with too many teams (over 18) are still in full swing. It’s no surprise that the four players we recruited from Germany are looking tired, and only Jander started here. Leo is on the bench with JR stepping up. Brum made four changes for this one.

After clearing an early corner, Saints took charge, but only Azaz worked their keeper, Beadle, during this spell. Brum then enjoyed some attacks without causing Baz any issues. He was finally required to make a save on 17m when Willumsson set up Stansfield.

Brum continued to dominate the middle of the first 45 without actually hitting the target. The next save arrived at the other end after Azaz set up AA, who fired straight at the keeper. As the half carried on, Saints began to do more attacking with AA and Robinson having chances blocked with both being set up by Tom.

Wood was booked for a foul on Furuhashi on 41m. Saints cleared that free kick but rode their luck after Jander fouled Iwata down their left. Free-kick specialist Paik took a shot from out wide, which rattled Baz’s crossbar as it went over.

At half-time, it remained 0-0.

Soon after the restart, THB was fouled as he drove forward, giving Manning the chance to put the ball in the mixer. The cross was good and met by THB’s head. Beadle managed to get something on the close-range header and kept it out.

It was soon after, but up the other end. Jander was booked for a foul, allowing their JR to put the ball in our box. Neumann met it with a downward header. THB was on the line to stop it, but Brum were able to recycle the ball. The next time the ball came in from Stansfield, Neumann headed the ball in a looping arc, which passed between the bar and the keeper’s glove to score. 1-0.

Brum went for the jugular, but we prevented them from getting a second. Fellows and JR were then replaced by Jelert and Leo, and DSaints began to wrest back control of the ball. Azaz set up the overlapping THB, who drew another save from Beadle. Then Jander had a shot blocked, and Leo fired over.

Tonda then withdrew AA and Jander, with Archer and Bragg coming on. Brum countered with Ducksch and Koumas for Furuhadashi and Stansfield. I’d wondered where Marvin Ducksch had gone. He had been part of the Bremen side that gained promotion to the Bundesliga in recent seasons. When Fullkrug left for Dortmund, Marvin had become their main man, so a move to Brum looks a tad surprising.

Anyhow, our changes worked very quickly. Following Willumsson’s shooting over, Saints worked the ball forward to Jelert, breaking down the wing. Beating his man, he fizzed the ball into the box for Archer to turn it past Beadle. 1-1 TFFT.

It was now us looking to put the game to bed, but only Azaz, with a shot blocked, came close. They brought on Leonard for Roberts before Matsuki replaced Azaz for us. Late on, Matsuki had a decent chance, but his effort was also blocked. Six minutes of added time saw no more chances, and it finished 1-1. Both sides might have won it, but a draw seemed fair.

It is now Saturday, so I have also watched the 0-0 draw at home to Millwall. That was a very similar game with both sides resting players and going again. I guess the difference was that in the Millwall game, both keepers pulled off extraordinary stops, turning a 1-1 into a 0-0. Draws are better than defeats, but they won’t get us into the play-offs. Hey - Ho!

Man Of The Match

|Tough call after a draw which saw our subs make a difference (at last). Anyhow, I’m going for a guy who started and who is beginning to look more like the player who won a first full England cap just last season. Taylor Harwood Bellis looks up for the fight again and is my MoM.