Chelsea 2 Saints 2 - Post Match Celebrations & MotM

[SaintBobby]

Short highlights with non-English commentary here:

 

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/01/17/video-chelsea-2-2-southampton-premier-league-highlights/

[paris]

:@))

[fanimal]

Funny old game agian - we played quite well in the first half, but no real conviction, J Rod was more of a target man than running channels. Then the usual half clearance they score; then pray we will get to half time 1-0, guess what we concede again; just did not see the second half turn around coming to be honest! Sorry but JOs and Guly and Davis are not Jose, Lallana and Ramirez, still have my doubts on Yoshida he still makes silly mistakes in crucial areas. We were in the East Stand up the other end from Saints fans, how can home fans be so fickle?? where were all those noisy lot at SMS?Then Sir Richard the Lionheart arrives, puts the scares up their defence, 2-1, back in it great work by Clyne; then blow me Shaw does the same down the other side! Fantastic strike from Punch great running by everyone to make the space. Then the usual last 10 minute nervy half siege, thank god for Torres!! 4 points from2 away games brilliant start to a real tough month and run of games. COYRS!!

[The Kraken]

Nope. Was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

Probably a bit 9-3; but for the amount that defenders get away with pushing and grappling in the box it would have been a poke in the eye had it been disallowed. RL and Cahill come together, and you can see Cahill put his hands up to hold Lambert, so Rickie just gave him a big shove in the chest. Cahill didn't appeal it afterwards, in fact he looked desolate that he'd been done in such a rudimentary way. What a header though.

 

While the tactics did work, I'm not sure of this "lets stay in the game for as long as possible" idea. Its quite a defeatist attitude. And for those saying that its naive and lacking in footballing knowledge to think that way; have a look at Gordon Watson's tweets from last night. His opinion was that had we started with our strongest lineup and really got at Chelsea, there was potentially more than a point there for us. Its very hard to criticise after sucha result, of course, but I think he has a point. QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home.

 

Anyway, a point well earned and a big shot in the arm for our next games against Everton and Man United.

[suspect everyone]

Well last night was a lot of fun.

 

1st half we passed the ball about well but didn’t have any attacking threat. Their two goals came from our sloppy defending, both could have been cleared in the build up.

 

2-0 down at half time. We didn’t deserve that as Chelsea themselves had been poor.

 

Adkins started Rickie and Gaston on the bench and you have to say that the gameplan worked. Bringing them on fresh meant they could have more impact against tired defenders.

 

Rickie was immense when he came on and scored within 5 minutes. When Puncheon scored the equaliser we went bananas. What a brilliant finish.

 

I thought we had equalised too early though with 15 minutes to go. Benitez however did us a favour by bringing on Torres. He was terrible and wasted all of their chances towards the end of the game.

 

Clyne, Morgan and Shaw were our best players, Morgan in particular was great. I was worried when Chappers came on but he did quite well.

 

Chelsea fans were very quiet. Not much of an atmosphere and they were quick to turn on their team and the manager when things started going wrong. That was satisfying!

 

There was also a wonderful moment when John Terry came and warmed up near us. Notable chants were "you let your country down", "there's only one Wayne Bridge" and my favourite "racist, racist, racist".

 

A good night out!

[St.Patrik]

Yeah really fair play to Cahill not to complain about that - he really just looked ashamed that Rickey just moved him out of his way that easy : )

[Sour Mash]

Well last night was a lot of fun.

 

1st half we passed the ball about well but didn’t have any attacking threat. Their two goals came from our sloppy defending, both could have been cleared in the build up.

 

2-0 down at half time. We didn’t deserve that as Chelsea themselves had been poor.

 

Adkins started Rickie and Gaston on the bench and you have to say that the gameplan worked. Bringing them on fresh meant they could have more impact against tired defenders.

 

Rickie was immense when he came on and scored within 5 minutes. When Puncheon scored the equaliser we went bananas. What a brilliant finish.

