Saints beat one record then saw all the good work slip away in the final part of the game to suffer defeat for the first time in nearly two months in the Premier League.
Saints walked off the pitch at the final whistle rueing their luck as they went down to a Chelsea side who although it could be said deserved their win due to their dominance in possession, in truth rarely did too much with the ball in the final third.
It started well for Saints, in the first half they came through early Chelsea pressure to get a grip on the game, Shane Long missed a glorious chance with a header that went over the bar and he made amends just before the break when he latched on to hestitancy in the Chelsea defence to run through and dink the ball over Courtois for a sublime goal typical of Long's vision and workrate that puts pressure on a back four.
Earlier in the 34th minute Fraser Forster passed the record for a Saints keeper for the number of consecutive minutes without conceding a goal in the Premier League, sadly he would not go on to be in a position to smash the second.
But in the second half Chelsea enjoyed much of the ball but their efforts where often from range and often well wide or well over the bar.
Saints were having to put in a shift but they were doing so and making sure that their opponents could not make possession tell.
But the game would turn on two key decisions and neither went for Saints, the first was when Charlie Austin appeared to be brought down in the penalty area, but the referee waved play on seemingly afraid to give a decision which would have meant sending off the culprit, in truth he shirked his task many times and failed to get on top of Chelsea's blatant cheating both in fouling Saints players and feigning injury, the fact that the Blues only had one booking perhaps tells the story of the referee's game and his failure to keep control of it.
Saints were having to concentrate and dig in as the game went into it's final 15 minutes, but it looked like they would be able to get through, it needed something to break their concentration and it was another refereeing decision that did this.
Firstly the linesman flagged for a foul on Cedric Soares and then Saints seemed to feel that the ball had gone out for a goal kick before being passed back for Fabregas to put in a curling shot that seemed to catch Fraser Forster in two minds and on the wrong foot, it was a soft goal and an ironic one for the big Keeper to concede his first goal since returning from injury.
Certainly Saints should play to the whistle and in most respects they did, however the concentration was broken for just a split second and Chelsea took full advantage, we cannot complain, we just have to learn from our mistakes and move on.
It was backs to the wall stuff now and even the arrival of Sadio Mane to try and give an outlet up front to chase and harass did not do much to work, however Saints were digging in and looked to have come through.
With James Ward Prowse stripped off and ready to offer fresh legs to the cause Saints were desperate to get him on but the ball just would not go out of play for them to do so, a corner was conceded and ightly you do not make a change when defending a corner, sadly JWP would come on trying to save the game not trying to keep it tight to win a point.
Again perhaps only the second slack moment of the day from Saints but it was enough and the game was lost as Ivanovic headed home with little challenge.
What this Saints side did not deserve though after the six game unbeaten run was the reaction of a large part of the home support, yes the goal was a blow but there were still five minutes to go with injury time, yet around a third of the crowd headed for the exits.
This was so wrong on many accounts, firstly they should have stayed to try and rally the side for an equaliser, secondly they should have stayed and acclaimed it for the unbeaten and Fraser Forster's record of not conceded.
I understand the pain and frustration that every Saints fan felt, I felt it myself, but yesterday some forgot what being a football supporter is about, it is not just about the good times but the bad ones as well. Sometimes draws have been snatched from the jaws of defeat and great victories won when a crowd has not headed for the exits but got behind the team.
Saints fans have been magnificent this season both home and away, these things happen from time to time lets not make it a habit.
So the unbeaten run is over, in some respects it is a burden off our back, lets now start the next run and make sure that this defeat is just a blip on the season and nothing else.