Saints staged a fantastic second half recovery to come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 thanks to a last-minute winner from David McGoldrick and earlier goals from Andrew Surman and debutant Alex Pearce.

The away side were without ever present Adam Lallana, who missed out with an ankle injury – he was replaced by Ryan Smith. Elsewhere Oliver Lancashire replaced Paul Wotton; after completing a two game suspension and new loan signing Alex Pearce started at the expense of Jason Euell, with Cork and Surman moving forward. Furthermore Chris Perry, Joseph Mills and Tomas Pekhart were missing from the squad with flu.

Preston started the brighter of the two teams and it was the home side who dominated chances wise early on. Their first chance was slightly edgy. A corner was deflected goal wards and dropped inches wide, with keeper Davis under pressure from the large stature of Jon Parkin. However their second effort on goal was something of a warning sign to the Saints.

Lloyd James was caught napping in the middle of the park and Ross Wallace took advantage, stealing the ball away from the right back and running down the left hand side with intent. The Sunderland loanee then put in an impressive cross, which was chested down at the back post by Parkin, who steadied himself well and hit a fierce drive at goal, which was well parried by Davis.

Parkin appeared to be in the thick of things early on and after appearing to dive in the box, he was later cursing the lineman’s flag, when he slid home Sean St Ledger’s pass. The full back had timed his run too early against the Saints rearguard though.

The home side perhaps should have done better when Stephen Elliot twisted and turned past Oliver Lancashire, before dragging his shot wide. While the away side were also guilty of poor finishing when James’ cross was glanced wide by David McGoldrick, who slid in too late.

The Saints were seeing plenty of possession in midfield, but were looking short up front; something the fans seemed a little uptight about, with urges of shoot common – Morgan Schneiderlin answered the calls, but saw his long range effort sail wide and the Saints would soon be cursing their luck when Thomson’s cross from the right was spilled by Preston number one Andy Lonergan at the feet of Andrew Surman, who couldn’t react quick enough.

And it was the home side that showed a clinical edge in front of goal, as they raced into a twp goal lead just before half time…

A ball into the box wasn’t dealt with well by the Saints defence and the ball rolled to BILLY JONES on the edge of the box. The midfielder took a touch before unleashing a low drive through a crowd of player s and into the bottom corner of the net.

The host doubled their lead not long after when another ball wasn’t dealt with just inside the penalty area and STEPHEN ELLIOT lashed home with a low unstoppable effort that oozed confidence.

And while the first half was drawing to a close, it could have been game over when St Ledger rose to head Barry Nicholson’s corner just wide of the goal.

Half time: Preston North End 2-0 Southampton

Changes were needed for the second half and manager Jan Poortvliet duly responded. The Dutchman bringing on Bradley Wright-Phillips for Lloyd James and academy youngster Oscar Gobern for Ryan Smith.

The changes seemed to work a treat for Saints who were boosted by the added injection of pace in the side. First Wright-Phillips cut in and had a tame shot at goal, which Lonergan was equal to and then linking up well with McGoldrick, before curling an effort just wide.

Again the pair linked up well, with Wright-Phillips’ low cross just too pacey for Thomson to connect with at the back post. But Preston could have made sure of the three points when Elliot broke through the middle and passed to Wallace out wide, but the winger cut in and curled his effort wide, which was to prove costly, as soon the Saints were back in the game…

Surman swung in a corner from the left hand side and debutant ALEX PEARCE rose highest to thump a header home, game on…

Momentum was proving vital and  ANDREW SURMAN had a goal to his name, as well as his assist, just moments later when Thomson’s deep cross was volleyed back across goal by Gobern for the midfielder  to score from close range with a diving header!

Southampton continued to press and were desperately unlucky not to score again soon after, when Wright-Phillips played in McGoldrick, who in turn flicked across goal for Oscan Gobern, but he took too long to compose himself and saw his shot blocked and the youngster; making his first team debut, had another chance to net a debut goal when he saw his free header well saved.

Ross Wallace almost spoiled a well earnt point for the away side moments from the end when he saw his shot fizz over the bar, but it was Saints who managed to complete a stunning comeback in the last minute of the game!

DAVID MCGOLDRICK picked the ball up some way out, but surged goal wards, beating Brown for pace and then side stepping Mawene, before slotting the ball past the onrushing Lonergan with deadly composure to send the away support into delirium.

Full time:  Preston North End 2-3 Southampton.

Summary

A stunning comeback indeed. Credit goes to the manager and players, who managed to turn things around, when at half time they looked well and truly dead and buried.

The substitutions made were very beneficial as both Wright-Phillips and Gobern impressed, particularly the latter who fitted into the team seamlessly, despite being thrown in at the deep end. The midfielder was hard working, but useful and made some good runs, deserving his assist and he could have scored too.

I must stress though, that the first half performance was quite poor. Again we looked short in the final third and David McGoldrick looked a little shaky upfront on his own. (but much better when linking up with Wright-Phillips in the second half).

In defence, Pearce gave a very solid performance and deserved his goal, although Lancashire looked a little rusty and possibly could have done more to prevent at least one of the goals we conceded. At full back Lloyd James again looked exposed and deserved to be sacrificed at half time – Cork looking a lot more solid with the role, while Rudi Skacel put in a decent shift and in goal Kelvin Davis made a notable save.

In midfield we kept possession relatively well, but with McGoldrick often dropping back, it was a little crowded and we need to stick to the formation asked. In the second half we pressed better and looked more effective with the midfield formation.

Upfront I still think we need to play two strikers, as we looked very short, but second half it looked spot on as McGoldrick and Wright-Phillips linked up very well, with McGoldrick looking far more confident and taking his goal nicely. In terms of man of the match, I feel Surman deserves this award as was one of the few that played well for the full 90 minutes – In the first half he often made runs through the middle but had no-one to pass to, while in the second half picked up a great goal and assist combination. Special mentions must go to Pearce and Gobern who both put in very good performances under the circumstances.

Preston were half decent and deserved their half time lead for sure, but they lacked a little professionalism as they let a comfortable lead slip. In the second half they could not handle the momentum and confidence Saints possessed that particularly came with our first goal. I think one of the things we could learn from Preston is the fact that their forward line looked a threat – upfront Elliot drifted out wide and put in lots of effort, in the comfort of knowing his strike partner Parkin was in the box. However if we choose to continue with one striker upfront, if McGoldrick drops back and works hard like Elliot, we don’t have anyone waiting in the box.

Anyhow, this was a great comeback and one that I and many others will savour for a long time.