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Saints 2-1 Arsenal - Match Thread

trousers

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ant

ant

Posted
Posted

Just realised the semis are the same day as a Belgian beer event in London, so I was going to be up there anyway. Perfect for a few warmup brews (and hopefully a celebratory one or three). 🍻

ChristopheVAFC

ChristopheVAFC

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hello, everyone.

My sincere congratulations on yesterday’s fine victory.

Building on Tonda Eckert’s outstanding work, you knocked the Gunners out.

Yesterday, I saw a solid performance from a united team that fought for every ball. Even when Arsenal were pressing hard, you showed great solidarity.

You didn’t have many shots on goal, but it was enough to see you through.

Come on lads, just seven league games and two cup matches left to finish the season in the best possible way.

Happy Easter Sunday to you all.

COYR ! 🔥

Edited by ChristopheVAFC
  • Like 25
Sheaf Saint

Sheaf Saint

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

I think that's a bit unfair - he has played (and defended) bloody well the last few games.

In the red button section of the iPlayer post match THB was interviewed and if you haven't seen it, it is well worth a watch. Credits Tonda with giving him some personal positioning coaching which is responsible for having turned around his form this season. Maybe Tonda has given Manning some tips on defending too.

That said Welington can be a great option for us.

He has been much improved, I agree. But he still made a few bad errors last night that on another day could have been costly. You only need to look back at the comments on this thread during the game to see that I'm not alone in thinking that.

I'm just making the point that if he does have to miss the semi final, he's not irreplaceable.

  • Like 1
StrangelyBrown

StrangelyBrown

Posted
Posted

Still can't believe what I watched last night. Saints defending very well against the best the premier League has to offer, every player understanding their role, team spirit, cohesion, clinical finishing, ...

Compare that to the start of the season.

Hats off to Tonda. He's certainly the real deal and my god has he got these players playing - every single one of them were brilliant!

So pleased to see Fellows back to his best and Jander looks like he's getting his mojo back too. Special mention also for Manning who was fantastic defensively despite picking up that yellow card.

  • Like 5
UpweySaint

UpweySaint

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, coalman said:

If I'd seen Manning in team 4 months ago I would've died a little inside. Over the last month and a half that has changed. He seems to be in better positions and making better decisions. Fair play to the lad.

Worth a mention for how well he did despite being on the yellow. He still marshalled an impressive Dowman well - much the same when Madueke came on.  I’ve not been his biggest fan but he’s looked a lot more defensively solid of late - maybe genuine competition an a bit of confidence, almost definitely good coaching based on the way the team are talking. 
 

Just while I’m on yellow cards. How on earth Ben White didn’t get one was beyond me. Lots of niggly fouls on a frustrating night for the lad.

 

  • Like 7
markr27

markr27

Posted
Posted (edited)

A comment that bemused me yesterday elsewhere before the game predicted that the Saints players would all have gone to the barbers beforehand to make sure they look their best on "their big day on TV."

Looking at the highlights.... maybe a couple actually did :)

Edited by markr27
OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint

OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Badger said:

56 years for me and agree with this. Easily one of -  if not - the best at St Mary’s.

People comparing it to West Brom which from my poor memory was the best I have been to in recent years...but was in the Northam that day and the concourse was buzzing, while yesterday was in the Itchen so difficult to compare.

But certainly one of the most enjoyable games I've ever been to. Makes it all worthwhile supporting a team like Saints when these days come around every now and then.

  • Like 3
Danbert

Danbert

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

That's only if they're on one, so that picking up a 2nd in the semi final doesn't ban you from the final. 

Manning is suspended, so hopefully Welington is fit for the end of the month.

Wellington is supposedly already fit now

whelk

whelk

Posted
Posted

Brilliant night, great atmosphere. Always lovely getting messages from non-Saints supporting mates who clearly watched on BBC and were impressed. Now to watch it again. 

