This was an important match, would the prediction of Saints demise be accurate or would they emerge from the ashes in phoenix like fashion ?

I said in the run up to the game that in some respects the outcome of this game would not be an accurate guide to the season, if we lost it, it would not automatically mean we were destined for relegation as much if we had won it we would not be challenging for the title, however what Saints fans did need to know was whether they had a team that could compete.

Saints started cagily, but that would be expected from a side who had four players making their competitive debuts for the club, we looked disjointed and in the early stages struggled to put a pass together in the fluent way that we did last season, for their part Liverpool had done their homework and were playing the same pressing game we saw last season so often by our own side. But as the game wore on we seemed to be finding our feet and getting to grips with our new style of play which clearly is different to the style employed under Mauricio Pochettino.

But just as it seemed that we had got into the game we were hit with a sucker punch, we knew that we would be weak in central defence and that proved to be the case, for a brief moment our central defenders seemed to be lost and Henderson put Sterling through one on one and he opened the scoring.

We had our chances and although the half time stats were showing Liverpool with around 60% possession we looked in good form to perhaps get in the game.

We did that in fine style with a smashed goal from Nathaniel Clyne just before the hour mark and suddenly we looked the team of old and really should have taken the lead on more than one occasion, but with 11 minutes to go we shot ourselves in the foot again, twice we failed to clear with headers and when the ball was played in we went to sleep at the back and allowed Sturridge to ghost in and steer the ball home.

We pushed late on and really should have had an equaliser when Morgan Schneiderlin saw his shot tipped onto the bar and Shane Long couldn't force home the rebound.

All in all though a very satisfactory performance from Saints, we showed that we have the makings of a very good squad again, our undoing was central defence where Yoshida put in 100% effort but just keeps getting caught napping at key moments, we know its a problem we have already signed a central defender, but he wasn't available yesterday which perhaps show we need another one as well to add competition.

The new players slotted in well, Forster had little to do other than the basics, but looked to do them well and had no chance with either goal, Bertrand looked in the Clyne mould and able to use his pace, Tadic appears to have what it takes and seems to be more direct than Lallana which could mean more goals both for him and for others.

Pelle looked a bit off the pace early on but clearly has an eye for setting up a goal or two, im sure it will come when he adjusts to the pace of the English game.

Shane Long came on late and played in a deeper role than his usual game, but he looked lively and will be an asset.

All in all the doubters who have been screaming about our demise will have been quietened by this performance it was in some respects just as important about how we played rather than the result, yes we won at Anfield last year but ironically we played better this, Forster did not have a save of note other than the goals and we know we need to address the central defensive area.

Man of the match for Saints was Victor Wanyama, he put in an immense display of winning the ball and playing it simple, he rarely lost a tackle.

With this game out of the way we can concentrate now on showing the world that the demise of Saints is premature, that we are still capable of a good season, the reality of yesterday was that the difference between the two sides was Dejan Lovren, he received almost constant abuse from the Saints fans, but if he had been in our team we would have won, if Gardos is another Lovren then we need to fear nothing from the coming months.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 09:54 - Aug 18 The team I watched yesterday is capable of a top half finish but "Yoshida put in 100% effort but just keeps getting caught napping at key moments" is the vital sentence in this report. We ALL know we are a CB light and if Fonte were to get injured before Gardos is ready? I know many people are relieved that we played pretty well but that was 1 if not 3 points wasted - due to the fact that we have not corrected an obvious weakness. I am reasonably optimistic for the new season but I believe sorting out the above problem could well be the difference between a comfortable season and an anxious one.

3

law101 added 09:59 - Aug 18 Hugely positive performance yesterday. Wanyama and Morgan will be a match for anyone in the league. Ward Prowse looked slightly out of position pushed further forward, i wonder if Tadic is better suited to this role, with an incoming winger taking his place out wide. Lots of positives but you can't help but feel we missed a huge chance for some points.
1

ElSanto added 10:28 - Aug 18 I thought Fonte looked great yesterday. However, I would still pay an over the top price for Vlaar just to finally feel comforatbale in that area. I'll give Pelle more time, but I wasn't impressed. Bertrand, Forster and Tadic all looked good! It was a shock at the start of the match to see us play such a contrasting style to last year - and, if I'm being honest, I was worried. I began to think we were spoiled last year, but we played brilliantly in the second half. I wonder if this was the tactic - to be defensive and soak up any early pressure and slowly ease ourselves into the game, rather than going balls out of the bath from the beginning and leaving space for the Coutinhos and Sterlings. Also, I've seen a lot of support for Schniederlin, but I couldn't help thinking he was playing in 1st gear yesterday and looked a bit jaded. He was passing well, but he didn't look agressive enough. I think he could have stopped both goals. He could have been harder in the tackle against Henderson and challenged Sterling for the header in the box that led to their second. Finally, was Ramirez injured? No sign of him, which is a shame. GLAD THE FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! COYS!!!

