A collector's item - McGoldrick scoring a penalty

David McGoldrick has left the club in a deal believed to be worth around £1.2m with Championship side Nottingham Forest.

In what appears to have been fairly protracted negotiations stretching back around six weeks, McGoldrick has signed a four-year contract at the City Ground, having expressed his desire to stay in the Championship - where he scored 12 league goals as Saints’ top scorer last season - and to return home to Nottingham where he was brought up.

While it’s disappointing to lose last season’s top scorer and a key performer in the second half of the season, it will come as no surprise to most supporters, and many have questioned his attitude and commitment at times. The money could certainly be useful at a time when the club is struggling to meet its wage commitments throughout the club.

Personally, I wish him well - without his goals, we’d have been relegated by Easter, although I’d recommend to Billy Davies to get him practicing his penalties…

A microcosm of the whole season was played out at St Mary’s this afternoon as spells of utter dominance weren’t capitalised upon allowing the opposition back into the game. Saints could have been 4 up in the first half but had to settle for a 2-2 draw with high-flying Burnley, a result which means we’ll definitely start next season with a 10-point deficit.

Full report to follow…

David McGoldrick’s long-range effort in the second half was enough to give Saints a thoroughly deserved victory against an ambition-less Palace side.

Full report to follow…

Saints’ survival hopes were dealt a hammer blow as they went down 3-2 to bottom-of-the-table Charlton Athletic.

Full report to follow…

My view of the action.

The width of the post denied Saints a comeback victory after Andrew Surman’s last-gasp free-kick hit the woodwork. David McGoldrick had equalised DJ Campbell’s first-half penalty to earn Saints a point.

In a drab game of few chances, it was Blackpool who set the pace in the early stages, while Saints struggled to come to terms with the poor playing surface. However the away side did have a decent opportunity after ten minutes - Barker had headed behind for a corner and McGoldrick rose highest to head Gillett’s set piece just over.

But when not a lot seemed on, Blackpool were given the opportunity to take the lead inside the first 20 minutes. Saejis appeared to be dealing with a ball into the box and DJ CAMPBELL went down rather innocuously to earn a surprise penalty, which the Leicester City loanee stepped up to tuck away into the bottom left hand corner, with Davis diving the other way.

The seasider’s looked to extend their lead, when Campbell crossed for ex-Saint Ormerod, but he could only direct his header straight at the keeper. While Saints could only muster up one decent chance when Euell, who later went off injured, sent a towering header wide of the mark after a deep cross from the left from Skacel.

And while the game continued to be an uneventful, scrappy affair, it almost sparked into life towards the end of the half, when Campbell met Southern’s cross with an overhead kick, which looked goal bound, but for the acrobatics of Davis, who tipped over the bar.

Half time: Blackpool 1-0 Southampton

The Saints started the second half with a bit more intent, but were having to build up slowly against a stubborn ‘pool rearguard. McGoldrick showed some neat skill, before finding Surman, who’s cross was headed behind by another ex-Saint Crainey and from the resulting corner, Saganowski headed over the bar.

The home side were playing on the counter attack, in order to utilise the obvious pace possessed upfront by Campbell and the system almost paid off when the striker nipped in behind Saejis with ease, but lacked composure when one on one with Davis - only managing to lob the ball straight into the goalkeepers arms.

Again Saints pressed, but again Blackpool countered and after McGoldrick had seen his shot blocked after decent build up from both Saganowski and Wright-Phillips; Campbell managed to find himself through again, but passed to Small, who shot fiercely across the face of goal.

Saints would find an equaliser though and it was a memorable one. Skacel played in DAVID MCGOLDRICK, who flicked onto Saganowski and seized onto the return ball, nodding past Barker and turning Crainey inside out, before coolly slotting past Rachubka in the Blackpool goal.

Crainey curled a free kick just over the bar for the hosts, but it was Saints who ended the game the stronger. First Surman fired over the bar from a tight angle, before agony in the last minute, when he shot at goal directly from a free kick, which hit the inside of the post and bounced over the head of Wright-Phillips, who was ready to bounce for a simple rebound.

