Saints 2-1 Derby - Saturday 3pm

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Well deserved result.

Sometimes, it has to be dug out. Not from lack of willingness, and certainly not work, it wasn't working for Stewart, Fellows or Azaz finishing today.

That's when others need to step up. And our game changer, Leo, did just that.

Our other tried and tested outlet, in THB got the winner.

And really, we should have got more at the end. 

Even a goal back you could see the usual industry going in. Downes and Jander both did really well running that game. Where it was Bree working hard, but without a finish, Manning moved up to assist.

Rather than change all the things that were working, credit to Tonda for faith in like for like changes. 

Larin seems to be picking up a little pace. Like Aribo, it can wipe him out. There were some moments he didn't want it.  Just to have 2 players who can give us a shape up front has made so much difference.

Edozie looking sharper. Our finishers need to sort out where they should be, so those crosses can reach people. On the other side, Matsuki linked things together nicely, when he came on. Great to see him develop into a key first team player.

Lots of good things from everyone, just waiting for the finishing to click. Everyone confident, capable and focused.

[pimpin4rizeal]

Best game jander has had for ages imo tons of quick breaks came from him and played a lovely ball near the end 

[James G]

I thought Derby did well in the circumstances, that's how they play and they gave it a go. I thought we should have probably had a goal in the first half.

Second half they faded a bit and we did enough to win, which is all we need to do. It was an off day but we still won

[saintant]

46 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Did I mention that since I said we’d never lose again we are, in fact, unbeaten?

You are not getting the credit you deserve. All the plaudits are going to Tonda and the players.

[SambaMaverick]

Jander was unbelievable today, finally outshone Downes which has been hard to do in recent weeks

[TheSoundman]

Fellowes needs one to go in off his arse

[PerthshireSaint]

1 minute ago, TheSoundman said:

Fellowes needs one to go in off his arse

Read that completely wrong the first time 

[stknowle]

46 minutes ago, CylonKing said:

Thought Latin a different class to Stewart when he came on. Flynn probably best player today.

Hmmm not too sure about different class but I will say that Larin starting, bulldozing the oppo defence for an hour, then the more refined Stewart coming on and taking advantage of the thus battered defence is looking like the best option. 

[TheSoundman]

1 minute ago, PerthshireSaint said:

Read that completely wrong the first time 

You're probably not alone 😂

It just seems if he has time to think he misses it, if there's no time to think he misses it.  Someone else needs to strike it properly and deflect in off any part of his anatomy. Face, chest, arse, even all 3, as long as it bloody goes in.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 minutes ago, TheSoundman said:

Fellowes needs one to go in off his arse

Sunday at St Mary's...

Right Tom. This is Mr Mesmero. He is going to convince you that  you are Scott Marshall. Then we will put you in the opponent's penalty area...

[OneMrsWallace]

58 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Did I mention that since I said we’d never lose again we are, in fact, unbeaten?

Did you slaughter a goat? 😄

[Holmes_and_Watson]

7 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

Jander was unbelievable today, finally outshone Downes which has been hard to do in recent weeks

Downes was also great today. Just that you expect MVP stuff from him.

[TheSoundman]

2 minutes ago, stknowle said:

Hmmm not too sure about different class but I will say that Larin starting, bulldozing the oppo defence for an hour, then the more refined Stewart coming on and taking advantage of the thus battered defence is looking like the best option. 

Agree. Tonda got that the wrong way round today. Larin and Matsuki should have started and Stewart and Fellowes come on for them after 60.

[Jimmy_D]

Up to fourth being in our own hands at things stand!

Just three results needed outside our control to have an outside chance of automatics, albeit two needed from Ipswich.

Unlikely, but nonetheless, huge stride taken towards the playoffs today!

[Midfield_General]

Brilliant result. How long can we keep this unbelievable run going? Amazing stuff

[stknowle]

34 minutes ago, TheSoundman said:

Agree. Tonda got that the wrong way round today. Larin and Matsuki should have started and Stewart and Fellowes come on for them after 60.

Indeed. I was surprised to see Stewart starting. It just works well him coming on and taking advantage of a tired defence.

[LGTL]

Someone please sort this fucking website out! Looks like Steve spent all our dosh on a trip to the World Cup. 