 

I thought we had equalised too early though with 15 minutes to go. Benitez however did us a favour by bringing on Torres. He was terrible and wasted all of their chances towards the end of the game.

 

Clyne, Morgan and Shaw were our best players, Morgan in particular was great. I was worried when Chappers came on but he did quite well.

 

Chelsea fans were very quiet. Not much of an atmosphere and they were quick to turn on their team and the manager when things started going wrong. That was satisfying!

 

There was also a wonderful moment when John Terry came and warmed up near us. Notable chants were "you let your country down", "there's only one Wayne Bridge" and my favourite "racist, racist, racist".

 

A good night out!

They were terrible songs, along with the one about Terry's mum, I think it was cringing on our behalf rather than being remotely bothered by them.

[OldNick]

fans knocking JRod and comparing him to RL is not fair. RL is the finished article and probably our most PL quality player. Jrod is still learning, and in a while if the fans back him he will become a very useful CF for us. He is mobile and has good skill, the way he took the ball down in the first half was sublime

[CanadaSaint]

I thought we played well in the first half and only went behind because of one bad giveaway and some ball watching and space-marking at the back; space has never scored a goal so I don't know why Davis, in particular, is so keen to mark it.

 

The difference, for me, was that we got the ball into the box very quickly on two occasions in the second half, and didn't fart around when it arrived; the "strike" was almost instant on both occasions. Of course, it didn't hurt that Rickie was there for the first one.

 

But that early ball/early strike lesson is one I really hope we'll heed from now on. Especially Puncheon.

[Sour Mash]

Nope. Was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

No, Lambert gave him a fair old shove. RL deserved a bit of luck in that regard the amount he gets battered by defenders with little protection.

[rooney]

Tactically superb, Rickies header and Jason's little flick up before he volleyed were pure class.Great credit to our midfield and defence who never gave up.

[shurlock]

I thought we played well in the first half and only went behind because of one bad giveaway and some ball watching and space-marking at the back; space has never scored a goal so I don't know why Davis, in particular, is so keen to mark it.

 

The difference, for me, was that we got the ball into the box very quickly on two occasions in the second half, and didn't fart around when it arrived; the "strike" was almost instant on both occasions. Of course, it didn't hurt that Rickie was there for the first one.

 

But that early ball/early strike lesson is one I really hope we'll heed from now on. Especially Puncheon.

 

Thought we retained possession well first half even if Chelsea gifted us plenty of space.

Whatever the gameplan, Rodriguez ended up playing as a target man rather than a pacey in behind striker -and it didn't really work. I counted that he only won one header all evening and had one layoff.

It was Lambert's ability to hold the ball up that made the difference.

Moreover I don't buy the argument that Lambert only made an impact because Chelsea were tiring (anyway, a tiring defense hates pace more than power IMO). With us 2 down and having to force things more, Lambert was brought on relatively early in the 2nd half -if their CBs were already flagging at that stage, they dont deserve to be pros.

Which begs the legitimate question: what if Lambert had started.

[oldsarum]

Probably a bit 9-3; but for the amount that defenders get away with pushing and grappling in the box it would have been a poke in the eye had it been disallowed. RL and Cahill come together, and you can see Cahill put his hands up to hold Lambert, so Rickie just gave him a big shove in the chest. Cahill didn't appeal it afterwards, in fact he looked desolate that he'd been done in such a rudimentary way. What a header though.

 

 

 

While the tactics did work, I'm not sure of this "lets stay in the game for as long as possible" idea. Its quite a defeatist attitude. And for those saying that its naive and lacking in footballing knowledge to think that way; have a look at Gordon Watson's tweets from last night. His opinion was that had we started with our strongest lineup and really got at Chelsea, there was potentially more than a point there for us. Its very hard to criticise after sucha result, of course, but I think he has a point. QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home.

 

Anyway, a point well earned and a big shot in the arm for our next games against Everton and Man United.