Full time: Blackpool 1-1 Southampton

It’s the business end of the season and three points were needed and we didn’t get them, which is disappointing. I thought we were unlucky in general, but the result was a fair one.

Blackpool had two great opportunities through DJ Campbell, who was pretty lively throughout, however the penalty decision was a poor one - a clear dive from where I was stood and we were also unlucky with Surman’s free kick, which hit the inside of the post.

Aswell as Campbell having a good game for the hosts, I thought Barker in defence shaded it as their best player, as he looked committed throughout and often through himself in the way of things, it was tough trying to get past him and when we finally did, it took a moment of magic from McGoldrick.

In terms of our own performance, I thought it was very much below par in the first half and for most of the second half. The pitch didn’t help and the game was a battle, but there was little rhythm in our play. Quite often we’d try and break from full back through Jake Thomson, but he had little support or options, as with a narrow midfield diamond, which meant he was often crossing from deep and this was extremely poor.

In defence, both Perry and Saejis had shaky moments, twice allowing Campbell to be clean through on goal, as they failed to deal with the tricky striker, but overall they didn’t disgrace themselves and were Ok.

In midfield Schneiderlin didn’t deal with the conditions and was right to be subbed for a battler like Wotton, while Gillett covered three positions in the match and was decent in all of them - to which he deserves some serious credit for. While Surman was unlucky with his free kick, but his consistency of delivery could be improved.

Going forward we didn’t look great. Euell won some aerial battles, but then got injured and his replacement Wright-Phillips didn’t really expose the opposition backline too much, same for Saganowski. As for McGoldrick, I’d give him man of the match on the basis that goals are important he took his so well.

There is a lot that could have been better in this game, but it must be noted that we showed good character to come from behind, when in particular we didn’t play that well, but still managed to score. Every game from now on is obviously vital, so hopefully we can turn in some games with a bit more winning mentality, starting at home to Charlton.

A David McGoldrick penalty was enough to end Cardiff’s 13-match unbeaten run as Saints registered their second home win on the bounce.

Full report to follow…

Saints strikers Bradley Wright-Phillips and David McGoldrick are being investigated by Hampshire police after an incident in London Road in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The incident first came to public light on Saturday when a brief report was posted on a message board (later copied to the SaintsWeb forum), which read:

Young saints lad walking home on his own after a nightout bumps in to Mcgoldrick and Wright phillips . Starts chatting to them about saints says when you boys gonna do the buisness and get us away from the bottom.Then they turn on him telling him how much they earn and what have you ever done.then they start to throw there food at him and start to punch and kick him.The lads got a few bumps and bruises but hes alright.This happened up by the giddy bridge pub,hopefully its all on cctv.DIRTY NO GOOD ****S

The Echo have since reported that the police have received a complaint from the alleged victim and that they are investigating the incident. The 21-year-old man is expected to make a statement to police tomorrow, although it’s expected that any chance of developments in the case will hinge upon the quality of CCTV footage in the area.

Wright-Phillips is no stranger to the Hampshire Constabulary, having been charged with burglary from a Portsmouth bar last year, although the charges against him were eventually dropped due to a lack of evidence. Nathan Dyer - also charged in the same incident - pleaded guilty and was sentenced to community service.

His “previous” will doubtlessly count against him in the eyes of the fans, and many members of the SaintsWeb Forum appear to have already made up their mind on this. However, it should be made clear that no arrests have been made and no charges brought at this stage. It’s also entirely possible that the alleged victim in this incident had a much larger part to play than has been suggested, and that will be up to the police to determine.

If, and it’s a big “if” at this stage, he is charged and convicted, I think that probably signals the end of his career here. He’s taken plenty of stick from fans in the past due to his perceived laziness, and he was booed by a large section of the St Mary’s crowd on his first appearance after the Bar Bluu incident made the front pages of the national press. If he has assaulted a supporter, whether it was provoked or not, that clearly won’t go down well with the crowd. I’d also expect the club to take a tough stance on it. He and Dyer were both suspended internally after their arrest last year, so I would expect at least the same treatment this time around, but as a repeat incident, it’s not inconceivable that the club may just decide they have grounds to cancel Wright-Phillips’ contract.