  • Like 1
Saint NL

Saint NL

Posted
Posted

So by my count, We've got as many wins against Premier League teams this year, as we did in the whole of last season 😂

  • Like 2
  • Haha 10
hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted

I said to a mate last night it's like that feeling you get watching football when you're a child and you win a game that for a moment your team is the best in the whole world. Magical moments like that are why we watch football. This season will be remembered fondly for the moments from this game if nothing else.

  • Like 8
Stripey McStripe Shirt

Stripey McStripe Shirt

Posted
Posted
On 09/03/2026 at 21:48, Stripey McStripe Shirt said:

By the time this game comes around it'll be the lowest priority game left of their season, and they'll be on a downer having just lost the League cup final. 

Already looking forward to who we will be drawn against in the semis.

Never in doubt. See you at Wembley for the semi and for the final.

  • Like 2
Lord Duckhunter

Lord Duckhunter

Posted
Posted

Every single player was magnificent, every one played at the level they are capable of and it was a throughly deserved victory. I can’t remember too many games where you couldn’t look at anyone and say “he was slightly off today”, but today was one of those.
 

The big thing Tonda got right was the mental attitude, Managers talk about concentrating on one game at a time, but rarely do. To me we went into this game with the attitude that this was a one off, rather than “let’s do our best, but we’ve got a big game Tuesday”. Whereas they defo had a one eye on Tuesday vibe. 

Whilst they all put in great performances, I thought Tom Fellowes deserves a special mention, he’s been off it a bit lately, but he was superb and it can’t be easy to play against such a good side when you’re in a bit of a dip. I’ll tell you who else looks a different player, Wood. He was a disaster waiting to happen week in week out, but he looks a decent player now and he hasn’t had that much game time. 

  • Like 16
badgerx16

badgerx16

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

So by my count, We've got as many wins against Premier League teams this year, as we did in the whole of last season 😂

So when we lift the cup we will have doubled that stat.

John Boy Saint

John Boy Saint

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, whelk said:

Brilliant night, great atmosphere. Always lovely getting messages from non-Saints supporting mates who clearly watched on BBC and were impressed. Now to watch it again. 

Me too my phone was pinging like mad at the final whistle

trousers

trousers

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 minute ago, Toadhall Saint said:

Should have been booked

Indeed. And anyone fathomed yet how the Arsenal player doesn't get sent off for shoving the ref?

  • Like 2
sambosa75

sambosa75

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Badger said:

Everton, spurs ?? 

Not even close.  Arsenal TV exhibit A, your honour…. Having lived in London for 14 years there really is no-one else like them.  Genuinely lacking football knowledge, overblown opinions of themselves, complete arrogance and the biggest cry babies when things don’t go their way.  Spent the past 20 years looking down their noses at,  moaning about and struggling against direct sides like Bolton and Stoke yet now they are doing it themselves, Arteta is some tactical genius.  As a set of fans they literally don’t have any redeeming features whatsoever.

Edited by sambosa75
  • Like 1
lambtiss

lambtiss

Posted
Posted

Well, that was incredible. I woke up at 6 this morning, still buzzing and desperate to watch the winner from Charles, on repeat. 

There seemed to be something special in the air last night, even before the match started. As we approached the Stadium about 15 minutes before KO, you could hear the noise growing, which ascended to a crescendo as the fireworks commenced. A huge round of "Owen the Saints" stopped and then started again when a yellow-shirted supporter (ex-player?) grabbed the microphone and led a decibel-breaking last chorus before the match commenced.

The atmosphere was off the charts, louder than the West Brom play-off, for sure.   

Every player did their part, and nobody could be faulted (yes, there was the odd mistake, but that will always happen). Cameron Bragg was immense, so calm and assured for someone so young. I'm really looking forward to seeing him develop over the next few seasons. Finn Azaz was elegant, probing, and always a threat. Taylor was lion-hearted as always and looked imperious, marshalling Wood at the back, no doubt confident that if the line was breached, they had Peretz in goal behind them. Stewart gave Gabriel the run-around more than once and seemed to find another yard or two of space, what a pity we have been robbed of seeing more pitch-time from him, he is a very complete striker. Scienza was a constant nuisance to the Arsenal back line, although his end product let him down on the night; it was great to see him standing on the halfway line when Arsenal had a corner. Great to see Fellows back to his best, with direct running, capped off with a measured pass for the winning goal. Surely his debut goal must come soon. Casper seemed to be everywhere, and made numerous interceptions, keeping the Arsenal midfield harried and under pressure.

