Saints 2 Inter Milan 1

That mindless tw*t of a defender Ranocchia should be banned from playing football and dispatched to rugby or league. The ref must have been blind. Can't believe how VVD kept his cool. Great result but so many wasted passes, particularly in the first half. JRod sadly out of his depth but VVD immense once again and strong performances from JWP, McQueen and Redmond. Thought Boufal would get another run late in the game though. Wonder if Fonte will ever play in this comp!

Inter's reaction to the penalty was the worst gamesmanship I have ever seen and the referee's weakness in letting them get away with it was possibly the worst refereeing I have ever witnessed. If that had happened in the Premier League Inter would have been on a charge and the ref banished to beneath Conference level. I felt for Tadic having to wait through all the crap but penalty takers have to have mental strength and I don't think he has enough of that to be a spot kick taker.

The win was so sweet because of the injustice at the San Siro and the antics of the Italian players last night but I still think we are a decent striker light.

Oh although I am not a fan I thought JWP was magnificent last night..

Defining moment for me was JWP's yellow card for what was effectively 3 rugby tackles to ensure they didn't get a break going in the 90th minute. We've been accused of being soft/gentle/naive in the past against some of the more "experienced" teams. That one incident said to me that we have finally learned to play it "their" way, win at any cost.

Great night, great atmosphere, we are really starting to look like we belong in such elite company

An absolutely joy to watch. My head was in my hands when Tadic missed the penalty but I was certain we would get at least one back. Two is a dream.

Van Dijk was on another level last night. I would go so far to say he is the best CB in the league and has potential to be one of the best I have ever seen. Did anyone see him charging forward?

JWP outstanding. He is getting better and better and looks a lot better since last season already.

I'm a big fan of PEH but thought he had a scrappy game, he came good in thee end. Martina showing why he's not first choice but certainly did a good enough job as cover.

This is truly a great result for the club.

getting back to Hertfordshire at 1 pm was well worth the drive.

Do you drive a DeLorean?

Anyone know why VvD and Yoshida swapped positions for about 10 minutes in the first half? I guessed that perhaps Virgil thought he would provide better cover for Martina on that side. It seemed to me like they made a conscious effort to switch rather than just finding themselves out of position for a while. Just a curiosity.

Sorry Charlie but I don't think you had much impact when you came on last night at least Jrod forced a save out of the keeper.

Disagree with this - thought it was noticeable that Austin gave us an out-ball option, held it up and linked up well with the midfield, giving us the opportunity to get forward more as a unit.

J-rod just looks completely devoid of any confidence, wants to take an extra touch, decision making off and seems to want to shoot on site wherever he is on the pitch. Sad really, but the days of him taking on and driving at a defender seem to be finished.

Disagree with this - thought it was noticeable that Austin gave us an out-ball option, held it up and linked up well with the midfield, giving us the opportunity to get forward more as a unit.

 

J-rod just looks completely devoid of any confidence, wants to take an extra touch, decision making off and seems to want to shoot on site wherever he is on the pitch. Sad really, but the days of him taking on and driving at a defender seem to be finished.

Yep, sad to see but true IMO. I've been giving JRod the benefit of the doubt up to now but last night he was so devoid of self-assurance it was painful to watch at times.

And I agree, Austin's presence and general nuisance factor contributed to us turning around the game.

Don't agree with Puel getting criticised for his team selection. Was a massive game for the club and he picked a side he thought would win the game. Don't forget we already outplayed in Italy with a very similar side so he knew what was needed. And we won the game, so end of.

If we go and beat Hull too, even more justified than he already is.

The only disappointment from last night was watching Jay - a shadow of his former self really and it's hard to envisage him getting back to his previous level. Moment early in the second half summed it up for me when he was played in down the left - Jay of old would have gone straight at the defender, shifted it onto his right and got a shot away. Instead, he slowed it down, held the ball up, let Inter players get back in position and then hit a left foot cross straight at the defender.

Genuinely sad for him

Anyone know why VvD and Yoshida swapped positions for about 10 minutes in the first half? I guessed that perhaps Virgil thought he would provide better cover for Martina on that side. It seemed to me like they made a conscious effort to switch rather than just finding themselves out of position for a while. Just a curiosity.

