Norwich 0 - Saints 3....We are back.

[striker]

We dominated from about 15 minutes on. Ings, Armstrong,  Redmond were excellent I thought. The attack overall looked good. Hojgjerg was pedestrian, Valery poor. We have better options than Valery and Obafemi in my opinion.

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

One sentence summary from Keane and then the presenter says they're moving onto the next one! 

To be honest one sentence from Keane is two too many.

[Kingsland Red]

Well done Ralph, we have come back very sharp and didn't need to bring on subs until the 80th minute.

[Dusic]

Such a big difference in our team when Redmond plays.

That couldn't really have gone much better.

For those being critical of Obafemi - worth remembering he is 19 and his only experience of pro football has been in the PL, he is learning on the job in one of the best leagues in the world.

He clearly has good attributes and there is a lot to work with. Hopefully his composure and knowledge of his position will increase with experience and game time - which is basically the blueprint of what Saints and Ralph want to do.

I see similarities with someone like DCL who has played most of his career in the PL and after a long time of seeming mediocre has developed into a really good striker this season, aged 23.

If Ralph thinks he deserves to play then thats enough for me. 

[saint97]

Looked so much quicker and sharper than Norwich. Thought we'd win tonight but not by that margin.

Ings, Redmond and Armstrong all brilliant (after 15/20 minutes).

I thought Obafemi was actually pretty decent, think some people forget he's only 19. Hojbjerg also very solid (seen a lot of negative comments on twitter though).

Valery...shocking. 

 

[Ohio Saint]

Thrilled with the win, but weirdly, I wasn't entirely convinced it was a real match. With the crowd noises and all it seemed a bit EA sports.

That's not a complaint though. So good to be black. It feels like my life matters again.

[tajjuk]

Ings was excellent, sharp, fit, aware, not the best attempt when he hit the bar but excellent finish for the goal.  

Compare him to the lethargic and heavy legged Kane for Spurs, you could see Ings actually improved his fitness with the time off. 

[SaintBobby]

Glad to bury yet another football myth....namely, "if you start slow, it's very hard to pick up the pace".

 

Rubbish.

 

We started really poorly. Not sure why. Maybe Norwich just burnt themselves out in the first 15 mins? We cruised it from there, really. 

 

Ings was superb - made at least three great contributions defensively too. But I'd also highlight Redmond - didn't see much of the ball in the first half, but looked great through out every time he was involved.

 

Happy days. Safety is now (even more) assured.

Edited 19 June, 2020 by SaintBobby

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, Ohio Saint said:

So good to be black. It feels like my life matters again.

Certainly seems to be the way things are going...

[The Kraken]

Excellent result. Since confirmation of the restart I have had an inkling that one team in the bottom half may come out of the blocks really slowly and put themselves in the relegation mix, and I hoped it wouldn’t be us (albeit we were already in a decent enough position to feel comfortable). Very glad to see a strong performance after the first 15 to 20 minutes, which looked sloppy. Second half was good, they showed a stat on tv where we had had 9 shots to only One from Norwich.

Norwich were very poor but 0-3 is great against anyone. Happy days. And I loved the finish from Ings, he loves a curled thumper with his right peg.

[austsaint]

5 hours ago, Jimmy_D said:

That grew into a fantastic performance.

First goal will be vital for any team at the moment and it was a really good take by Ings to give us that.

After that we were really the only team in it.

That'll probably be enough to see us safe I reckon, we might even be able to climb into the top half after that.

Quite right, once the rustiness gave way to classy counter attacking at about the half hour it was a very enjoyable watch, against a porous Norwich defence.   Ings was so good, Armstrong grew into the game as did Redmond.    Great position to be in now and can imagine we'll see more of the "kids" as things wind down.

[cambsaint]

Great result. Typical negative responses I detest on this forum getting on young players backs after the first game following a long layoff.

I agree with the comment that the players will enjoy playing at home without fam=ns negativity.

Twas ever thus though I particularly  remember criticism of Sydenham when I lived down there and watched regularly.

Compare with the incessant support of the team who's name is never spoken in polite society just down the road.