And, finally, we were rewarded with the perfect ending. It was such a relief to leave the Stadium with the warm glow of victory, rather than wondering what might have been. The Stadium was still full, 10 minutes after the whistle went, as the players did a lap of the pitch and everyone sung their hearts out for the lads.

Surely, this must be something to build upon, what an end to a season,that promised so little under Will. Still, it could be.

A huge week coming up, let's take this support and form to Wrexham and go again. 

COYR !!!!!!!

  • Like 12
Tamesaint

Tamesaint

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, sambosa75 said:

Not even close.  Arsenal TV exhibit A, your honour…. Having lived in London for 14 years there really is no-one else like them.  Genuinely lacking football knowledge, overblown opinions of themselves, complete arrogance and the biggest cry babies when things don’t go their way.  Spent the past 20 years looking down their noses at,  moaning about and struggling against direct sides like Bolton and Stoke yet now they are doing it themselves, Arteta is some tactical genius.  As a set of fans they literally don’t have any redeeming features whatsoever.

When I lived in North London in the 80s it was Tottenham fans who were the worst. Great opinion of themselves. "Such a big club". Cant wait to see them in the Championship. 

  • Like 1
macca155

macca155

Posted
Posted

I have no voice this morning, but wrecked. 60 years of supporting Saints and that game was right up there.

Quite subdued in the concourse beforehand, I guess we were anticipating a bit of mauling. 2 minutes in and the crowd just exploded with noise, as Fellows skinned his defender, and we realised that Saints were going to go for it.

You could feel the belief cascading from the stands and no doubt the players felt that too.

No hanging on yesterday, that was a comprehensive win, and needs to be savoured. Right up there with beating Liverpool 4 1, the classic 6 3 humiliation of Utd, and of course 1976.

I thought Bragg, Manning and Wood had great games, but for me Finn Azaz was imperious in midfield. He constantly broke up their attacks and set up our forwards. What an important player he is now.

Better start saving for Wembley trip(s).

The only negative is that the game was on BBC1  at prime time. there is no hiding Tonda now. A lot of eyes will be on him.

  • Like 2
BranfootsLoveChild

BranfootsLoveChild

Posted
Posted

Watching Sunday Supplement on Sky. Fuck me. All they've said is it wasn't Arsenals first choice 11. Fuck off. That team SHOULD have been strong enough. Saints played them off the park and really deserved the win. We beat one of the best teams in Europe. I havn't heard anyone on Sky say how good Saints were. The bias is astounding. COYS!

  • Like 7
EssEffCee

EssEffCee

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

It didn't properly pick up till after the 2nd but to be fair to the fans I think it might have just been a case of thinking "ok cool, but we all know what's going to happen here". After the 2nd the atmosphere changed completely and there was actual belief about the place.

The atmosphere didn't pick up until the 2nd goal? In the 85th minute?

Complete fucking nonsense mush.

  • Like 2
VectisSaint

VectisSaint

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Not before the 2nd goal it wasn't. As Trousers said though, maybe it was just the BBC mics - wouldn't be surprised if they just had them set up by the Arsenal fans and nowhere else.

BBC pundits and commentators were praising the support throughout and saying the atmosphere was electric. Richards was overwhelmed by the crowd. Maybe the mics didn't pick everything up but it came over pretty good in my opinion.

  • Like 7
Saint_clark

Saint_clark

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

The atmosphere didn't pick up until the 2nd goal? In the 85th minute?

Complete fucking nonsense mush.

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

EssEffCee

EssEffCee

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

I don't need to watch the BBC coverage to judge the atmosphere, TV is always a poor way to judge for various reasons.