Maybe something to do with distribution? Plenty of opportunity to get forward down the right, but no-one seemed confident enough to play the ball, so maybe VVD moved that side to help with that? Plus you're right, probably to cover Martina!

I thought it was interesting that Inter targeted Martina over an academy graduate whose been converted into a full back - guess that's a big compliment to McQueen!

Just back home after staying the night in Southampton - no trains and there was no way I was going to watch and then celebrate that game without a drink or two...

In my row we all predicted Tadic would miss that penalty, so maybe that's something we can easily change for next time - JWP or Austin. I thought JWP had the best game I can remember and really took on the responsibility of being in the starting line up. McQueen is improving with every game and so, amazingly is Romeu. Maya was a revelation (will we see Fonte again in this competition??), VVD enough said, for a third choice full back I'm glad we've got Martina but he does need a rest. Hojberg had a bad mid-game but seemed to pick up towards the end, he does win challenges you don't expect him to make. Austin appears to be getting fitter, and he's got immense strength and balance. JRod was certainly putting the effort in: whether game time will get him back to anything like he was before his injury is another matter.

I'm busy now but later I shall be off to fantasise about who I'd like in the knock-out rounds!

Do you drive a DeLorean?

LOL...

Just an empty M3/M25 for a change...

On Sky Sports news they were making a big thing about the Milan player damagig the penalty spot and McQueen being elbowed. I cant seem to find a mention of the event on here and so was it not a major incident????

If I was an Inter fan and spent all that money to come over for the game I would be pretty ****ed off, the dirty cheating barstards did not acknowledge them after the game.

I'd imagine the vast majority live over here... they're a huge club a have fans allover the place.

On Sky Sports news they were making a big thing about the Milan player damagig the penalty spot and McQueen being elbowed. I cant seem to find a mention of the event on here and so was it not a major incident????

Probably the biggest talking point of the first half... also see the quotes from SMcQ on the official twitter feed etc.

I'd imagine the vast majority live over here... they're a huge club a have fans allover the place.

Southampton away in the Europa League would mean very little to them either way, considering their history. Been there, done that etc

Thought Hojbjerg actually played well. He has a habit of doing something really good and then doing something silly though - a couple of great examples where he somehow won the ball past someone with a great bit of skill and then let himself down with the pass. Also looks hesitant going forwards. However, overall I'd say it was another promising performance from a good asset to the squad who's only going to improve. Ward-Prowse was excellent second half, after being his usual 'I'm too scared to shoot' self in the first half.

Tadic being marked down by some people for the poor penalty, but Inter knew exactly what they were doing and saw how lightweight the ref was so knew they could get away with delaying the penalty as long as they did, scuff up the penalty spot, elbow someone in the face and crowd out the ref with him barely doing anything!

The linesman on the Kingsland side was also ridiculously bad! I'm not even sure he did anything without being told by the ref first...!

my favourite night ever at sms, hope to see more of these nights in the future.

A couple of points from last night...

We've got Van Dijk, but for how much longer? Has to be one of the best CB's in the league, I can't think of anyone who is close at the moment - if Stones is £45m, VVD must be £60m+!

Hojberg had a strange game, gave the ball away a lot in the 2nd half but was good at driving into the opposition.

Tadic seemed to disappear a little in the 2nd half and obviously it was a poor penalty, however he was instrumental in both goals and created a number of chances again.

Maya was great last night, best performance from him in a long time.

McQueen again excellent, although did get caught out for their goal.

JWP in the 2nd half was brilliant, although 1st half I felt he didn't get his head up early enough. People have mentioned JRod being poor, but he was making himself available all the time, making good runs into the channels but wasn't being picked out. It was the right move to replace him with Austin as he started to hold up play, drag CBs creating more space out wide for Redmond.

The biggest change in the two halves was ironically Inter. First half they stuck 10 men behind the ball and let VVD make his way to the half way before putting any pressure on. 2nd half, their front three began to pressure Yoshi and VVD when they had the ball creating space in behind, this was where Redmond and in particular JWP found some joy and started to really become big influencers in the game. VVD in particular when he started to stride forward was immense! Unlike with other CB's and even midfielders I am not concerned he will get dispossessed. He just looks so composed and knows what he is doing. I do enjoy our style of play, although do think we miss another CAM or Striker - maybe Boufal can be that difference.

