It was same old same old for Saints at Fratton as they threw away another two points away from home.

Up until the last five minutes or so Saints looked to have done everything right in a tense derby game at Fratton Park, but the they did what they seem to do so often on the road, they gave away a sloppy goal.

It started well for Saints, of course Pompey blustered, but Saints coped with that very well, in truth the home teams tactics were  little more than hoof the ball forward for Kitson, who in fairness scrapped for every one and made sure the Saints defence didnt have it easy, but apart from a tame header easily dealt with by Davis and a few wayward shots just before half time, it was Saints who looked more likely to score, but they just could find the final ball at any time.

Indeed this was the problem with the performance throughout the game, clearly the pitch was not as stable as it looked to the naked eye and many players were slipping up when attempting to pass the ball, this seemed to affect Saints more who just couldnt seem to get their passing game completely together and too often passes werent weighted properly.

It didnt help with the balance in the midfield, again there was little width on the right meaning Saints were often too cramped in the middle, this doesnt just affect the right side, it also impacts on the left where Lallana hasnt got the room he would normally have if the game is a little more spread, however as the second half developed Saints had a firm grip on the game and where finding more and more room and space, not least Lallana who looked back to his best after a quiet time in recent games.

The goal was well worked, Fox delivered the perfect in swinging free kick that meant Lambert couldnt miss and he didnt, from then on it looked like there would only be one winner.

But then came a tactical switch that at the time and evn now seemed baffling, Fox who like Richardson on the right was starting to get the room to put in some telling balls was taken off and replaced by Harding, Fox himself did not look happy at this substitution. The only reason I can think of is that Nigel Adkins wanted to up the tempo and get Harding down the wing a little, I can see the point of that, but why change a defence that lookd solid up to that point and why change a system thhat was starting to put Pompey under the cosh. But the real truth of the matter is that we were a goal up, for once the defence looked like keeping a clean sheet away from home, Fox is a better defender than Harding and was playing well.

Tactically it was a blunder as within 7 minutes Pompey were level, as stated Harding is not as strong defensively as Fox and he gave away a needless corner when under no pressure, this proved costly as once again Saints lost concentration and with their only meaningful chance of the game Pompey equalised, once again we had snatched a draw from the jaws of victory on the road.

We had chances late on but they were no more than half chances and in truth you felt that both sets of supporters were happy to go home honours even.

But taking away the fact it was a trip to Pompey this was not a good result for Saints, from a very strong position a month ago when we beat Brighton, we have taken only 5 points from 5 games and have seen our lead at the top erodded to only a single point, indeed from leading third place by 8 points that gap is now down to only 3, we really have to go to places like Fratton and win games if we want promotion, ominously we have to play all the three teams behind us away ffrom home in the New Year, we have had a great chance to run away with this league and have not taken it, forget that this was the derby game, when all is said and done it was yet another away game where we have enjoyed the lions share of possesion, the majority of shots both on and off target, yet have not won the game due to a lapse in concentration, I dont enjoy saying this week in week out, I dont enjoy being abused and told glibly "But we are top of the league" unless we sort this away form out, we wont be much longer if we have another month like the last one.        

Photo: Action Images

darkangelv2 added 10:39 - Dec 19 Fox is NOT a better defender than Harding. He has been the source of many of our defensive lapses this season and his ability to mark or close attackers is apalling. (Bristol City away was classic Fox). Harding may not be the solution, but Fox is nothing like a proper defender. What the hell has happened to Ryan Dickson?......
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StSaint added 10:46 - Dec 19 A frustrating result, but before the game I would have probably taken a draw. The fact that they were set up as an away team made it difficult to break them down, though I think our main problem is that we don't have a solid performer on the right of midfield. It's not Schneiderlin's best position and our dip has coincided with Chaplow's injury - he was playing a blinder there. De Ridder is a decent impact player, though seems unable to do it when he starts. We need to start keeping clean sheets, but I don't know critical you can be when the opposition only really have one decent effort on goal. That might be burying my head in the sand, but we did seem to me more solid. Hopefully we can strengthen that side in January with a right sided midfielder and also get Billy Sharp. The calibre of players we will be able to attract as a top Championship club as opposed to an unknown newly promoted one should hopefully enable us to kick on in the new year. I strongly feel that we will be better in the second half of the season. A win on Boxing Day is crucial (though I wouldn't call it a "must win" ; ))to regain a bit of confidence and send out the right signals. Come on you red and white machine!