It had a couple of quiet periods, the ten minutes or so before the first goal when we couldn't get out and for 5-10 minutes after they scored but you'll always get lulls.

In the main it was excellent for most of the game though. There absolutely was not 'long periods of silence'.

Edited by EssEffCee
  • Like 4
Appy

Appy

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

You’re wrong I’m afraid. Whole game was up there, if not better than West Brom. 

  • Like 6
hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

It didn't properly pick up till after the 2nd but to be fair to the fans I think it might have just been a case of thinking "ok cool, but we all know what's going to happen here". After the 2nd the atmosphere changed completely and there was actual belief about the place.

Were you at the game? Because I was in the Northam and I can tell you now that is categorically bollocks. Obviously slightly quieter when Arsenal equalised but otherwise it was constant singing and support throughout.

  • Like 4
Dr Who?

Dr Who?

Posted
Posted

The first derby match v the skates in the league cup was one of the best atmospheres at SMS. The pure hate and the number of years we had not played them helped. I remember it being loud all the way through. 

  • Like 2
S-Clarke

S-Clarke

Posted
Posted

What an incredible night, I struggled to sleep all night after that. Adrenaline pumping.

Often in these sorts of games you need a bit of luck to win it, but I thought we were actually unlucky - Leo through and making an extra touch, Leo hitting the bar. It was fully deserved, it wasn't a smash or grab and certainly wasn't a backs to the wall job - it was played like two PL teams if I'm honest. That was the best atmosphere I've heard at St Mary's, the WBA game was up there last year - but this was even better for me, I guess the 'late' winner somewhat makes it more dramatic!

Leo had a decent game - although not his best in my eyes. I thought Bree was outstanding, ditto Jander - those two did some very 'quiet' but effective jobs tonight, we were so hard to break through and they were quite often the reason.

This isn't a comparison with Poch's team by the way, but...this is well as we've been coached for many a year, everything is coordinated. The press, the block, the transitions - it's slick as butter, and that's not through luck - it's a really strong foundation and a well coached team who know where and what they're supposed to be doing, so all the credit to Tonda for me as he's made us look like we know what we're doing.

I always had a feeling that the Leicester game would be defining, you cannot underestimate the amount of belief that has given everyone and it's such a unique circumstance - so we've got to feed on that for as long as we can. 

Maybe we can move our home ground to Wembley for May?

  • Like 6
whelk

whelk

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

The atmosphere was superb throughout - whilst it is great if that comes through on tv it is irrelevant as actual atmosphere spurs on the players.

Dr Who?

Dr Who?

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

Funny you should say this, but they do engineer the microphones for the drama in a game. I’m sure they were fully up to build the excitement at the end. It does not reflect the noise in the ground, the can muffle sound and even block it out in the case of swearing in sounds. 

So you never get the proper atmosphere on the tv ever. I had a friend who worked in this area I think for the BBC. 

  • Like 2
Stripey McStripe Shirt

Stripey McStripe Shirt

Posted
Posted
31 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Feel free to watch back the full BBC broadcast and see the long periods of absolute silence for yourself. As I said in another post maybe the mic positions didn't pick it up properly but the fact that it did come across loud and clear after the 2nd says that it wasn't quite as loud before that as people are thinking. 

Even the commentators were praising the atmosphere long before the second goal. 

UpweySaint

UpweySaint

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, trousers said:

Indeed. And anyone fathomed yet how the Arsenal player doesn't get sent off for shoving the ref?

I was okay with a yellow for that. It was daft and deserved a card but he’s just trying to get on with the free kick and oversteps the mark. Either way good to see we had them rattled!

  • Like 3
Oldandtired

Oldandtired

Posted
Posted (edited)

What. a. night. Thank you Saints.

I like THB as captain, he seems to have matured a lot lately. I also like the way he was in the ref's ear a lot, presumably putting our point across to counter Artetea's constant whingeing.

One other thing, do they manage by committee at the Arse? there seemed to be an awful lot of bodies in their Tec area at times.

Edited by Oldandtired
  • Like 3

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