 

"QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home".

 

QPR showed about the same ambition than we did at Chelsea, they played 4 5 1 like us but with Taarabt

on his own up front, and hardly made any chaces at all before they scored, they just defended better

 

We tried using the same tactics but two poor clearances presented Chelsea with their goals

[dellboypete]

Still buzzing this morning and as I said to my good wife - it was one of those games when the 50 quid ticket price was well worth it.

 

I was talking to some (genuine) chelsea fans on the tube back to wimbledon (who were complaining about ticket prices). They were impressed with us for the first 20 mins when we controlled the play and passed the ball around so confidently.

I said that at half time I was going for a damage limitation to minimise our goals against.

 

To be fair to the chelsea fans they were all really impressed with Luke Shaw and Clyne at full backs - saying that they were the best they have seen this season. A couple of them were also really impressed with Morgan and Cork in the middle.

 

Nice to talk to real fans from the glamour clubs who are far more realistic than the plastics. None of them like Benitez and they all were looking for a period of stability. And they all hope we stay up (but not sure how sincere that was).

 

Great evening but frigging cold

[shurlock]

"QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home".

 

QPR showed about the same ambition than we did at Chelsea, they played 4 5 1 like us but with Taarabt

on his own up front, and hardly made any chaces at all before they scored, they just defended better

 

We tried using the same tactics but two poor clearances presented Chelsea with their goals

 

Wouldnt agree with that-we defended by keeping possession of the ball. They defended by allowing Chelsea possession but getting 11 behind the ball and making them very narrow.

[saints-cris]

Good to see some people giving Adkins the credit he deserves. Against the big boys away we play J-Rod, keep it tight and bring on the guns in the 2nd half when were still in it. Can't fault it, Ricky's made an impact twice now (City and Chelski) and then the belief comes in. All this 'if he played from the start' is stuff we can't know, you can't assume it would go exactly the same way.

 

Well done Nige and the lads, awesome performance exucted brilliantly.

[tajjuk]

"QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home".

 

QPR showed about the same ambition than we did at Chelsea, they played 4 5 1 like us but with Taarabt

on his own up front, and hardly made any chaces at all before they scored, they just defended better

 

We tried using the same tactics but two poor clearances presented Chelsea with their goals

 

QPR parked the bus, we had a little more ambition than that and looked to retain the ball as much as possible and hit on the counter without overcomitting.

 

You only have to look at some of the comments by the Chelsea fans, a lot more complimentary than they were about QPR.

 

QPR did the same against Spurs at home as well. Just parked the bus.

[raynesparksaint]

Second goal was awesome, what a run by Shaw and a first-class finish by Punch.

 

However I've seen a few posts that suggest that Ramirez's flick was intentional? For me, he mis-controlled it as the cross was a tad behind him.

[Pilchards]

Second goal was awesome, what a run by Shaw and a first-class finish by Punch.

 

However I've seen a few posts that suggest that Ramirez's flick was intentional? For me, he mis-controlled it as the cross was a tad behind him.

 

I see it as he got a late call from Punch and kind of half controlled it and half left it.

[Marino]

Morgan was majestic and MoM by a country mile - being Captain obviously inspired him.

However the entire team were fantastic and played with so much heart that my blocks of ice feet quickly melted

with the emotion that the result brought. The Bridge was cold last night, especially for their fans.

A special mention for Jos who after a shaky start trying to get to grips with Ba played very well and became

our rock on which their attacks floundered. He won some important headers and cleared his lines when it mattered.

 

To those who thought 'our' Terry songs were funny.....they weren't, they were embarrassing and nasty.

 

Otherwise a brilliant night and forget the 'wudda, cudda, shudda' about his tactics .....Nige got his tactics spot-on.

[SaintBobby]

No, Lambert gave him a fair old shove. RL deserved a bit of luck in that regard the amount he gets battered by defenders with little protection.

