Saturday evening saw Saints fans experience a strange feeling, losing a game of football is not something that we have had to endure much in the last year, we were down to the bare bones and battled hard, but ultimately it was not enough.

The bad news an hour before the kick off was that Danny Ings would be playing no part in the game, but we could still get a decent side out, however the bench contained several names that all but the most dedicated Saints supporter would not have heard of.

Indeed you would not have many arguments that the three most influential players this season and the rock that our success is built on are Jannik Vestergaard, Oriol Romeu & Danny Ings, they have been the spine of or team and all three were missing from the squad for the trip to the King Power.

Most teams would struggle if they were to lose their 3 best players and add to that other key members of the squad like Nathan Redmond & Moussa Djenepo are out injured and it is testament to Ralph Hasenhuttl that we can still compete.

But we started well and looked quote comfortable, Will Smallbone slotting in on the right and Stuart Armstrong switching to the left , it was an end to end game and both sides had their chances.

As half time approached there was nothing between the sides, but then came the key moment in the game, James Maddison shrugged off Jack Stephens and lashed the ball from a tight angle, it was certainly a fast and hard shot, but Alex McCarthy had got his angles wrong and seemed to be expecting a low shot and got in a bit of a mix and the ball flashed over his head and in at the near post.

This was just about our only lac of concentration during the game, but it was enough and it turned out to be the winning goal although minutes later Saints almost equalised with Schmeichel having to make a superb save from a Ryan Bertrand piledriver.

After the break Saints kept their shape and kept going, There was more woe for Saints on the hour mark when the impressive Will Smallbone had to go off with a knee injury, it was from an innocuous challenge and that usually means bad news for both the players who can ill afford another injury, especially since Ryan Bertrand will miss the next game after picking up his 5th yellow card of the season.

Both sides could have scored in the second with Stuart Armstrong rattling the bar with a 25 yard shot, it looked a penalty as the ball dropped and Shane Long was bundled over but he was off side in the build up and so Leicester were given a free kick.

But it was Leicester who got the second goal of the game deep into injury time as Saints pressed forward for the equaliser, the Foxes winning the ball and getting it forward to Harvey Barnes who was through on goal and gave Alex McCarthy no chance, it was harsh for Saints and a goal that had it been conceded earlier in the game would have been poor, but no blame can be given, with only seconds left of injury time we had to throw caution to the wind and gamble, this time it didn't pay off.

There were plenty of plus points to our performance, under adversity we didn't crumble, but for us it was a game too far with the squad missing so many key players, some will moan about the depth of the squad, yes of course we could do with another player or two, but I cannot remember another time when we have had so many injuries at once, for me it actually shows that the squad has depth and a number of youngsters who can step up to the plate when needed.

We took on Leicester a team who could well finish in the top 4 this season and matched them all the way with a depleted team.

We have to take this defeat and learn from it, unless the key players are back and back fast, we can still win games, but it will be tough and lt might be that we have to accept that it is a top 10 place we are fighting for not top 6, that will be decided by how quickly we get the spine of our team back.

It was a disappointing night, but only from the perspective that we were beaten and it is a feeling that we are not used to of late, but there were still a lot of plus points and going forward both this season and next, we can truly be a side that competes.

Photo: Action Images

TimSaint added 13:45 - Jan 18 So Bert's ban means he will miss our next league game, therefore he was stupid, not a tactical genius. He only needed to get through to 19 games and his booking tally would have been re-set to zero and he looked on for this with 2 bookings in the first 15 games. However 3 yellows in his last 3 games has taken him up to a ban, right at the point where we have the most injuries ever !!

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TimSaint added 13:55 - Jan 18 Stephens has slotted in well in Vest's absence, however he is being called out on here because he didn't have the best of games at the King Power. As has also been pointed out, a few others didn't have great games either, such as Walcott and Adams. Stephens was highlighted because the goals were being analysed and he played his part in both. He also gave the ball away with a poor pass, for Leicester's first shot of note through Barnes. The likes of Walcott, Adams and Armstrong also gave the ball away many times, but they are usually at the other end of the pitch, so the difference is that when Stephens does, it often results in a goal or shot against us, so just gets more focus.

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TimSaint added 14:04 - Jan 18 American Saint - my view on AMcC was that he pulled off a few vital saves for us at Leicester, the one from Vardy being particularly good, but thought he was at fault for both goals. The first was a great finish, but I thought his positioning wasn't great and he went to his knees too early. (perhaps being a little harsh as not sure how many keepers would have save it) For the 2nd, he actually went back to his 6 yard line as Barnes approached, giving the forward a larger target to aim at. When I was a keeper, we were taught to come out to the advancing striker, narrow the angles and to make it as hard as possible for the attacker to even see the goal posts !! I did wonder whether FF would start after his clean sheet against Liverpool, but his start v Leicester means AMcC is clearly Ralph's number 1.

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AmericanSaint added 18:04 - Jan 19 TimSaint - As a former keeper too, I understand your point on goal #2 and it is very valid, however he should have never been put into that position. Regarding goal #1, I will have to disagree with you. In my opinion, he did all he could do. Without him going down and cutting off the low-shot and both posts, he left too many holes as a potential goal and how many times have we seen a goalie get nutmegged as he goes down or makes himself big? there was only one place Maddison could have scored from that angle and he did it with precision.

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TimSaint added 01:50 - Jan 20 American Saint - I did suggest I was being harsh on AMcC for the first goal, as it was a top drawer finish. I did feel he could have got his angles set a little better though, but nothing we can do a out it now. I like McCarthy, but although he makes some fantastic and crucial saves, is often guilty of distribution errors - perhaps a Saints trait - and often seems to make things easy for the striker (like Spurs this season for example. I wasn't a keeper for too long. I was needed out on pitch one day and my younger under study got his chance, took it and actually went on to play for Basingstoke and Aldershot. Despite my age and covid aside, I still play in the Veterans League and have played again ex Saints Howells, Boa Morte and Erwin Koeman. Sorry for all the questions, but are you originally from Southampton / England ? Where are you based in the States ? How come you support Saints ? I've been over many times but never seen an MLS game. I'm due to go to Vegas to celebrate someone's big birthday this year, followed by a tour of California, but that will no doubt be put on hold for a year. Hopefully Saints winning the cup or qualifying for Europe will make up for it !!

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AmericanSaint added 16:26 - Jan 20 TimSaint, No, not from England but have relatives there and they lived near Southampton. It was either Saints or Portsmouth. LOL. I started really following them about 20+ years ago, when I made a friend who is a massive Saints fan. I am in Texas right now and follow all the games on the NBC Peacock app.
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