McGoldrick hasn’t been involved in anything like this before, and I hope it’s the last time we see him linked with this sort of behaviour. I certainly don’t begrudge players a night out, particularly on a weekend when their game has already been postponed, but as role models to young people in the city, they have an added duty to protect their status as a role model. Failure to do so should be looked on very dimly by the powers that be within Southampton Football Club.

David McGoldrick’s late header at Oakwell gave Saints their first win in ten games after being second best for most of the game.

My view of the action

Barnsley weren’t short of chances in this encounter and started the game the brighter of the two teams. El Haimour saw his long range effort strike team mate Jamie Cureton, but the forward who always seems to score against the Saints in recent seasons, failed to readjust and lashed over the bar, when in a lot of space.

The away side showed they were more than capable of creating, when Kelvin Davis played the ball short to debutant Lee Molyneux, who played a nice 1-2 with Lee Holmes, only to fizz an effort across the face of goal, with no Southampton striker lurking in the box.

And Saints continued to show some intent to win the game when good work from Bradley Wright-Phillips earned a corner and when the resulting set piece was played short to him; he forced the goalkeeper Heinz Muller to save with his legs, with a low drive from the edge of the box.

David McGoldrick warmed the gloves of Muller from distance soon after, but from then on the first half should have been tied up by the home side, who created more than a couple of very good scoring chances…

The ball fell loose in the box and Maceo Rigters found himself free of any defender, but the Dutchman shot woefully wide from 12 yards, with Kelvin Davis off his line quickly to shorten the angle, a sitter indeed.

Home fans were incensed when Jon Macken’s tap in, from Van Homoet’s low cross was ruled out for offside, but it appeared to be a good decision by the linesman, with two players offside.

And after new boy Jan Paul Saejis had got up well to head clear twice in succession, the ball was dinked over the top, allowing Jamie Cureton to run clear at goal, but Saejis got back superbly to recover and toe the ball away, as the man on loan from Norwich prepared to shoot.

However, soon after Cureton would find himself unopposed from opposition defenders, but as he raced into the box, Kelvin Davis was again off his line, this time to smother the ball as the striker prepared to round him.

Half Time: Barnsley 0-0 Southampton

The start of the second half saw Barnsley continue to have the better chances, but the home side were to be denied by a solid defensive display. First, captain Steven Foster headed a corner powerfully at goal, but Davis palmed over the bar. Before another corner from Campbell-Ryce was met with the head of Souza, whose goal bound header was headed off the line by Lloyd James.

The Saints were also pushing for a goal and after David McGoldrick had volleyed wide from the edge of the box, Wright-Phillips delivered a cross towards Saganowski, who couldn’t get a touch. The ball, however, did fall loose to Lee Holmes who placed his shot just wide of the post.

But with the home side having more of the possession, the Southampton rearguard had to soak up plenty of pressure and that they did. Campbell-Ryce accelerated away from Molyneux and his low cross across the face of goal was met by Jamie Cureton at the back post, who was somehow denied by another excellent stop by Kelvin Davis.

The away side would get their reward for a solid team display though, when Lee Holmes was allowed plenty of room to pick out an inch perfect cross for DAVID MCGOLDRICK who rose high to plant a firm header into the bottom corner of the net.

Full Time: Barnsley 0-1 Southampton

A great three points for us, which is very important. Picking up wins against the teams around us near the bottom will undoubtedly help us in our battle against relegation and today we did that. The performance wasn’t pretty, but pretty football had only seen us win 5 times in 26 league games. We battled and worked hard as a team to counter a lot of pressure from Barnsley, who attacked throughout.

Defensively we worked hard and Saejis seemed to get better as his first appearance for us went on, he got up well and appeared to be a no nonsense defender that we have been looking out for. While fellow debutant Molyneux also appeared to have a decent start – the Ex Everton man was eager to get forward and handled Campbell-Ryce down the right flank relatively well considering the latter has a clear advantage in terms of pace.

