Perhaps the best performance under Ralph Hasenhuttl saw Saints deservedly win at Stamford Bridge and in doing so move up to 14th in the table.

For perhaps the first team this season Saints completely cut out the major errors and in doing so gained a win that few Saints supporters would have laid money on and possibly not even a single neutral.

Saints were lambs to the slaughter according to the media, all the talk was about their great win at Spurs and how they were now going to move up the table and into the top 4, but Saints had a game plan and it was for the first time this season implemented from the first minute to the very last and the errors of the last few months were completely cut out.

Some raised their eyes at Danny Ings on the bench and Obafemi and Adams up front, but as I predicted in the preview I felt that Ralph Hasenhuttl might just have a surprise up his sleeve.

Adams had the better game but Obafemi took the plaudits with a superbly taken goal.

But fair play to Che Adams he got stuck in and held the ball up, created space and chances and won vital free kicks.

The longer the game went on the more we grew in confidence, in the final 20 minutes we didn't panic and tried to play our way out of trouble and Chelsea barely troubled Alex McCarthy to the final minutes when a free kick was dealt with easily.

This was a team performance though and it was hard to pick a man of the match but personally I agreed with the pundits that if everyone else was 9/10 then James Ward Prowse was 9.5.

Holding the midfield with Hojbjerg he tackled like a terrier and used the ball well whether it was short or long, he like several others had their best games of the season.

Special mention also to Jack Stephens who if Villa was his best game in a Saints shirt he surpassed that at Stamford Bridge, perhaps the threat of a January signing is spurring him on.

So Saints are now up to 14th, still only 3 points above the drop zone, but leapfrogging several teams for the first time in quite a while actually being the highest placed South Coast team.

Now we can move forward with a team that has regained it's pride, regained it's confidence and but for errors in 3 out of the last 5 away games would be 10th this evening, which shows tat we are not as bad as some would have had you believe.

We have used the defeat to Leicester in a positive way and both team and manager have learned lessons.

A year ago after 19 games we were 15th with 15 points this season we are a full 6 points better off and although the gap between us and 18th is still the same ie 3 points, we are a lot closer to the finishing line than a year ago and we can get closer if in our next two games we can replicate our away performances at St Mary's

Photo: Action Images

SNAILOB added 10:33 - Dec 27 It's good to see Ralph return to similar style of football that we started the season with. We tend to perform better when playing a pressing game. When the doubts set in he played too deep with 5 defenders and 3 deep playing midfielders. I think having the legs of Armstrong in midfield helps bring players like JWP and Redmond more forward. Also benefiting Stephens who has brought the ball out from the back quite confidently in the last couple of games. Overall, nice to see Saints on the front foot rather than the back foot. Long may it continue.

2

ElSanto added 12:47 - Dec 27 Obafemi is NOT British, Dirk Doone. He's 100% Irish. Great match. Next games can't come soon enough. Thought Armstrong made a huge difference. It's nice to have a player in our midfield who is slightly more attack minded who isn't an out and out winger with pace. Fair play to Che. And the whole team was fantastic.
0

saintmark1976 added 12:59 - Dec 27 I appreciate that I will be called a killjoy but I take the risk. Let's all not get too carried away. Chelsea have been beaten at home by Bournemouth and West Ham recently so clearly they are not the team they used to be. We remain only three points above the relegation zone with some very tough games on the horizon. Enjoy the moment, but we are a long way short of being out of the woods at present.

1

oldeastterrace added 14:50 - Dec 27 It's fantastic reading all of the above posts. That performance yesterday was better than any of us were expecting. I too was very critical after the West Ham game and i was openly saying to friends that we look like a side who will go down. Then we produce a very good team performance at Villa and back it up with an even better one yesterday. Now I will keep my feet on the ground the best I can, even though i can feel myself floating off into ecstasy after yesterday. Football can lift you up to great heights but it can also kick you square in the knackers! We need to get our heads out of the clouds for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon and concentrate on picking off a very capable Palace side. Then hopefully we can float off into the clouds again!!! I so want Che Adams to break his duck. I KNOW that when he does he will be a very good player for us and score regularly. He was very good yesterday as were the whole side. We can all be very proud of the lads but we must now keep that ball rolling!!! COYS

3

1962saint added 16:24 - Dec 27 Most enjoyable, solid performance as were the away games at Sheff U, Brighton, Pompey, Arsenal, and Villa. Good solid games at Wolves and even Man City. Why is it that our defence is so vulnerable at St Mary's with the whole team looking like relegation candidates? 14 points away and only 7 points at home. I shall be at the C Palace game but fully expect it to be another uncomfortable watch.

1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Bristol City Polls