Brilliant night, barely had any voice this morning and enjoyed striding into work with a very smug look, particularly when the first person I saw was a Utd fan!

WTFILN!!!!

Thought Hojbjerg actually played well. He has a habit of doing something really good and then doing something silly though - a couple of great examples where he somehow won the ball past someone with a great bit of skill and then let himself down with the pass. Also looks hesitant going forwards. However, overall I'd say it was another promising performance from a good asset to the squad who's only going to improve. Ward-Prowse was excellent second half, after being his usual 'I'm too scared to shoot' self in the first half.

 

Tadic being marked down by some people for the poor penalty, but Inter knew exactly what they were doing and saw how lightweight the ref was so knew they could get away with delaying the penalty as long as they did, scuff up the penalty spot, elbow someone in the face and crowd out the ref with him barely doing anything!

 

The linesman on the Kingsland side was also ridiculously bad! I'm not even sure he did anything without being told by the ref first...!

Think much of that hesitancy came from not knowing where Martina was going to be, sometimes he'd overlap him, sometimes he'd was nowhere to be seen. Would be great to see him forming a great understanding with a RB, those that can remember the Bridge/Marsden "combo" will remember their was never any hesitancy there, they both instinctively knew where the other would be at any given moment.

As for the joke lino, he set out his stall early in first half when McQueen took a throw in. Lino (correctly) held his ground at the spot the throw was to be taken from then simply watched as SMcQ edged further and further along the touchline (probably not believing his luck that he was not called back) till he was a good 15 yards or more up the pitch when he took it. Lino actually shrugged his shoulders to himself as he took the throw in before trotting along the touchline as play continued. After that he never signaled for anything, even fouls right in front of him, and at least twice I saw him wait for ref to give a throw in before he raised his flag. Seemed out of his depth at that level of the game (as did the ref to be fair)

In slightly obscure news... Inter Milan are training at Winchester City FC this morning...

http://www.inter.it/en/news/55549/friday-morning-session-in-winchester

Made this earlier...Sums up last nights events quite nicely.

http://www.giphy.com/gifs/l2JhIFvOB5T1if4pq

Think much of that hesitancy came from not knowing where Martina was going to be, sometimes he'd overlap him, sometimes he'd was nowhere to be seen. Would be great to see him forming a great understanding with a RB, those that can remember the Bridge/Marsden "combo" will remember their was never any hesitancy there, they both instinctively knew where the other would be at any given moment.

 

As for the joke lino, he set out his stall early in first half when McQueen took a throw in. Lino (correctly) held his ground at the spot the throw was to be taken from then simply watched as SMcQ edged further and further along the touchline (probably not believing his luck that he was not called back) till he was a good 15 yards or more up the pitch when he took it. Lino actually shrugged his shoulders to himself as he took the throw in before trotting along the touchline as play continued. After that he never signaled for anything, even fouls right in front of him, and at least twice I saw him wait for ref to give a throw in before he raised his flag. Seemed out of his depth at that level of the game (as did the ref to be fair)

The referee, and assistants were shocking, I hope someone puts in a formal complaint about how bad it was...

On Sky Sports news they were making a big thing about the Milan player damagig the penalty spot and McQueen being elbowed. I cant seem to find a mention of the event on here and so was it not a major incident????

It happened right before half time, should have been a red card for Candreva for the elbow, the ref may not have seen it but he should have been booked just for kicking up the spot and then at least a yellow (and realistically always a straight red) for the elbow. The ref also could have booked about half of their team for surrounding him after the decision, three minutes of chasing him around the pitch and various other stuff during the whole incident. One minute added and 4+ minutes later the ref actually blew the whistle.

What a night! The first half played out exactly how Inter wanted, assisted by a ref for whom being called incompetent would've been a compliment, making his own offside call against JRod in the first half set the tone and then being pushed around by Inter players during the penalty incident summed it up, appalling.