Thought we were excellent second half. Our squad is so strong I just can’t see anyone living with us in the playoffs. 

[die Mannyschaft]

Much better when 1st goal. 2nd header decent too. I suppose if you create loads of chances sooner of later 2 must ho in. Credit to the players they hot out of a tricky situation.  Plenty of fowls by Derby as usual. 

[Sheaf Saint]

1 minute ago, die Mannyschaft said:

Plenty of fowls by Derby as usual. 

While I'm sure there's nothing in the laws of the game specifically about releasing chickens onto the pitch, I'm pretty sure it would be classed as unsportsmanlike behaviour.

[spyinthesky]

The swirling wind made quite a difference and I think this aided Derby more in the first half than us and as they got tired, our classier players came more to the fore.
Downes and Jander were excellent I thought and the back four continued to do well again.
Referee let a lot of things go but was relatively even handed in his decisions.

[Turkish]

44 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Brilliant result. How long can we keep this unbelievable run going? Amazing stuff

Forever?

[Turkish]

7 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Someone please sort this fucking website out! Looks like Steve spent all our dosh on a trip to the World Cup. 

Thought we were excellent second half. Our squad is so strong I just can’t see anyone living with us in the playoffs. 

The mods end of season curry night looks at risk, no wonder lighthouse has started posting weird stuff again to get the forum post count up 

[stknowle]

6 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Someone please sort this fucking website out! Looks like Steve spent all our dosh on a trip to the World Cup. 

Thought we were excellent second half. Our squad is so strong I just can’t see anyone living with us in the playoffs. 

Not just me getting the ol’ bad gateway treatment then. Reassuring.

[adrian lord]

Fantastic to login and see this result and read the thread! 

[Patrick Bateman]

Just got back home, weird first half, weird atmosphere, REALLY flat, almost nervous feeling. But from the second half that was brilliant and rightly the ground also picked up.   Perfect subs, great game plan, Eckert and his team really have got something about them, awesome.

Scienza's goal was wonderful - the relief around the ground when that went in, wonderful feeling. 

Bring on Blackburn!

 

[stknowle]

9 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

 Plenty of fowls by Derby as usual. 

There were, but we definitely chickened out of a few challenges.

[Patrick Bateman]

11 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Someone please sort this fucking website out! Looks like Steve spent all our dosh on a trip to the World Cup. 

Thought we were excellent second half. Our squad is so strong I just can’t see anyone living with us in the playoffs. 

I saw Steve today, looking shifty as I drove past him on Bedford Place 😂

[Wade Garrett]

Jander MOTM today.  Downes was very good as well.

Good that we can beat dirty fucking teams ugly as well.

[Miltonaggro]

Just back stayed for a couple of pints and watch the great band they had on. Derby, typical established Champs side, physical and direct, like Norwich ref needed to card one of their players first 20 mins. Saints should have been well ahead at half time, but Azaz and Stewart were having a major off day. I watched Jander and Downes in midfield closely. The former had a great game but the latter to my eyes was MOM, complete combative central midfielder, FD held that team together today. Mention in dispatches to Larin who unsettled the Derby defence within a minute of coming on - shows how much we have missed that type of player. Saints won relatively ugly today at a canter, sign of a really good side. 

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

I saw Steve today, looking shifty as I drove past him on Bedford Place 😂

That’s his normal look

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Big relief to pull that one out of the bag. Difference for me was Larin coming on, he gave their centre backs much more of a problem than Stewart did. Thought Jander had a great game.

[Miltonaggro]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

That’s his normal look

Fame does that to people 😔

[Disco Stu]

Good second half performance to grind out the result. Jander played well and the substitutions improved us. Tonda will have a big task managing the squad until the end of the season but he's doing a good job so far 

On a side note, that "we are Derby" chant must be the worst chant in football. And we get accused of only having one song! Didn't hear a peep from them after we scored though.

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

1 hour ago, Jimmy_D said:

Up to fourth being in our own hands at things stand!

Just three results needed outside our control to have an outside chance of automatics, albeit two needed from Ipswich.

Unlikely, but nonetheless, huge stride taken towards the playoffs today!

We play Ipswich at home so one of those is within our control!

