Saints came through an appalling run of results and showed they have the spirit to surge forward in the second half of the season.

Shane Long has been much maligned by some short sighted Saints supporters who have questioned why we spent £12 million on a player who will score 10 goals a season at best, but at St Mary's on Saturday, Long showed that it isn't goals he has been signed for but his ability to Create chances for others. Long's all action performance typified the spirit on Saturday and showed why football is a squad game.

Ronald Koeman's injury list eased slightly with Steven Davis and Pelle both passing late fitness tests meaning that the only youngster who had to be brought in was Harrison Reed, the shock though was that Koeman altered formation in a line up designed to take the game to Everton.

Playing three central defenders and pushing on the full backs could have been a risk given Everton's own penchant to get the full backs forward, but it worked in all areas of the field.

Harrison Reed was excellent in his first start in the Premier League and was the very image of the phrase midfield terrier.

But the man who changed the game was Shane Long, a loose ball in the Everton penalty area looked an easy clearance for Jagielka, but suddenly Long appeared and nicked the ball from under his nose, Jagielka kicked Long instead of the ball and Saints should have had a penalty.

The ref though disagreed and having decided Jagielka had not played Long he had to give a corner, TV replays showed that the ball had come off Long and it was a penalty, but Long's ability to charge down defenders had paid off and from the resulting corner Saints went ahead, although Long was off the pitch the fact remains that if Long had not been persistent Everton would have cleared easily and we would not have had the chance.

The second goal saw a Long assist, a. superb cross from Clyne looked just the ball that Pelle would want, however it was Long who out jumped the Everton defence and nodded down for Pelle to knock it in for the second and killer goal.

The third goal saw Yoshida start and finish a move as he shouldered home Davis's cross to make sure there would be no fight back from the visitors, in between the goals though Fraser Forster made a couple of sharp blocks to deny Lukaku.

Ronald Koeman showed why he has taken the team to sun heights, changing the formation and not being afraid to give youth a chance, indeed this was perhaps the most pleasing aspect and Koeman himself perhaps realised that he needed to show his established stars that their places are not assured with Mane being left on the bench whilst Targett and Gape were given run outs.

Hopefully we are now through the worst of the crisis, the injury and suspension list will lessen and we can take heart that although we were beaten during that run we were never disgraced and we can go into Xmas in 5th place with all to play for in the new year.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 12:44 - Dec 21 Well, what did I know. Pity this formation didn't play against Sheffield United. I agree about Long - he persists where others don't and irritates the life out of the opposition. Reid is going to be the same back down the pitch, still tackling when he was on the floor! When he bulks up a bit he won't be so easily brushed off the ball which did happen a few times yesterday - but he always got up and tried again - fantastic. Unfortunately, yet another dreadful referee.

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SingaporeSaint added 13:33 - Dec 21 Christmas is back on! We won in both boxes yest and that wins you games. Main difference going forward was the willingness to put in early good quality crosses - this has been lacking due to tadic's overelaboration and mane's lack of ability recently. We also saw more of clyne and Bertrand as attacking forces which was good to see. Really good win and great spirit all round. Christmas got a whole lot merrier...

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TreeHugger added 14:41 - Dec 21 Great team performance yesterday. Koeman got it spot on. Long was everywhere and got my Man of the match. Reed did well, although Barkleys strength was clear to see. It was a real team game yesterday and it was great to see Davis back as well. Tough game at palace but feeling more confident than a few days ago.
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131153 added 16:24 - Dec 21 A great result yesterday, another appalling referee yesterday. That was the second time Long has been cleaned out in the area by the keeper no penalty given and a corner given incorrectly. Still justice straight after with the own goal. It was good to see JWP back and he looks to have baulked up whilst recovering from injury. A great debut by Reed as well, a good start to the Christmas games!

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Winchsaint added 17:13 - Dec 21 Was pleased to see my earlier post about a return to a 3pm kick off bringing us luck proved to be true. On the downside where superstition is concerned prior to yesterday I had been to the last 4 out of 5 matches all of which we lost so better not show my face at games again! Hocus pocus aside, I was so pleased for the boys yesterday, I had made the long trip to Sheffield and like others was thoroughly unimpressed at the performance, however I could see at the end of the match that the players were genuinely devastated too, Toby in particular who held his hands up in apology as he passed his shirt to a fan was one of several who had the balls to face the music and at least give a few fans something to take home from the game. There are lots of wider positives to look at too beyond the result yesterday, I would have snapped the proverbial hand off for 5th at Christmas given the summer we had. RK is not only a better manager but a much more likeable guy than MP and speaks so well in press conferences. Toby and Ryan have been outstanding defensive additions to the team, and although I know some fans have question marks over Fraser, I have no doubt he will be a top keeper for club and country for years to come. Pelle has already got 8 league goals and a more in the cups (and has great hair), Tadic has fantastic talents which I am sure we will see again when he is fully fit and playing in his favoured position and Long shows great work ethic and determination for the team. Add to that some exciting youngsters, the ever reliable and often unsung Steven Davis and the big improvements in Wanyama and Yoshida and it things don't look too bad. Happy Christmas to all Saints fans and their families, looking forward to Palace on Boxing Day!

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ThereIn76 added 19:18 - Dec 21 RoKo now knows he need have no worries about putting Harrison Reed on the pitch. Ward-Prowse made a big difference with his delivery from set pieces and crossing, which is on a par with Clyne's and Bertrand's.
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TeamCortese added 19:57 - Dec 21 Great result yesterday! So happy we've ended our losing run. Hopefully we can string together another run of wins and get ourselves back in to the top 4. Despite the losses I haven't lost faith in our squad and I don't subscribe to the notion of us being out of it. It's way too early to make such statements. Also why hasn't anyone in the media highlighted that we just beat opposition that finished above us last season? Just goes to show how bias the media is towards the bigger clubs (especially if they're up north). Teamwise I was very impressed with Shane Long. He had a much better performance than previous games and this was mainly due to Roko fielding him in a position that plays to his strength. I still question why this hasn't happened earlier and what we are expecting to get out from him when he's out wide--especially when we've forked out £12m!

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schatfield added 21:54 - Dec 21 one thing impressed me with this match. the dropping of mane. I really thought roko had a blind spot towards him, and like Tadic, Mane is currently way off form, so it made perfect sense to drop him for this (and perhaps more) games. Am not saying he will go forever, but if a player is badly off form, you dont keep playing them. Good move
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