Kelvin Davis was my man of the match though and I don’t think too many would argue with that. He has always been a good shot stopper and today again, he showed that, but also he looked comfortable claiming crosses, quick off his line to thwart danger and more than competent with his kicking.

Upfront we didn’t create much, but we didn’t need to, it was never going to be one of the games where we attacked a lot and we were always going to be soaking up pressure and nicking a goal on the break and away from home this is when our formation works much better. At home, I’d like to see the formation change though.

A few negatives are that we looked a little vulnerable with balls over the top of the defence, with a Barnsley man being clean through on more than one occasion, but I think that’s just down to playing the offside trap better and holding a better line defensively and I think this will come once Saejis and Molyneux play more first team games and we can get a back four that plays together often.

In midfield we didn’t boss the game enough centrally, with Schneiderlin and Surman being forced to work hard to win the ball back throughout and I’d like to see Gillett brought back in for away games at least, as he is better at this role of ball winner – with Schneiderlin and Surman both being better at playing the ball. I think this is a fair suggestion and is backed up given that Bobby Hassell (who played in central midfield) won man of the match from the Barnsley fans.

Roll on next week against Doncaster, in what could be an even more important game.

Shane Long scored a late equaliser to deny Saints a league double over second-placed Reading at St Mary’s following David McGoldrick’s opener.

Jan Poortvliet made two changes to the side that lost at Plymouth on Boxing Day with the experienced Chris Perry coming into the side at the expense of Olly Lancashire, who dropped down to the bench, and Matt Paterson was handed his first senior start in place of Andrew Surman who picked up an ankle injury late in the game at Home Park.

Reading’s Noel Hunt was only fit enough to take a place on the visitors’ subs bench following an injury he suffered in their recent win at Birmingham, but the Royals were still able to field a very attack-minded line-up with Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Stephen Hunt all playing from the start. Second-choice keeper Adam Federici, who scored Reading’s 96th-minute equaliser against Cardiff on Friday, retained his place in the continued absence of Marcus Hahnemann.

Saints, as has often been the case this season, started brightly with Paterson and David McGoldrick linking up to good effect through the middle and Lee Holmes and Rudi Skacel teaming up on the left flank. Ryan Smith was also seeing a lot of the ball on the other side, but Reading had clearly watched him carefully at Plymouth as he was often faced by at least two defenders who were happy for him to keep the ball out wide on the right rather than allow him to cut inside onto his favoured left foot.

Reading were surprisingly trying to play very direct in the first half, looking for flick-ons by Doyle from long balls, and it came as no real shock that they made very little use of them. They did, however, look dangerous on the rare occasions that they managed to get the ball out wide. Stephen Hunt caused Lloyd James a few problems and Skacel had to be alert and brave to make a headed clearance at the far post when he knew he was inevitably going to be on the end of a hefty challenge straight afterwards, for which he earned a free-kick. James also showed that his defensive awareness is improving with every game as he raced around in front of Hunt at the far post to clear Marek Matejowski’s curling cross to safety.

The best chance of the first half fell midway through the half. From one of Saints’ many corners, the ball fell kindly to McGoldrick on the penalty spot and his snap shot certainly didn’t lack power as it smashed against the underside of the crossbar, which was probably still shaking five minutes later.

Reading were starting to get frustrated, and this was reflected by bookings for Doyle and Matejowski for cynical late challenges on James and Simon Gillett respectively shortly before half-time.

Ryan Smith, of whom I’d been singing the praises in the pub before the game after his excellent performance at Plymouth, was replaced after a pretty disappointing first half by Bradley Wright-Phillips.

Saints continued at the pace they’d been setting in the first half and some desperate defending and perfectly-timed tackles by Michael Duberry and Ivar Ingimarsson came between McGoldrick, Paterson and Wright-Phillips and the Reading goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, Lee Holmes was replaced with Kayne McLaggon, who had made his senior debut at Plymouth and looked lively, and he slotted in wide on the right-hand side.

