A workmanlike performance from Saints who had the persistence of jay Rodriguez to thank for three points that keep them ahead of the chasing pack for a top ten position.

This was a potential minefield for Saints, after two straight defeats a trip to a physical Palace side who have quickly adapted to apply Tony Pulis's style of football was not just what the doctor ordered, however Saints stepped up to the challenge and comfortably saw out a game that saw few chances at either end.

The game was decided by a fine piece of persistence from Jay Rodriguez, there seemed little danger as he harrassed Jason Puncheon, but the ex Saint dropped his header short and Rodriguez nipped inslid in to a brave challenge with the keeper and then whilst still on the floor steered the ball into the net from way outside the area for the only goal of the game.

Apart from that Saints were content to deal with Palace's run of the mill crosses and long throws in to the box, Dejan Lovren was back to his best and won more than his fair share of aerial challenges, if he didnt win them then he was ably assisted by Jose Fonte and Artur Boruc who looked confident when coming off his line.

Saints did what they have done so well this season and thats beat the sides at the bottom, 64% possession, more shots on goal and perhaps for the first time ever in the top flight we have won more games away from home this being our six win of the campaign on the road. It should be noted though that four of those wins have come from trips to sides in the bottom five and that we do need to improve our game against the sides in the top half of the table both at home and away.

However you cant ask for more than three points from an away game and although it was perhaps a little disappointing that we didnt create more chances, it was very pleasing to see how well we controlled the game.

Photo: Action Images

slynch added 18:21 - Mar 9 Saints just about managed to beat what amounts to a championship side.
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davepid added 18:35 - Mar 9 Let's analyise our performance over the whole session. It's been a good one but if we want toget better we need ditch MP. Sorr
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Whatsforpud added 18:48 - Mar 9 Was that the first goal to be scored in the Premier League by a player lying on the ground OUTSIDE the penalty area?
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abingdonsaint added 19:03 - Mar 9 davepid........sounds as though you are in the middle of a session!
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schatfield added 20:27 - Mar 9 not a great game, but we won and got the 3 points. Wanyama continued to be horrid though giving away a lot of cheap passes. How Celtic got us to pay 12m for him, I will never know... Still, Newcastle back in aim for 8th place again
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davepid added 22:04 - Mar 9 Abingdonsaint - like many who have worn a saints shirt , I want to express myself but sadly the limb coridination isn't quite up to it.
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geecee added 22:30 - Mar 9 Workmanlike performance from Saints who had Rodriguez to thank for his brave determination and the consequent three points.
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BoondockSaint added 04:32 - Mar 10 If only I could predict lottery numbers! I did say last week that we'd have loads of possession, win 1-0, be happy with three points and finally breaking 40 on the table-but overlook the fact we only scored one goal against a crap team! I'm not happy about being right! We're lucky actually, it looked like a draw until Puncheon, showing the same unique skill he had when he was with us to always pass the ball to the opposition, influenced the game as only he can!

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zummerzetsaint added 07:33 - Mar 10 I really don't understand how pessimistic some of you so called fans are!!! After 3 defeats in a row, our boys get a really great AWAY result to stop the rot, break the record for most away wins.....and you're still f@@!#ng moaning!!!! What do you really expect, see how many of the top 10 sides keep clean sheets at Palace for the rest of the season! Get a life!
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Toussaint added 08:20 - Mar 10 schatfield added 20:27 - Mar 9 not a great game, but we won and got the 3 points. Wanyama continued to be horrid though giving away a lot of cheap passes. How Celtic got us to pay 12m for him, I will never know... Still, Newcastle back in aim for 8th place again ------- Just back from a long lay off, think he did well,maybe you look at Victor`s negatives and not his positives.,,you seem too have already forgotten how our defence started this season and that was largely down to the way he protects them,which was clearly evident in the score-line and once he got going Saturday

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Fordy added 12:29 - Mar 10 We are capable of beating the top sides away, but we need ot change the way we play. If we go one up we need to be able to shut up shop and not commit so many players forward and in particular our full-backs need to be a little more disciplined. Chelsea was a fine example. We went 1-0 up early on yet Shaw was in their half more than ours. We will never beat the likes of Chelsea away playing like that.

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