No one said it was going to be easy staying up in second place and again Saints had to stay calm and collected and win the game when they had the chance to.

Saints opened a massive 8 point gap between themselves and Arsenal in 5th place, that may change on Sunday, but even if the Gunners should win their game this weekend it would still mean that their will be a 7 point gap between that vital 5th place spot.

The first reaction of many was that Leicester came to St Mary's to defend, that certainly looked the case but you have to ask the question whether that was their choice or whether it was more out of neccessity as Saints attacking style forces most teams on to their back foot.

Again it was a good display from Saints who have the ability to attack from all areas be it the strength of Pelle up front, the pace of Mane on one side or the guile of Tadic on the other, then you have the three central midfielders and if that isn't enough the two full backs rampage on the overlap and are great crossers of the ball, add the height of Fonte and Alderweireld at set pieces etc and just about the only person who doesn't pose an attacking threat is Fraser Forster although his distribution is quick and accurate so that is probably not strictly true.

It was a game that Saints dominated as was shown by the 65% possession and 18 shots compared to the visitors 5, but the issue was that the Foxes weren't letting us get a real sight of goal in the first half and chances were few and far between with Sadio Mane whizzing a shot just over the bar being just about the only real good chance before the break.

After the break it was more of the same and the only question would be whether Leicester could hold on, last season this was a game we could have easily lost with a lack of concentration, but we kept on doing the basics and working the ball forward and of course the main difference between now and last term is that we have a plan B.

That came in the 68th minute when Ronald Koeman took off Sadio Mane and brought on Shane Long, some Saints fans were surprised by this, Mane had probably looked our best chance of a goal and indeed had had an effort ruled out for offside, TV replays showing this was the correct decision.

It didn't take Long long to change the game, 7 minutes to be precisely and the goal was a shining example of how Saints work the ball forward and put sides under pressure, Wanyama slid a ball up the line to Jack Cork who put in a good cross to Pelle in the box, the Italian held it up well and then found Shane Long who had made the right run at the right time and he then curled the ball round the outstretched Schmeichel.

When strikers score they often go on little bouts of scoring and Long took only another 5 minutes to get his 2nd Premier league goal for the club, it looked a mile offside, however Long had timed his run perfectly and cooly slotted the ball under the keeper to seal the win for Saints.

The last 10 minutes were now comfortable, the pressure was off Saints and they concentrated on closing out the game and not do anything stupid, although just about Leicester's only real threat came with 2 minutes left when Jose Fonte got caught napping when the Foxes returned a clearance down the centre and Wood found himself goal side of Fonte and bearing down on Forster one on one, the keeper came out made himself big and Wood shot wide.

The last kick of the match almost saw Long make it a hat trick, it wasn't to be but the three points were safely in the bag and the crowd left St Mary's once again with a big smile on their face.

Man of the match had several contenders, if we look at the full 90 minutes it would have to be again Victor Wanyama, last season his competitve steel was never in doubt however hsi control and passing were, now suddenly he has a composure about him gained from having a season in the Premier under his belt and his distribution is now excellent, if we go over the 90 minutes then Wanyama has to be MOM.

However there is another case and that is Shane Long, some have questioned why we paid so much for Long, but we paid the price because we need someone of his quality to offer us options, he was just the player needed at that time, someone who can offer pace and can finish. for the first 70 minutes we had plenty of pace and passing but we just lacked that bit of finishing, Long came on and offered us that, watch the TV highlights and see the little runs he makes to pull defenders out of position, his first goal was typical of that, a run one way to make the gap for the ball to be played into Pelle and then losing his man to give that option for Pelle to find him and enable him to finish with aplomb.

All in all though another satisfying win, one that we needed to grind out and we will find over the season we will have to do that a lot as sides suddenly start to fear us and are not prepared to attack us as they were last season, the Sunderland game sent out a warning to the other clubs and since then we have found the likes of Stoke and now Leicester not willing to risk coming out at us and be murdered on the counter attack.

It was also another win were it was a real team effort, from the manager who again showed why he is not a one trick pony with the right change at the right time, right down through the side were every man did his job, if there is one reason why we have been so good this season it is because we are carrying no passengers, every man has a job to do and does it well.

The league table is a joy to look at, we now have two weeks to enjoy it before our trip to Villa, win that and we set ourselves up nicely for some real tests up to Christmas where we have the chance to make this season really special.