[Red]

5 hours ago, Batman said:

Thought we were very good for the last 70 mins, could have easily been more.

Ings was very good...top player, my MoM

Obafemi was alright as was Valery, not sold on either..hoj was average 

What game were you watching? He nearly had us one down in the first 5 mins, and was dreadfully out of position for most of the game - his fellow players rescued him several times. I was amazed he was not replaced at halftime. He is clearly not our answer to RB. 

 

5 hours ago, Batman said:

 

 

 

[GarrettIvo]

There's not many better ways to start the weekend than with a Saints win.

I can think of one, and I did that last night as well!

 

[Fan The Flames]

It could have been completely different if it wasn't for that Ings interception early on. Armstrong was pants for the opening ten minutes then settled into it and played a nice ball into Ings for the opener. Then we cruised it.

We can now coast to the end of the season, it will be good to break 40 points. I would like to break 50 points but that's probably a step too far.

[hasper57saint]

Never been superstitious so 13th is fine by me. Kept losing or giving away ball early on and showed the ‘rust’ but I’m impressed with the aggression we displayed as it has been lacking of late. 
Happy chappie this morning even though Mrs H and I are in our 14th week of isolation. Thankfully my nipper and grandsons live next door so watching the match (6feet apart) in their lounge was a big morale booster. Keep safe you Saints. 

[Andy Durman]

Anybody thinking Hojbjerg was Not effective in this game is delusional. He started poorly giving the ball away, but had a very important role in this win. He is an important player in our system and we will miss him. 

Edited 20 June, 2020 by Andy Durman

[eurosaint]

A solid performance and important result but the Arsenal game will be a better barometer !

I actually quite like  the crowd noise channel but found the no noise one to be soulless !

Will be interesting to see how the other broadcasters do it but fair play to Sky, they did a pretty good job except for the 'in house' experts who were only there for the Man U game later and showed little respect by not having Saints and Norwich pundits at all ! 

[Batman]

11 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

I thought obafemi was crap. 

On reflection he was just that. 

Valery is dangerous in defence....very little about his game is good enough to be a regular starter.  

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, Batman said:

On reflection he was just that. 

Valery is dangerous in defence....very little about his game is good enough to be a regular starter.  

I'm not sure if we were quite good or Norwich wrre just particularly awful. I think maybe a bit of both. Still it's the 3 points we needed and once we get to 40 points we can hopefully throw a few youngsters in. 

[rooney]

Ings was excellent and the team played very well. 4 former academy players in the line up and 2 on the bench.

[Shroppie]

Out of interest, did anyone else do the same as a group of us did and get together on Zoom whilst watching the game?

Worked really well.

[SW5 SAINT]

They (media) are going on about tonight’s Bournemouth Palace being the most watched in Premier league history, because it’s on the Beeb. Was our match last night the first free to air, freely available Prem match..... ? If so it probably currently holds the record....!

[CB Fry]

1 minute ago, SW5 SAINT said:

They (media) are going on about tonight’s Bournemouth Palace being the most watched in Premier league history, because it’s on the Beeb. Was our match last night the first free to air, freely available Prem match..... ? If so it probably currently holds the record....!

We will be part of a lovely quiz question in a couple of years time. 

[Shroppie]

And we will always be the first PL team to score an away goal in June

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, Fan The Flames said:

It could have been completely different if it wasn't for that Ings interception early on. Armstrong was pants for the opening ten minutes then settled into it and played a nice ball into Ings for the opener. Then we cruised it.

We can now coast to the end of the season, it will be good to break 40 points. I would like to break 50 points but that's probably a step too far.

Other than City all our remaining games are very winnable. It would be nice to go on an end of season run for once. 

[Shroppie]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Other than City all our remaining games are very winnable. It would be nice to go on an end of season run for once. 

I think that's very possible.

[Long Shot]

7 hours ago, cambsaint said:

Great result. Typical negative responses I detest on this forum getting on young players backs after the first game following a long layoff.

I agree with the comment that the players will enjoy playing at home without fam=ns negativity.

Twas ever thus though I particularly  remember criticism of Sydenham when I lived down there and watched regularly.