[Saint Pete]

The Wrexham performance was obviously more eye catching but I think today is the one that shows how far this team have come on. This was exactly the kind of game against an ugly physical opposition that we would previously have dropped points in, particularly after the setback of going behind. But the way we found a way to turn it around speaks volumes for the confidence and steel that Tonda has instilled in these players. There was no panic, just a determination and belief that we would find the quality to come back and get the 3 points. 

Scienza's star quality was key for the vital equaliser of course but my MotM  by a mile was Flynn Downes who was absolutely outstanding from start to finish. He was the heartbeat of the team today and won so many challenges where he seemed second favourite. Also thought Jander had his best game for a while alongside him, always felt we had superiority in the middle of the pitch, even in the 1st half. 

[SNSUN]

Forum is spazzing out. Not surprised after fans of other clubs want a piece of us following our recent form.

[St. Ciervo]

2 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Pompey! 

 

2 hours ago, East Kent Saint said:

Portsmouth score 0-1 now !!!

 

2 hours ago, SNSUN said:

Pompey late winner!!!!

This is why the site crashed.

[RedArmy]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

no wonder lighthouse has started posting weird stuff again to get the forum post count up 

He stopped? 

[Lighthouse]

2 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

He stopped? 

I was just posting a crazy bunch of nonsense about how finishing second was massively unlikely and that we'd be better off not having to face Ipswich in the playoffs. Completely loopy stuff obviously, I'm off my meds again.

[trousers]

2 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I was just posting a crazy bunch of nonsense about how finishing second was massively unlikely and that we'd be better off not having to face Ipswich in the playoffs. Completely loopy stuff obviously, I'm off my meds again.

Keep deleting my posts though...

[markr27]

Was this the Huddersfield / MK Dons moment of the this season at St. Marys? Time will tell.

[Dr Who?]

4 hours ago, Mr X said:

We struggle against the physical teams 

Not true. Wrexham are one of the most physical sides. The championship is very physical overall. We would not be on a run like this if we did struggle. 

[stknowle]

3 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I was just posting a crazy bunch of nonsense about how finishing second was massively unlikely and that we'd be better off not having to face Ipswich in the playoffs. Completely loopy stuff obviously, I'm off my meds again.

Nothing about Peretz definitely not being an upgrade on Bazunu then…….?

[SaintTex]

want to give some love to TBH. He is having a fantastic season. 7 goals, his through ball passing has been top notch, and all around play has really improved.

past seasons we would really really have sweated out those last 20 minutes. i dont remember being worried once that Derby was going to level it up.

[Saint NL]

2 hours ago, TheSoundman said:

Fellowes needs one to go in off his arse

The Portsmouth winner today went in off his knob, so Fellows knows what he has to do against Blackburn 

 

[bpsaint]

3 hours ago, saintant said:

Good set of results today. Ok Ipswich won but I think 2nd place was always going to be a stretch. Great to get a win over the kings of shithousery! Showed resilience to come back from a goal down against a physical side. 36 points out of a possible 42 in 14 games 🙂

Dunno if many others saw it, but talking of shithousery, Captain Jack offering the ball to their time wasting keeper during the celebrations for the second was Partridge levels of great banter.

What a goal from Leo, shades of Pahars against the skates also in front of the Northam.

[RedArmy]

46 minutes ago, markr27 said:

Was this the Huddersfield / MK Dons moment of the this season at St. Marys? Time will tell.

Leicester was that moment. 
 

0-1 to 2-1 isn’t exactly uncommon 

[markr27]

1 minute ago, RedArmy said:

Leicester was that moment. 
 

0-1 to 2-1 isn’t exactly uncommon 

I guess not but first time we've done it since Wrexham on the first game of the season (I think?!)

[Sir Ralph]

THB was MoM
 

I thought that fellows was unproductive again today. Doesn’t threaten his full back nearly enough. He needs to be told to drive at him more

Edited 15 hours ago by Sir Ralph

[SNSUN]

9 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Leicester was that moment. 
 

0-1 to 2-1 isn’t exactly uncommon 

Yep that Leicester result really spurred us on. Part of me thinks that without that Charles winner he wouldn't have attempted the awesome shot against Oxford. Confidence breeds confidence.