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SaintNick added 11:12 - Dec 19 Im sorry but Fox is a much better defender than Harding, if only because he actually goes to ground and gets his foot in from time to time, something Harding rarely does, yes Fox has been lacking at times defensively, but then again so have all the back four at some time, its just not solid away from home
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legod7 added 11:41 - Dec 19 Same old Nick blaming Harding for giving away the corner that led to the Pompey goal. The person who should be blamed for the goal is Guly. He was the player guarding the left hand post and should have at least attempted to win the ball instead of letting Ward have a free header
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stmichael added 11:43 - Dec 19 Nick you are making your self look silly with your continuous attacks on Harding. I thought the corner was soft but did he get a call? If not he did the safe thing as we know he has been caught on the back post before. After that we lost the 1st and 2nd ball in the box which is unaceptable. There was no desire to defend the goal and how Guly escapes a mention in your report????? As stated by me before(coventry aside) he is a complete liability away from home and yesterday emphasised that - he was shocking. I agree with you about the midfield and hopefully Chaplow will be back soon. Adkins has picked the WRONG team for 5 games in a row. The only time he has got it right was when he took Cork off at half time aginst Hull and we had natural width. I would have gone with Holmes and Adam wide and any 2 from 3 in the centre. I am surprised Fox was taking off too but more surprised he was bought in the 1st place especially for 2 million because there is nothing between him and Harding.

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saintBob added 12:14 - Dec 19 I thought it was a fair report. Although Guly has put in some good performances, I think he should have been subbed in the 2nd half possibley for De Ridder as usual. Harding for Fox was pointless because we were 1-0 up and had done little wrong in defence as all we had to do was stay tight. Never mind the fact that it was Harding who put the ball out for a corner, it was just poorly defended a) Davis could have claimed the 2nd ball and b) Guly really should have made a clearance. It's a matter of opinion over Harding & Fox becasue they are equal in defence and they both can deliver good balls into the box but Fox has become the regular choice so why make a change in defence when we were defending the lead so well. For the first time I would point the finger at Adkins and say he made a bad tactical change. Normally he does make good changes when necessary. He says we can learn from our mistakes but we don't seem to be doing so.

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michaeljoycetf added 12:34 - Dec 19 Nothing like a good old whinge on a Monday morning is there? I have to say this, you are an expert at picking holes in our teams efforts and blaming the manager for making dodgey substitutions, but then hindsight is a wonderful thing. By the way, the article you write is not 'THE VERDICT' it is just your verdict ,quite an important distinction. which is why so many people think you are a self opinionated pessimist. We would have loved to have won, of course we would, and it was a frustrating result but as old Jim used to say,''football is a funny old game'' and sometimes in football as in life we dont always get what we deserve and all the whingeing in the world wont make things better. What might help is giving credit where it is due, have a little faith in those who are, by and large doing a very good job, try looking at the whole picture and get behind our team, warts and all. As most of our fans will agree, as a team we are in a very enviable position and being a Saint right now is as good as its been for a long long time.

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bstokesaint added 13:00 - Dec 19 Quite a few mixed opinions out there, but I'd have taken a point before the game in a tense derby. As it was Pompey were poor and created little. It was disappointing that Guly allowed the second goal. I like Guly normally, but he definitely did not want it as much as the Pompey player. I'm not going to blame Harding for this. There is very little between Fox and him, although I think the former delivers better crossing potential. Maybe the substitution wasn't necessary, but I'm not going to point the finger at Adkins. He's got us top of the league at Christmas and I reckon we have another gear we can go to. We need to look for a handful of players in the window; someone who can fill in for Chaplow, a decent (fit) striker and possibly a goalkeeper. I like Bart, but his recent performance is of major concern. Mini targets from here on in to help us stay on that two point a game average. COYR.

