Saints did what they had to do in cruising to three points.

In truth Saints rarely got into their stride in a game that proved that sometimes match stats can give the wrong impression, in the main this was a one sided game, but Yeovil had the same number of shots on target 5, and only one less off with 4, with 45% possession, the truth of the matter is Saints only looked dodgy when they created their own troubles.

A poor crowd was often quick to get on Saints back and the atmospher was flat, it didnt feel like a team chasing promotion playing at home and this seemed to add a little anxiety to the teams play.

Kelvin Davis especially did not seem confident in distributing the ball, he was clearly under orders to throw the ball out at all times but firstly this is not his strong point and secondly there are some occasions when our back four is closed down and this isnt a good option, but he still diod not seem to want to disobey his manager with the result that at times we put ourselves under pressure.

But in the main we looked confident although to be blunt it was lucky we were playing Yeovil a side who looked just as eager as us to give the ball away cheaply the moment they got it.

Lee Barnard was man of the match for me, not only did he get the first two goals but his tireless running creates options for others not to mention getting free kicks in vital areas, his strike partner Lambert again looked tired and out of sorts.

But whilst it would have been nice to see Saints really strut their stuff as we know that they can do, they never got out of first gear for most of the time, for me the biggest disapointment was Dean Hammond, after his goal at Colchester and a decent display i though that this might be a good night for him to show us why he was rated so highly when we bought him, sadly he looked one paced and didnt take the midfield by the scruff of the neck as he ought to have done.

Davis did not look comfortable, apart from his distribution problems he almost gifted the visitors a goal when under no pressure he almost palmed a simple cross into his own net, luckily it his the bar and we were able to clear.

Adkins also has a selection problem in the centre of defence, having rested Jaidi and finally giving Aaron Martin a league start the centre half looked like a player who needs a game or two to settle in, although in fairness he was no worse than any of his fellow defenders, but in truth he did not have a game where Adkins could not contemplate dropping him for Saturday.

Another plus point was Oscar Gobern, he came into the centre of midfield and looked the part for the final 20 minutes, in the dying moments, he hit a tackle in the centre which we have rarely seen one of our usual midfielders do that wont he ball cleanly and he then slipped through a sublime through ball for Forte that deserved a goal purely for the build up, Forte sadly though made a hash of it.

Gobern showed that we have a player chomping at the bit, in truth we have had several of those who come in and have done well but the manager still prefers to pick those who let us down at crucial moments, I for one feel that Gobern should have played a bigger part in this season. 

In all the most important thing was to gain three points easily and we did that, we can go to Bournemouth with the confidence of a team that knows it can win well when its not firing on all cylinders, it now needs to kick into form.      

Photo: Action Images

SM7 added 17:47 - Mar 9 Good summary,good 3 points and thats what counts at the moment. Why does NA persist with Lambert.He does not look interested and is lazy.He is second to every ball and his main strength his heading has become mediocre. Kelvin Davis is a very experienced keeper and yet when following instructions to feed the ball out he has not got playing sense that dictates sometimes he may need to just kick it out.Prior to Bialkowski being injured he would have been my first choice,great against Blackpool and good distribution. Lee Barnard did not stop running all night and deserved his hat trick, often Lambert was not up with the play because he had dropped so deep.The reason he drops so deep is because he is hiding, too much work. COYR

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