Compare with the incessant support of the team who's name is never spoken in polite society just down the road.

Bizarre post. Don’t confuse criticism with negativity and also the support for our last home game was remarkable especially as we lost. 

[Lighthouse]

24 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Other than City all our remaining games are very winnable. It would be nice to go on an end of season run for once. 

I wouldn’t say United away was winnable either and it was written in the Ten Commandments - "Saints shalt not win at Goodison." You’re right though, it would be nice to stick a reasonable run of form together to boost moral going into next season.

[Saint_clark]

9 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I wouldn’t say United away was winnable either and it was written in the Ten Commandments - "Saints shalt not win at Goodison." You’re right though, it would be nice to stick a reasonable run of form together to boost moral going into next season.

United are still very vulnerable and home/away has little bearing anymore, in fact if Germany is anything to go by the away team actually wins more often now.

[Chez]

We were  tad fortunate not to behind early on when Norwich got beyond the press and carved us to bits on the break, but not long after we too charge and it was all us. Our high press was very effective. Norwich overplayed right into our hands, turning the ball over time after time. Our tactics won the day. 

Armstrong makes such a difference. We tend to look flat without him. Great to get him back. Pleased to see Valery back. I just wish he was a little more busy and nasty. He's very comfortable on the ball, but too passive and very casual. I dont think he will change, but to me he just looks like he needs a rocket up his...

Not many gripes. I've never rated Hoj. He gives the ball away far too much when not under any pressure. Poor ball retention kills you in this league. I struggle to see what he does well. I'm not an Obefemi fan either, just controlling the football is an issue and I wonder if he has the quality required. I guess if he puts the ball in the back a net enough the other attributes can be overlooked. The thought of playing Long and Obefemi up front, should Ings get injured, is not exactly inspiring. 

 

[Plastic]

Good goals, especially Ings, solid win. Norwich were awful. Very happy with the result.

Edited 20 June, 2020 by Plastic

[Ashby Saint]

I thought that Ward Prowse showed good hustle in midfield from start to finish. Although his set pieces were a little rusty, I think he’ll make an excellent captain.

[Sheaf Saint]

7 minutes ago, Ashby Saint said:

I thought that Ward Prowse showed good hustle in midfield from start to finish. Although his set pieces were a little rusty, I think he’ll make an excellent captain.

Agreed. I don't think it is a coincidence that our down turn in form occurred when we were forced to move him to RB, and neither is it a coincidence that we (eventually) put in a dominant performance last night with him back in the middle. 

[Saint Pete]

Most impressive thing for me was how much fitter and sharper we looked than Norwich after the sloppy start. Suggests that the players have knuckled down and worked hard at home during the break so well done to them for that 👍. In these opening few games, fitness levels are probably going to be more critical than anything else. Also, good to see Armstrong and Redmond looking impressive in second half, we look so much better going forward now when they are both on the pitch and fit.

[Wes Tender]

27 minutes ago, Chez said:

We were  tad fortunate not to behind early on when Norwich got beyond the press and carved us to bits on the break, but not long after we too charge and it was all us. Our high press was very effective. Norwich overplayed right into our hands, turning the ball over time after time. Our tactics won the day. 

Armstrong makes such a difference. We tend to look flat without him. Great to get him back. Pleased to see Valery back. I just wish he was a little more busy and nasty. He's very comfortable on the ball, but too passive and very casual. I dont think he will change, but to me he just looks like he needs a rocket up his...

Not many gripes. I've never rated Hoj. He gives the ball away far too much when not under any pressure. Poor ball retention kills you in this league. I struggle to see what he does well. I'm not an Obefemi fan either, just controlling the football is an issue and I wonder if he has the quality required. I guess if he puts the ball in the back a net enough the other attributes can be overlooked. The thought of playing Long and Obefemi up front, should Ings get injured, is not exactly inspiring. 