0

halftimeorange added 11:21 - Aug 18 I was surprised to see Morgan turn out. It's difficult to say whether he wasn't 100% up for it or whether he wasn't 100% fit. Either way he still had our best two shots other than our goal (did Morgan celebrate that?). I, too, was unimpressed by Pelle. He failed to win anything much in the air and, like others, I thought that Maya isn't quite up to the standard even though he's now had a fair few Premiership games to know what he's about. Also, Nathaniel was partially to blame for both goals against us. We must win our next match for the sake of confidence but, overall, this was a much better outing than I expected albeit Liverpool were in the process of gelling together too so we mustn't get carried away.

0

pintsizedsaint added 11:28 - Aug 18 What was excellent to see was the tweaks in tactics. I think Saints will be harder to read this season and it looks likely to be a squad based system. Clear ring rustiness from both sides but more pronounced for Saints with some poor defending for the second goal. Yet lots and lots of positives and the doom merchants will be quiet for a while... First real test is West Brom where we will be expected to win

1

Nicolacomeback added 12:02 - Aug 18 Majority of the fans who watch games week in week out can see that we are short of a good centre back. Ronald seems to disagree. Mate you may have some contacts within St Mary. Why don't you pass on the message? Fonte too can be error prone. Gardos unproven. This area is definitely our Achilles heel. I hope Ronald does not come to regret his decision.
0

winchesterbob added 12:20 - Aug 18 Agree defence needs to be much more dependable, but both CB's gave 100%. Wanyama had his best game in a Saints shirt so far, lots of promise from Pelle and Tadic is a class act that will only get better as the players around him start to read him. It was nice to see Schniederlin have a couple of good efforts on goal and seemed to be getting a bit further forward more often, but he did seem to be a bit below par. In general, the reaction of the players to going a goal down was excellent and we seemed more likely to equalise than concede another. The result was a shame because we deserved a bit more from the game, but Ronald the K seems to be much more than a one-trick pony so the future looks bright.

0

SaintDownUnder added 12:56 - Aug 18 Pretty much spot Nick, although I thought it was Tadic who set up Clyne? I actually blame Clyne for being out of position for Stirlings opener so it was good to see him have a much better second half. My only concern was Pele's performance which I thought was ordinary, he seemed to neither run the channel or hold it up that well and seemed to be a yard behind the game. I heard from a Feyenoord fan before the game who said Pele's game was to play with his back to goal and chest the ball down in the box to a team mate who was average but still got 13 goals a season of the back of this. After watching the Liverpool game I could see that Pele was always static in the box and was great at holding defenders or the keeper off, but he or we didn't create much as a result. It will be interesting to see if we can get the best out of Pele, but we looked blunt particularly in the first half. I Great to see the ovation for SRL, even more to hear his comments after the game.

0

bstokesaint added 13:25 - Aug 18 I'll happily take a narrow defeat away from home against a title contender. I really didn't want to see a battering. Personally I think the performance in this case was more important than the result, to give the team some confidence and to keep the boo boys and media off our backs. We need time to gel as a team (which'll prevent us conceding sloppy goals) and we've given ourselves a bit of a platform now. If we can get ourselves off to a winning start at home I can honestly see the events of the summer being very quickly forgotten.

0

WestSussexSaint added 13:28 - Aug 18 Considering it was a defeat, I came away feeling pretty positive about the performance. I agree with other comments about the defence but I do think Yoshida can play a part over the course of the season against sides with less of an attacking threat (Sturridge scored 20+ last season). I was actually diappointed with Steven Davis for someone normally pretty composed in front of goal his effort was very tame. Agree that Wanyama had his best game in a saints shirt (expect the transfer offer from Liverpool any day now then!). Overall if we play that way through the season we will be too good for many of the teams in the second tier of the PL i.e. those below the top 7.

0

NewburySaint added 16:34 - Aug 18 Enthusiasm officially returned!! But i still stand by my comments over the summer about Les Reed, how our transfer policy has been conducted for both out's and in's and on some of the players we have bought-i for 1 was not surprised when Long missed the open goal at the end. And i still don't believe we are, or will be, as good as last season but what yesterday showed (long may it continue!) is that we'll be closer to the middle of the table than the bottom. And although it's early days, as a big, big Pochettino fan i may have under estimated RoKo as i thought both tactically and technically we were set up superbly which is only something that can come from him and his fellow coaches-long may his so far positive influence continue.

0

IanRC added 17:45 - Aug 18 Think RoKo will prove to be far superior to MoPo who I still expect to see sacked by Christmas (spurs were lucky yesterday again). Really good to see Spider out there in a Saints shirt and with a shade more luck we would of at least had the draw we deserved. All that and Jack Cork still available. Concern for me is the CB roles and the cutting edge in front of goal.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Exeter City Polls