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VeloSaint added 13:19 - Dec 19 Pompey's right side was a weak link for them yesterday (amazed Appleton never saw it as so) and what Harding does do better then Fox is make breaks forward that gives Lallana more space. The change wasn't baffling by any means as it was aimed at further exploiting the oppositions weakest area (Adkins has made the same change a few times now so why are we surprised?). The goal should have been avoided not because of Harding conceding the corner (we gave away cheaper ones earlier in the game) but because from a set piece 2 players failed to do their jobs (both headers won were basically unchallenged). Not for the first time this season. The only question mark I would have on tactics would have been Guly still being on the pitch 84 mins in. He had a poor game individually though he worked hard alongside Lambert and for the team, he swapped with Schneiderlin for the final phase of the game and moved to the right hand side of midfield, but Morgan could have stayed out there (he did ok there) and De Ridder could have come on for Guly playing off of Lambert. His pace would have made a difference in the last 15-20mins, can't help but feel he's burnt his bridges with Adkins after last week. Also don't see why Holmes couldn't have been involved in the last couple of games, has never let us down when he's played and has experience and composure that could have been useful yesterday, can only assume Adkins didn't want to risk his lack of match sharpness unless he absolutely had to (shows how weak our squad really is at this point in time). Looking at the positives, thought Cork was MOM for me, lost count of how many tackles/balls won that turned their attacks into our attacks second half. As a unit we looked strong all game which is not something you could say about recent away games where we've looked a lot more vulnerable, its clear that they've been working on that and but for the one lapse it would have been executed perfectly.

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BlackRod added 13:41 - Dec 19 Same old same old. These reports all follow the same theme - focus on the negatives and criticise Harding. Doesn't matter if we win, lose or draw.
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Fordy added 14:29 - Dec 19 I think and hope Adkins will learn from this. It's a risky move to change the defence in a derby like this one. Harding had only just come on and it's understandable that he took the safe option of knocking it out. In much the same way Saints players were knocking it long to start with. I don't think it's really fair to blame Harding, but NA got it wrong.
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saintBob added 14:36 - Dec 19 To all those who are knocking the so called "whingers" - you're not very passionate about your club are you? Especially when it comes to beating that lot down the road. Are you Pompey fans in disguise? Of course we would have bitten anyones hands off this time 2 years ago to be in this position now, it is indeed a great time to be a Saints fan. But we are within touching distance of getting back to the Premiership and it would be sad to let it out of our grasp now. Adkins (and Pardew before) has done a great job and long may he remain in charge. Above anything else he's a smashing bloke and we're all behind him. This isn't a young boys team, "never mind lads we're still top of the league, well done you're all doing very well..etc. etc." We have missed out lately on chances to really consolidate top spot but with two home games coming up it's still looking good.

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StrasbourgSaint added 14:53 - Dec 19 I think this is pretty reasonable report. Harding or Fox? Not sure but I wouldn't have changed the back four when the main trouble was further up the field. Was the corner a poor decision by Harding? Probably. Even without a call, he could have put the ball over the main stand. Was Guly to blame for the goal? Am I the only person who blames Lallana? He was ball watching and allowed Fonte to mark two players. When they peeled away, Fonte tracked the other one, leaving Ward free. What should Guly have done? Some blame him for staying put, some blame him for moving? He had a poor game and should have been replaced sooner. The game was crying out for De Ridder's pace to run the ball deep into the corner. However, I can't see how he should be blamed for being left to protect his post (something he has done well all season) AND do Adam's job.

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Whatsforpud added 16:11 - Dec 19 I agree with StrasbourgSaint re Harding. When defenders are facing their goal and have to clear the ball, they should make every effort to put the ball into touch. However, he can't be blamed for the poor marking from the corner. I notice that he was guarding the far post - perhaps he should have been on his left post, with the right back on the right post, leaving Guly with his extra height, further out. Sneiderlin is doing his best at right midfield, but it is not his natural position. Whilst Chaplow is out I would play a combination of Holmes out there first then De Ridder if necessary. We must use the talent that we have got. Nick mentioned that we were slipping a lot. This caused a lot of moves to break up. Perhaps more attention should have been paid to to studs they were wearing. I don't recall the Portsmouth players have as much of a problem. We must take advantage of having two home games now. Although the Blackpool draw seemed like a win, the Portsmouth one seemed like a lose.