 

I agree with this. Norwich had to win games like this to have any hope of staying up, so they piled on the pressure right from the start and caught us on the back foot. As you say, around the 15 minute mark, we began to hit our stride and  started to keep possession and gradually we took control of the match and improved minute by minute until the end. In the second half, we were playing some good entertaining football and the score could have been a couple of goals more, particularly if Obafemi had the awareness to have passed to a team mate in a scoring position, instead of shooting himself. Tactically, I love the way we play now, the high press in numbers winning possession in dangerous areas.

What a bargain Ings has proven to be. At the start of the season, I had reckoned that he was a poor buy, and would probably spend much of the season in the treatment room, but playing constantly has made him less injury prone and his fitness levels are great, especially after the lockdown. His class shone through; his value to our team this season has been immense. What would he be worth now?

Several players in the team have improved this season under Hasenhuttl, notably Ward-Prowse, Stephens and Redmond. Whether he can also make Obafemi and Valery better players remains to be seen.

[benjii]

31 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

Most impressive thing for me was how much fitter and sharper we looked than Norwich after the sloppy start. Suggests that the players have knuckled down and worked hard at home during the break so well done to them for that 👍. In these opening few games, fitness levels are probably going to be more critical than anything else. Also, good to see Armstrong and Redmond looking impressive in second half, we look so much better going forward now when they are both on the pitch and fit.

Yes, absolutely.

Norwich played intensely for the first twenty minutes or so but by the end looked dead on their feet whilst we were still harrying and pressing.

[Wurzel]

First 15 Minutes - "Shit what's happened to us?"
Remaining 75 Minutes - " This is just too easy"

Not looked at any stats but aafter 15 minutes that was as one sided as any PL game ever gets.  Attacking wise  there were 3 or 4 occasions where we simply had too many options creating momentary indecision and the chance going begging.

Obafemi is still very much in the learning stage, good to  be in a position to give him a full game. Couldn't help thinking if Long had been in some of the positions he found himself he'd have done things differently but that comes with experience and  hopefully SL can pass on some of his knowledge to the youngsters during his extended contract time here.

Watched on the "real" noise channel, was surprised the only clear swearing it picked up was the "FFS" after another crap McCarthy clearance (for which Sky issued an apology 🤣 )  . Have they been told to tone it down or are all the non-English swearing in their native language?

Edited 20 June, 2020 by Wurzel
grammar

[Shroppie]

57 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

Most impressive thing for me was how much fitter and sharper we looked than Norwich after the sloppy start. Suggests that the players have knuckled down and worked hard at home during the break so well done to them for that 👍. In these opening few games, fitness levels are probably going to be more critical than anything else. Also, good to see Armstrong and Redmond looking impressive in second half, we look so much better going forward now when they are both on the pitch and fit.

Saints used very strict online monitoring of fitness training whilst players were at home

[Roo1976]

Just a quick one JWP reminded me of a very youthful Jimmy Gabriel..........he turned out ok

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Tella's debut was a bit of a surprise - he seems to have leap-frogged above other youngsters. Did I read last week he is stalling on signing a new contract?

[suewhistle]

1 hour ago, Wes Tender said:

Several players in the team have improved this season under Hasenhuttl, notably Ward-Prowse, Stephens and Redmond. Whether he can also make Obafemi and Valery better players remains to be seen.

In one report I saw it mentioned RH being heard urging YV forward and O'B to get his head up when playing, and he himself commented that it was normally the same players he had to speak to without saying who. It will be interesting to see what playing without crowds does, if only for the fact it makes touchline coaching easier. For all they are told in training it's always different in a competitive match situation.

[tajjuk]

Outside chance of Europa League on? If Man City's ban gets upheld it'll be 8th, which is 5 points away with hardly the hardest run of fixtures (plus games against Everton, Arsenal, and Sheff Utd who are in the running for those spots)

Maybe reading too much into a good result against a poor Norwich team, but most of our players looked fitter and sharper than I thought the Man Utd, Spurs, and Arsenal players did as well.

Plus no home fans, which is usually a disadvantage for teams, but given our poor home record might not be a bad thing for us. 

Though actually where they would fit qualifiers in might actually not help for next season. 

[SFC Forever]

I was a bundle of nerves for first 10/15 minutes but as team grew into the game I began to enjoy it more. Very happy with the result but wonder why Adams did not replace Obefemi at half time. PEH was not at the races and Valery still worryingly poor at times. Positioning by both not always good.