I think the criticism of JRod is harsh, as someone above has said I think he was making good runs but not being picked out, he was often drifting wide (where he played before the injuries started) but didn't have a Lambert in the middle to help him out like he used to, and regarding the runs I said exactly the same of Austin against Sunderland in the league, he was criticised for his performance but other players simply were not picking up his runs early enough. Also, JRod still hasn't had the crucial run of games to get up to speed because he keeps getting injured after one or two! Hopefully his luck turns soon.

More positively, I thought Virgil was awesome but its expected, so when talking about who I thought was MOTM after the game to friends I completely forgot about it, my mind turned to three players in particular - JWP, Yoshida, McQueen - If anyone had have listed those three as potential man of the match candidates for Inter at home at the start of the season they'd have probably been banned from here for their own safety. I thought all three were absolutely superb, particularly in the second half. Also noted that JWP has squared up to an opposition player against Prague, and both Inter games this season, which is something I've never seen in him before, he seems to have unlocked a little bit of aggression in his game. Also loved that McQueen, the least experienced player on the pitch, was the first to spot Inter's gamesmanship at the penalty.

I think last night summed up how people can see game's completely differently, because I have seen a few people on twitter and on here saying they thought Hojbjerg was good - I thought he was absolutely atrocious and most around me were begging Puel to take him off to put him out of his misery, we felt sorry for the lad with about 15 minutes to go. It did seem he'd been told to slow the game down once we were 2-1 up, but some of his distribution and decision making were frightening, I also think Romeu playing it straight to their player who got a decent shot away was the result of Hoj's pass to him forcing him to stretch and then only be able to poke it around one attacker but straight to another. His performance was compounded when he was chasing Icardi (i think) and literally just stopped, and allowed him to run on his own into the middle and get a shot away, it was astonishing. But hey, we won, so all's well that ends well.

Has Tadic ever taken a good penalty?

Here you go ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbcZxaI-Lpo

From around 3:40

Other than the penalty incident (which shouldn't have been awarded and then should have been managed much better), which was very badly reffed, I thought the ref was actually decent enough. He didn't award Inter cheap free-kicks falling over and rolling around and was much less fussy than a lot of European refs might have been.

Ok, he missed some pulling on VVD at set pieces but that whole area of the game is a mess, in terms of how it is officiated, from top to bottom.

Morning DT, how`s the hindsight this morning ?

exactly as i predicted tomorrow

In slightly obscure news... Inter Milan are training at Winchester City FC this morning...

 

http://www.inter.it/en/news/55549/friday-morning-session-in-winchester

 

 

Found their level!

Coach is pointing to the penalty spot for all those with blades on

This is what happens when they ban alcohol, lots of noise from the fans and no queues in the Bog and great to have dry feet for once, what's not to like.

The footie? Oh, we won that as well. Captain Marvel at it again, move over Fonte!

Good to hear a bit of vocal supporting Yoshi, what a star that man is never complaining just doing what he is asked to do and doing it very well indeed. Loads of clubs would love to have him that's for sure.

Can Bertie play right back and pair him with Super Sam on Sunday?

It happened right before half time, should have been a red card for Candreva for the elbow, the ref may not have seen it but he should have been booked just for kicking up the spot and then at least a yellow (and realistically always a straight red) for the elbow. The ref also could have booked about half of their team for surrounding him after the decision, three minutes of chasing him around the pitch and various other stuff during the whole incident. One minute added and 4+ minutes later the ref actually blew the whistle.

Sadly a great club like Inter will have their image tarnished by doing such things and should be above it

Thought Hojbjerg actually played well. He has a habit of doing something really good and then doing something silly though - a couple of great examples where he somehow won the ball past someone with a great bit of skill and then let himself down with the pass.

He gave the ball away endlessly in the second half and was having an absolute nightmare every time he got the ball, I think he would have gone off early in the second half if he hadn't been off on the far side of the pitch from Puel.

Hopeful it's just a blip, but he's had a run of 3 or so games now where he's looked very tentative and his passing has been below par. Still, it happens.

Tadic's penalty was still poor even with all the shenanigans, and hardly an isolated incident. It seemed to affect his game too, as he didn't have the same impact second half.