 

Doesn't look that way from the highlights

[Sour Mash]

Doesn't look that way from the highlights

What did it look like on the highlights?

[OldNick]

Doesn't look that way from the highlights

it did to me, but it was a couple of seconds before the ball came across

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Brilliant point. Had us written off before the game, and even more so at half time. Full credit to all the Saints fans that made the journey. Like taking the ring into Mordor, all hope and not a chance in hell, but they went anyway. Fantastic. What a player Shaw is, and give Punch that contract!

[trousers]

Second goal was awesome, what a run by Shaw and a first-class finish by Punch.

 

However I've seen a few posts that suggest that Ramirez's flick was intentional? For me, he mis-controlled it as the cross was a tad behind him.

 

I've watched it a few times now and I think it was a bit of both....I think once he'd realised all he'd be able to do is have a flick at it he made sure he didn't deflect it out of Puncheon's path. IMO of course.

[Bearsy]

17th of January and I'm calling it. We are staying up.

[Thedelldays]

17th of January and I'm calling it. We are staying up.

 

Big balls dude. Big balls

[Bearsy]

If i were Paddy Power I'd be paying out. FACT!

[Marino]

it did to me, but it was a couple of seconds before the ball came across

 

Absolutely it was a shove by RL who was probably fed up with Cahill's arms all over him.

Cahill didn't protest which suggests that he'd probably been giving RL the same medicine earlier.

[RedArmy]

Puncheons goal is rightly getting all the plaudits, but take nothing away from Lamberts header. That wasn't an easy header, he was moving away from goal, and the power and precision he got was right out of the top drawer.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Had a quick scan through, but sorry if this has already been posted.

 

Nice tweet from Mr. Lineker:

 

Gary Lineker ‏@GaryLineker

Brilliant point for Southampton. Like the way they play and I'm convinced Saints will stay up

[trousers]

Puncheons goal is rightly getting all the plaudits, but take nothing away from Lamberts header. That wasn't an easy header, he was moving away from goal, and the power and precision he got was right out of the top drawer.

 

Not forgetting the way he created space in the box....

[syd_barrett_saint]

Good to see some people giving Adkins the credit he deserves. Against the big boys away we play J-Rod, keep it tight and bring on the guns in the 2nd half when were still in it. Can't fault it, Ricky's made an impact twice now (City and Chelski) and then the belief comes in. All this 'if he played from the start' is stuff we can't know, you can't assume it would go exactly the same way.

 

Well done Nige and the lads, awesome performance exucted brilliantly.

 

Exactly. We played Lambert from the start away at Arsenal, and look how that went. Away at City and Chelsea we tried to give ourselves a chance by defending from the front from the off, keeping ourselves in the game (although we almost weren't last night due to the ball not falling for us for their two goals) and then bringing Lambert on for impact... and what an impact he is. Worked last night, almost worked at City. Starting with a more attacking formation would have probably seen us easily beat in both those two games.

 

We should definitely do the same away at Utd, possibly away at Spurs too.

[hypochondriac]

Probably a bit 9-3; but for the amount that defenders get away with pushing and grappling in the box it would have been a poke in the eye had it been disallowed. RL and Cahill come together, and you can see Cahill put his hands up to hold Lambert, so Rickie just gave him a big shove in the chest. Cahill didn't appeal it afterwards, in fact he looked desolate that he'd been done in such a rudimentary way. What a header though.

 

While the tactics did work, I'm not sure of this "lets stay in the game for as long as possible" idea. Its quite a defeatist attitude. And for those saying that its naive and lacking in footballing knowledge to think that way; have a look at Gordon Watson's tweets from last night. His opinion was that had we started with our strongest lineup and really got at Chelsea, there was potentially more than a point there for us. Its very hard to criticise after sucha result, of course, but I think he has a point. QPR showed that the bigger sides aren't invulnerable at home.

 

Anyway, a point well earned and a big shot in the arm for our next games against Everton and Man United.