2nd half was so much better and as the confidence grew in the team leading to our three good goals I was totally relaxed. 

 

Not every week we play a team as poor as Norwich but we gained the three valuable points so job done.

[SaintsFan86]

Before the game I was really nervous, and then Norwich started really brightly. We couldn't even get hold of the ball, and string one pass, i was fearing the usual worse. But we greatly got a foothold and completely dominated. Our players habe so much energy, crazy we didn't make out first sub until 80! Ralph has done a very good job.

[Charlie Wayman]

If you take into account that all clubs have had the same long break and the same time to prepare for this game, this was an outstanding performance by Saints bearing in mind that the other two matches played so far have been yawn-fest lifeless draws. Our players have been rejuvenated and re-motivated and one wonders if Ralph's new commitment to the club has been the catalyst. 

Many on here say that 'yes' BUT Norwich were a very poor side, which smacks a bit of the old chestnut that Saints only beat very poor sides! Nothing could be further from the truth last night as the opening 10 minutes or so showed, we were so slow out of the blocks that we could easily have been swamped. Once we settled,  got a foot on the ball and started to dictate the pace of the game there was only ever going to be one outcome.

Norwich were swept aside by a much better side with superior technical skills and team play and don't forget Norwich were a team fighting for its very survival so it was no easy task to dominate in the way we did on their patch.

Ings, Armstrong and Redmond were outstanding and JWP seems to have made yet another step up in his all round game. Some of the link up play in attack was breath-taking. We looked a lot sharper in attack and much better at taking the chances that we created. Let's hope it becomes a habit and we start scoring for fun again.

Valery & Obafemi deserve some criticism for their poor displays,  there seem to be some lingering confidence issues with both. At times Valery was all at sea with his positioning and marking and Obafemi at times just seems to act like a headless chicken. The other lads need to have chat with him about looking up and around as he's running and not to be too selfish when he thinks he is in a good position to score himself. I was surprised that Ralph started him over Adams to be honest, this could have been the game to provide the goal that he so desperately needs.

For the two minutes or so that Boufal was on his talent shone through like a beacon yet again and his mazy run nearly produced what would have been a stunning debut goal for Tella. I hope he stays, I fear he won't. 

 

 

 

 

[Matthew Le God]

45 minutes ago, SFC Forever said:

 Very happy with the result but wonder why Adams did not replace Obefemi at half time. PEH was not at the races and Valery still worryingly poor at times. Positioning by both not always good.

Hojbjerg did a lot of good work in that game. 14 ball recoveries, 25 successful forward passes, 4 tackles won, 4 successful dribbles, 3 interceptions.

Obafemi was involved in the build up to the 1st goal and had the assist for the 3rd goal.

Just saying... 😉

[S-Clarke]

That was an enjoyable return!

I wasn't really surprised by the first 10 mins, we just needed to feel our way into it - but the reality is that a better side would have done us there, so we need to start quicker. It's been a bit of a handicap of our season. 

After 10-15 mins though we pretty much got to grips with it, took control of the game and that was it. We didn't threaten much in the first half, but as long as we kept control of the game (which we had) and showed a bit more intent in the final third then we'd be sorted.

We showed that intent in the 2nd half, slightly aided by the fact Norwich shrunk after the first goal. 

Overall an enjoyable return and any 'slight' nerves are now put to bed after just the first game back. Pressure is off now, so let's see how we do in the remaining.

[Monk]

Happy with the three points, couple of observations below.

• Slow start
• Valery always has an error in him, Armstrong made a clever tactical foul early on to cover which was fortunate not to receive a card
• Obafemi appeared to work more efficiently out of possession with clever runs to prevent passing lanes
• Found it very odd we didn't make a sub until 80+ minutes

[Pamplemousse]

Just logged onto the new start

I had a feeling that we'd be one of the fitter sides coming back, and that showed. Credit to Hassenhutl and the coaching staff there.

Second half we were superb. Norwich obviously a dross side, Arsenal will be tougher but good to get such a result. I am one happy fan