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TimSaint added 17:02 - Dec 19 I think we are all a little gutted not to win this one, but in the grand scheme of things, we probably would have all taken a draw before hand. We could and should have won it from a winning position and yes we can start putting the blame on people, or pointing the finger, but it will not change the result. I just hope we learn from this, but then again, we have said this time and time again over the last month or so, particularly after away games. Analysing the match, it was not really a great spectacle, but never expected it to be. At least we didn't have any star performers in front of the nation, so I hope it will stave off any bids for our players, come January's window. Yes, Guly was poor all afternoon. He should have scored at least 1, should have been more committed to the defensive header for their goal, if he leaves his post - but think he was in two minds and by then it was too late. I was expecting SdR to come on for him with about 20 mins to go. To an extent I can see why Fox was replaced. His passing was awful and continually gave away possession - but in saying that, it was his cross for our goal. Harding was under pressure but should have at least tried to put it out for a throw in. Poor marking already mentioned by others, led to the equaliser. We should have killed the game off at 1-0 with our chances, but unfortunately Morgan is hardly prolific, Guly's 2nd chance was well saved to be fair and I felt that our other chances didn't feel to the right people - as has been the story of our last few away games. We are still top for Christmas, so if we win our next 2 home games, it will set us up nicely for a New Year's push and we will see how the squad is strengthened in the window. Hopefully in addition to a signing or 2, we will have Chap, Barney and Conolly back from injury to give us a few more options and generally freshen things up. Keep the faith guys - another sell out on Boxing Day !! Have a great Christmas one and all All the best to Saints over the Festive Period and for the New Year too !! COYR

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zoso added 17:45 - Dec 19 I am with Nick on this no corner no goal. NA made the WRONG call. We looked like we would have kept a clean sheet. Still going up. COYR
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zonehead added 18:01 - Dec 19 At least we looked like weve woken up at last and played at a decent tempo, something we have not done of late, which gives me optimism for the second half. Still think Ricky has the genes of Ron Davies when he heads them in.
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ExiledSupporter added 00:05 - Dec 20 I always find it difficult to disagree with the great majority of your comments , Nick. I think you write well considered reviews and like everyone else have your own hobbyhorse(s) from time to time. So keep up the good work. Personally I am confused about NA's selection, without Chaplow we have a workmanlike midfield but, apart from Lallana, little creativity. Too many players with the same style, not enough width and not much pace. Too many crosses from the same angle without sufficient energy expended to get to the goal line before putting in a decent cross. Both teams passing was atrocious - take your point about the pitch - but this was a condition that players should overcome after a short period becoming accustomised. Yes I thought Do Prado was poor (and at fault for the goal, accepted that there were others who could have done more to stop the situation arising in the first place); he seems more suited to running with the ball at his feet than with his back to goal and he has played for us on the right of midfield, quite effectively at times, which in our current circumstances would seem the most viable option. Not sure what has happened to Barnard after a brief sighting earlier in the month, is he injured. RL needs someone closer to him to distract defenders and create more space. NA must take remedial action now before our position in the league is further undermined

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steadyeddie added 00:24 - Dec 20 Tough call. I have read everyone's view point, and having been at the game, we should have won. BUT.. that is football. One error of judgement (Guly to be subbed/Fox not subbed/Harding clearing for a throw in rather than a corner..etc) We are top going into Xmas 2011, a position, I would have accepted gratefully if you had asked me before the Leeds game in August. We are having a tiny wobble at the moment, but stay strong, stay positive, and above all get behind the team. We have real chance this year. Yes, Nigel Adkins will make more bad decisions, the same as we all do in our weeks work, but these will be in the minority, and he will make lots more good decisions this season. Come the end of April, I trust (and hope) these will add upto a Promotion or dare I say a Championship win.

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