SFC Ref takes his usual in depth review of the Saints game, both from a playing perspective and also the referee. See about the game that felt like a defeat but was at the end of the day a good point.
As it was a Friday game I did actually manage to go to this game myself. But when the squad came out, it certainly didn’t impress many for who was/wasn’t playing in our game on Friday.
As many were satisfied with who was starting at the back and in the centre of midfield, but why Elynousie was picked yet again as well as Walcott and Adam Armstrong really didn’t make sense.
With Adam Armstrong I was in the middle for as he’d not played for a while so a chance was fair enough, but at the same time why not play tall Paul as he’d also not had much of a chance and hadn’t really had one previously whilst Armstrong had. And why Walcott was playing, I originally didn’t agree with as I thought that Stu should be starting over him, but still at least understood why.
But HOW Elynousie was somehow playing is just baffling yet again!? As how he’s picked over Sulemana or Stu makes no sense, and even writing this after the result still don’t understand how?
However the start of the game showed, playing Walcott wasn’t actually the worst decisions ever, and will give him his credit for the decent display he gave, being in the mix of a fair bit this season and did great partnered up with Alcaraz.
We were lucky with the first goal, but fir at least take our chance, but the second goal was well worked and a really good play. But of course with us being Saints we had to just conceded before half-time and just couldn’t keep it together and go in with all the momentum. As after we went 2-0 up just rated to hold back and just go all out defence and we’re lucky to not to concede again before half time. But still you can’t complain with being 2-1 up against top of the table at half-time.
When the second half started, Alcaraz was taken off for Lyanco, which I had mixed opinions for, as yeah he was on a cautioning and we couldn’t afford to go down to 10 men, but at the same time we might as well of been for how invisible Adams and Elynousie were.
We again started the half really well as we didn’t just defend and did start to attack, which is exactly why we got that corner through pressing and got that third goal to make us 3-1 up. But then we took off the likes of Adams, Lavia and Walcott off, in which I agreed with Walcott and Adams, but Lavia was great this game and him coming off is what changed everything, especially when your replacing him with the likes of Diallo, especially whilst Elynousie is still somehow on the pitch.
However back to the usual, the last few minutes just summed up our season with us conceding twice in just like 4 minutes which is what cost us the 2 points! As their first goal was good, but still the lad shouldn’t have been given the space, whilst the second was poor with Bazunu needing to either catch the shot or palm it away into a less dangerous area.
The luck deserted us with Bella-Kotcha slipping and leaving it a free shot on goal for Saka to net the equaliser. All of which just sums up our season dropping vital points yet again all due to not being able to keep a lead and our stupid mistakes of messing up at the back/not taking our chances, leading to us dropping the points.
As at the end of the day, you’d of taken a point before KO, but a point just wasn’t enough for either of us. But I do feel like a mixture of tactical mistakes both cost us and earnt us the point, as some of Rubén’s tactical mistakes ended up being great, whilst others looked to have cost us. But it wasn’t just down to him with some stupid, poor mistakes also coasting us the points.
It looks like Arsenal have almost certainly bottled the title now to City, but if we’d won this we’d just of been 2 points from safety, where a win against Bournemouth on Thursday could’ve seen us out of the relegation zone, but with just the 1 point, it means we need more than just a win against Bournemouth now!
As Thursday will well and truly confirm of what the end of the seasons going to be for us, as anything bar a win and I’ll of lost every last bit of hope. But at the same time if we can play as we did against Arsenal on Thursday and again in our remaining fixtures, then their is that slight bit of hope of us managing to somehow stay up this season.
Referee watch (Simon Hooper)
There was lots of action in this game, with loads of entertainment for any neutrals watching, but there wasn’t really anything for VAR to get involved in, ss all 6 goals were perfectly valid, and other than a few desperately pathetic shouts for penalties from Arsenal, no major incants for them to look at.
There was still a fair bit for Hooper to deal with, with many fouls and indents occurring between all the goals, but nothing of consequence.
For me the referee had an ok game, as I do think that he missed a fair few fouls for us and some almost ended up costing us, but at least he didn’t just blow for all the times that players went down easy (which was usually the Arsenal lot) and actually allowed for the game to have a bit of contact and force around it, allowing it to flow and not just blowing for everything.
Although I have heard a few fans complain about the injury time, in the end it meant bugger all with all goals occurring firing regular time and with Jan Bednarek almost needing the stretcher, all the goals, the issues with the AR’s comms (as that’s why Hooper kept going over to him).
So both half’s did need a fair bit of injury time, which I did think the numbers for where fair, but at the same time you’d never see those sized numbers when the same’s happened in games where we were the ones that wanted the larger injury times.
So overall a good game from VAR and an ok one from Hooper.