No point focusing on the negatives though, we thoroughly deserved to win the match, and it would have been (another) travesty if we hadn't.

thanks, it sounded pretty distasteful and whilst I understand it was 'professional' as Shearer etc would say, I believe that doing what the inter player did to the penalty spot was beyond the pale. Gamemanship is part of football but that for some reason offends me more than other tricks.

Sadly a great club like Inter will have their image tarnished by doing such things and should be above it

That's exactly the kind of nonsense the top teams do all the time precisely because they get away with it. Any ref with balls would have booked Candreva for scuffing the spot (precisely why the law about unsporting behaviour [once unsportsmanlike conduct] exists), sent Candreva off for the elbow, and confetti'd a few more yellows for the players pursuing him. Personally I'd have sent Medel off for dissent after about 5 minutes, but then he's a fat, dirty Cardiff reject so I may be slightly biased there.

exactly as i predicted tomorrow

That mindless tw*t of a defender Ranocchia should be banned from playing football and dispatched to rugby or league. The ref must have been blind. Can't believe how VVD kept his cool. Great result but so many wasted passes, particularly in the first half. JRod sadly out of his depth but VVD immense once again and strong performances from JWP, McQueen and Redmond. Thought Boufal would get another run late in the game though. Wonder if Fonte will ever play in this comp!

He is a clown of a defender, he was suspended for our game there but I thought his replacement (Murilo) did really well, so I was surprised he started last night.

Other than the penalty incident (which shouldn't have been awarded and then should have been managed much better), which was very badly reffed, I thought the ref was actually decent enough. He didn't award Inter cheap free-kicks falling over and rolling around and was much less fussy than a lot of European refs might have been.

 

Ok, he missed some pulling on VVD at set pieces but that whole area of the game is a mess, in terms of how it is officiated, from top to bottom.

Disagree - thought he was a pathetically weak referee. It's Europe, so I guess you have to expect players falling over and getting free-kicks at the slightest of touches (Redmond won us a couple of very useful ones like this to run the clock down!) but I thought he gave them quite a lot of cheap free kicks - one in particular in the first half where it looked like J-Rod (?) seemed to get fouled, yet he gave it the other way?!

I also didn't enjoy him giving us 'advantage' for approximately 2 seconds then never actually going back to the original incident when we lost the ball.

But then again, I do have my saints tinted specs on

Quick question... who was on the pitch doing the BT half time punditry last night.

Most important result at SMS since Coventry.

Given his England U21 and now European experience JWP seems comfortable at this level. It wont be long before he can step into the first team on merit.

I know its taken 100 or so appearances - and he hasn't convinced everyone yet. But its is a good argument for giving game-time to the likes of Reed, Gallagher, Hesketh and McQueen (who has been magnificent since he came in, shame for him that he will only be 3rd choice LB when Targett is fit)

Other than the penalty incident (which shouldn't have been awarded and then should have been managed much better), which was very badly reffed, I thought the ref was actually decent enough. He didn't award Inter cheap free-kicks falling over and rolling around and was much less fussy than a lot of European refs might have been.

 

Ok, he missed some pulling on VVD at set pieces but that whole area of the game is a mess, in terms of how it is officiated, from top to bottom.

VvD was being rugby tackled in the area the whole game.

Quick question... who was on the pitch doing the BT half time punditry last night.

Benali and K Davies

The entire officiating team were crap, let's be honest. He let so much go, and how he didn't give a red is crazy. Surely the job of the dumbass behind the goal line is to see stuff like that...? Otherwise what's the point.

Ok, still don't have my voice back...

That was a proper European Night, one of those games that you're just not going to forget. An awesome experience that just makes it worth watching football

VvD was being rugby tackled in the area the whole game.

Same as pretty much every other match then.

Thought the ref did well (!) to keep a lid on it second half, I was expecting a bloodbath with loads of diving, cheating, simulation, time wasting etc and a couple of red cards thrown in too but he managed to keep a check on most (some) of that and actually produced 45 minutes of full-blooded, flowing, cup-tie football. Plenty of give and take from both teams, and a real throwback to how football used to be played. I think on balance most people would prefer the less physical, more athletic, modern version of the game but looking at the crowd's involvement last night there's definitely a market for the retro ale-house version too!