 

And as Gordon Watson goes to every game (and is a friend of mine) I would trust what he says!

[saints-cris]

Exactly. We played Lambert from the start away at Arsenal, and look how that went. Away at City and Chelsea we tried to give ourselves a chance by defending from the front from the off, keeping ourselves in the game (although we almost weren't last night due to the ball not falling for us for their two goals) and then bringing Lambert on for impact... and what an impact he is. Worked last night, almost worked at City. Starting with a more attacking formation would have probably seen us easily beat in both those two games.

 

We should definitely do the same away at Utd, possibly away at Spurs too.

 

So do I, its worked well. People need to accept that Lambert may not start, Guly or J-Rod may start up top.

[Papa Shango]

My player ratings/report: http://thesaintshub.com/chelsea2-2saints.html

 

Never been so pleased with a draw in my life. Love this club

[trousers]

[rshephard3]

Morgan. Just Morgan. Best midfielder on the pitch last night. What a man. He's worth some serious pounds after his season so far.

[Window Cleaner]

 

the touch Gaston gets on the ball is quite important, if he hadn't nicked it it would probably have fallen to Punch on his right foot and not plumb on the left.

[trousers]

the touch Gaston gets on the ball is quite important, if he hadn't nicked it it would probably have fallen to Punch on his right foot and not plumb on the left.

 

Yep - if anything it was heading towards Cole. IMO Ramirez instinctively knew where Puncheon was and the way he looks around as he deflects the ball indicates to me there was an element of intent in what he did

[Window Cleaner]

Yep, IMO Ramirez instinctively knew where Puncheon was and the way he looks around as he deflects the ball indicates to me there was an element of intent in what he did

 

not too convinced but as it's Gaston you could believe it.

[sandwichsaint]

 

Ramirez has laid that off to him!

 

What else is he trying to do? He knows exactly where Punch is, heturns and looks to see what Punch is going to do next!

 

Awesome !!!!

[ThreeSixty]

Ramirez has laid that off to him!

 

What else is he trying to do? He knows exactly where Punch is, heturns and looks to see what Punch is going to do next!

 

Awesome !!!!

 

No chance, mis control, you can see it in his body language.

[ottery st mary]

Watched the passage of play many times and like the original look:)

 

Ramirez knows what is around him and flicks on to Punch. knew what he was doing and then turns in case of any return from Punch...

 

Watch his foot movement and how quickly he turns to possibly join up with Punch again..

 

If the ball had been further in front..would have shot...but knew his alternative and that Punch was up behind..Very good vision.

 

Gaston Ramirez is a class act and so glad he is in our side..

Edited 17 January, 2013 by ottery st mary

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Yep - if anything it was heading towards Cole. IMO Ramirez instinctively knew where Puncheon was and the way he looks around as he deflects the ball indicates to me there was an element of intent in what he did

 

The more I see it, the more I think Gaston knew what he was doing.

[sandwichsaint]

No chance, mis control, you can see it in his body language.

 

What control is he looking with that body shape and foot position?

The space is all to his front right (towards the goal), if he wanted to control it he would have played it with the inside of his left foot, no?

[sandwichsaint]

Shaw, Ramirez, Puncheon, that's as good a goal as you will see all season. Anywhere.

[sunrise]

I think some are getting a little carried away with the result, it's just a draw! We have still got 16 games to go and there's only 3points between us and the first relegation place.

[Thedelldays]

I think some are getting a little carried away with the result, it's just a draw! We have still got 16 games to go and there's only 3points between us and the first relegation place.

 

That was probably our 2nd hardest game of the season that we had left.

Most thought that we would have let in enough to have dropped a place and a dent left in our goal difference advantage.

 

It wasn't and we got back that point QPR and Wigan gained on us at the weekend now we have caught up

[Dangermouth]

I think he hears the call and leaves it/pushes it on. As the camera sticks to Shaw, we can't see what he's doing before the ball in and what he can see, but it's good that he's arriving in that area at that time.