On the hour, Paterson had a great chance to score his first senior goal as a deep cross by James found him unmarked on the edge of the area but his side-footed volley didn’t have enough power to trouble Federici who made a comfortable save. That was to be Paterson’s last action of the game as he was replaced by Jason Euell in an attempt to inject a bit more pace and power up front.

Reading made a double substitution replacing Matejowski and Brynjar Gunnarsson with James Harper and Kalifa Cisse in the heart of their midfield. This seemed to actually give Saints a bit of a boost as they both took a little while to get into the game, and just three minutes later they took full advantage. Kayne McLaggon embarked on a determined run from inside the Saints half, evading challenges from both Harper and Cisse as well as Stephen Hunt, and then slipped a perfectly-weighted through-ball between the two centre-backs for McGoldrick to run on to. He took a touch to steady himself and then slotted the ball under Federici to make it 1-0. It was McGoldrick’s first goal in 11 games and for that reason alone he won’t have been too bothered about the yellow card he received for taking his shirt off in celebration.

Reading boss Steve Coppell made his last available substitution by replacing left-back Chris Armstrong with striker Noel Hunt in an all-out attacking move to rescue the game for the Royals. It almost paid instant dividends when Hunt won a free-kick out wide and the delivery by his brother Stephen found Duberry unmarked at the far post but his first touch was abysmal and ran out for a goal kick.

With Saints now happy to play on the counter-attack, McGoldrick and Wright-Phillips were looking to exploit the space against a three-man defence as often as possible. Wright-Phillips fed McGoldrick 25 yards out and he jinked past Ingimarsson into the area but was unable to get his shot past the covering Liam Rosenior.

A minute later, Reading’s additional pressure and attacking numbers was rewarded when Stephen Hunt’s wide free-kick was nodded down by Duberry and Long got to the ball just before the previously untroubled Kelvin Davis to nod it into the gaping goal for a barely-deserved equaliser.

It nearly got worse for Saints as Stephen Hunt was again involved. His deep cross found the head of Kevin Doyle but the ball crashed against the crossbar and away to safety. Saints immediately broke away and had a strong appeal for a penalty waved away after Duberry appeared to handle the ball in the area after McLaggon tried to engineer a bit of space for a shot. To be fair to referee Phil Crossley, his view of the incident would have been blocked by at least one player, but his assistant on the Kingsland side should have had a near-perfect view. Unfortunately, when you’re struggling, those decisions do have a habit of going against you.

With both sides going all-out for victory at the end, a lot of space was being created at either end, and Kevin Doyle almost won it for Reading in injury time when he wriggled free of Chris Perry’s attention but Davis was able to turn his shot over the bar for a corner.

That was it, and on the face of it a draw against the team in second place isn’t a bad result. However, put in context with the results obtained by Nottingham Forest and Doncaster Rovers today, it’s now left us second from bottom in the Championship. It was a decent performance today, and hopefully the players will take that as a positive rather than the late dropping of points that has now happened in two of the last three home games. That said, it makes a pleasant change to actually have a lead at home to lose, rather than just losing the game! The next two league games, at Barnsley and against Doncaster at St Mary’s, are going to be critical to our survival in this division this season.

For me, the only disappointing performance was from Ryan Smith, who was well and truly found out by a Reading defence who had done their homework. Matt Paterson led the line well in the second half but clearly tired in the second, which was reflected in the lack of power and conviction in the shot he had just before he was substituted.

David McGoldrick’s goal was just reward for a hard-working shift today, and it’s not often I’ve been able to say that about his performances this season. If he can put in the workrate like he has today, he’ll be rewarded with more goals, in my opinion. He’s shown he’s got plenty of ability, but there remain question marks over his attitude and commitment.

It was also good to see that the players can perform in front of a big crowd. The attendance of 20,142 was the second-highest of the season and, while the Forest game was a massive let-down, hopefully some of those who were there who haven’t been going to games regularly will respond to today by turning up to the Doncaster game. The United game on Sunday is obviously a big game in terms of its prestige, but we go into that game with absolutely nothing to lose, so I don’t think we should really read anything into the performance we put in or the result there.

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.