Loved it, great atmosphere and hopefully the melts on here who keep moaning about rotation and playing our 'strongest team' will just melt away. Anyone care to say what our strongest team is at the moment? I would suggest without a horses for courses approach that factors in fitness/form/recovery/current opponents/upcoming opponents etc it's impossible to pick a 'first team' which is exactly as it should be. Puel starting to put ole RK in the shade, he's getting a tune out of Yoshida and JWP, he's unearthed a diamond in SM and he's involving Reed again, good times.

I thought the Europa League was supposed to hinder league performances? The way I see it is that we now have almost every player in the squad playing regularly, and being as sharp as possible when they are called upon, I think Puel's squad rotation has been absolutely spot on and hopefully we will reap the benefits even more when in the latter stages of these competitions (if we get there). What a job the man is doing, I think he's fantastic.

Think much of that hesitancy came from not knowing where Martina was going to be, sometimes he'd overlap him, sometimes he'd was nowhere to be seen. Would be great to see him forming a great understanding with a RB, those that can remember the Bridge/Marsden "combo" will remember their was never any hesitancy there, they both instinctively knew where the other would be at any given moment.

 

As for the joke lino, he set out his stall early in first half when McQueen took a throw in. Lino (correctly) held his ground at the spot the throw was to be taken from then simply watched as SMcQ edged further and further along the touchline (probably not believing his luck that he was not called back) till he was a good 15 yards or more up the pitch when he took it. Lino actually shrugged his shoulders to himself as he took the throw in before trotting along the touchline as play continued. After that he never signaled for anything, even fouls right in front of him, and at least twice I saw him wait for ref to give a throw in before he raised his flag. Seemed out of his depth at that level of the game (as did the ref to be fair)

Haha, I remember that throw in too.

Agree on Martina, he never seems to do anything with purpose. You could see Hojbjerg, Redmond and a few others looking for a pass but Martina half-heartedly running into an area blocked off by a couple of defenders, or in some cases being reluctant to get forward at all. Having said that, there was no excuse for some of Hojbjerg's passes!

Benali and K Davies

Thanks. I thought it looked like Benali but my eyes aren't what they used to be! Cheers

Disagree - thought he was a pathetically weak referee. It's Europe, so I guess you have to expect players falling over and getting free-kicks at the slightest of touches (Redmond won us a couple of very useful ones like this to run the clock down!) but I thought he gave them quite a lot of cheap free kicks - one in particular in the first half where it looked like J-Rod (?) seemed to get fouled, yet he gave it the other way?!

 

I also didn't enjoy him giving us 'advantage' for approximately 2 seconds then never actually going back to the original incident when we lost the ball.

 

But then again, I do have my saints tinted specs on

Ah, the free-kick for the diving header and "raised foot", he should have given it for the defender flinging himself through Rodriguez but that could have been a penalty, so awarded a laughable dangerous play against Saints instead.

He did also give a couple of really weak dives, the two instances when McQueen barely touched Inter defenders when running behind them, and they "Skaceled". There was a blatant foul on Van Dijk as they went down the line before their goal, the penalty we got was soft, and he didn't give a couple of obvious holding offences from corners on Van Dijk either.

And you're absolutely spot on with the advantages, all three he gave (one for them too) were no kind of advantage and should all have been pulled back. His arm waving also wasn't clear, and at one point he also insisted on giving Inter a free-kick when Medel was in 10 yards of space from the loose ball with Saints' defence stretched because he chose NOT to give an obvious advantage. So he was basically cack all round.

Same as pretty much every other match then.

Not at all, the Premier League refs are clamping down on it. At least when we do it...

I thought the Europa League was supposed to hinder league performances? The way I see it is that we now have almost every player in the squad playing regularly, and being as sharp as possible when they are called upon, I think Puel's squad rotation has been absolutely spot on and hopefully we will reap the benefits even more when in the latter stages of these competitions (if we get there). What a job the man is doing, I think he's fantastic.

Spurs wouldn't have developed Kane if not for the chance to play him in the EL - it's great for development, albeit with one or two availability issues in the shorter term.