Photo: Action Images

schatfield added 13:16 - Nov 9 good article. I will be honest, as time went on, I didnt see us winning that game, Leicester seemed to have us pegged back and we appeared a bit leggy, but then came Long on, and he looked very fresh. Took both goals superbly. Great result.
0

ChristchurchSaint added 13:18 - Nov 9 Nice comments Nick- I think that there were several things to take into account- Leicester came for a point, parking 2 lines of four across the pitch and challenging us to get through them. The wet weather did not help either, although we are getting to the time where that will often be the case! Tadic and Mane did not have the best of games (hopefully saving their better games for a few weeks time!) and last year we would have had to settle for a point or even worse, we would have conceded in the last few minutes. I think this shows our progress and shows that RoKo has options to change things, unlike last years' one trick manager.

0

thegeneral added 13:27 - Nov 9 In the first half i felt one good ball in and we'd score, delivery into the box wasn't that great tho. Bertram and Marne worked very well together down the left hand side and i was willing Marne to drive into the box, he's so fast and tricky a trailing Leicester leg could easily lead to a penalty. Clyne had acres of space down the right and constantly made himself available and remained an attacking threat throughout the game. Wanyama though was immense, i agree his distribution has improved massively, i think he just needed a season to get the pace of the league and i think Marne with a season behind him will be a huge player.

1

saintstuinoz added 13:45 - Nov 9 I thought Bertrand was fantastic, and would be a MoM contender for me. How long before an England call up? Delighted for Long, who really grafts every time he plays. Another winnable game in two weeks versus villa, abs then we're in to the big boys.... Bring them on!
1

saintstuinoz added 13:45 - Nov 9 *and
0

SingaporeSaint added 14:10 - Nov 9 Good report. Great to secure another deserved dominant win. Wanyama is sensational at the moment. It may be Koeman's coaching but he looks so much better than last season. People are not talking about Bertrand either who is the best left back in the league by some way - how he isn't in the England squad is almost a crime. Would you swap him for Baines? Definitely not. Great for Long - superb goals and all action effort. Mane looked like he wouldn't score if he'd been playing for a month. Tadic had a poor delivery day too yesterday. Shows how far we have come that our front 3 don't have a good day and we dominate a 2 goal win. Future is bright...

0

Scummer added 16:07 - Nov 9 Another satisfying win. Wanyama and Bertrand were my MotM contenders. Such once and so many good crosses from Bertrand, and Wanyama's touch and passing were excellent, as well as his solid break up play. Tadic, Pelle, Mane weren't quite hitting the heights, although Mane was still causing them problems. But you were right - Long's movement and pace are very intelligent. He must be an absolute nightmare to defend against.

0

ThereIn76 added 16:40 - Nov 9 Tadic was finding it hard on the slippery pitch to get the weight of his passes right, so he looked like he was having a less good game. I feel sure his Berkovic-like precision will soon return. Wanyama is well on the way to becoming a world class player. Bertrand would be great for England. His only problem is some teenage left back at Man Utd who's starting to show his quality again . . .

2

ThereIn76 added 16:41 - Nov 9 Also has anybody noticed that we have the joint best (along with QPR) disciplinary record in the Premier League?
1

Consigliere added 17:58 - Nov 9 Having enjoyed watching Spurs lose this afternoon I was moved to check my understanding of the word "Schadenfreude" . Wikipedia tells us that it is "The pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others" The word is taken from German and literally means "harm-joy." It is the feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune. How better to describe Saints fans pleasure at the fortunes of Spurs and their new manager, Liverpool and their recently acquired players, Arsenal and their…….. (you get the idea). I was also interested to learn the Buddhist word "Mudita" which means the pleasure one derives from the success of others. Take a bow Swansea, Bournemouth, Eastleigh…….

0

SaintDownUnder added 18:47 - Nov 9 What a brilliant set of results for saints this weekend.... Accepting that Chelsea will probably win the league by 10+ points then city, arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all dropping points was helpful. If we beat villa then how much pressure will City be under to get a result against us given we'll be at least 7points clear of them when we play...... They'll more than likely of been knocked out the champions league and played mid week that week too.

1

theholsaints added 20:09 - Nov 9 11 games in and 11 more points than MoPo's splurs!!! Can't wait till united, city, arsenal and #1 v #2...bring it on!!
0

SaintNick50 added 23:48 - Nov 9 I will not accept that Chelski will win the league by 10 points. They are 4 points ahead of us, but have to play us twice. Win at St Marys + draw at The Bridge or vice-versa and we have them on goal difference! What it is to dream?
1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Brentford Polls