There were a few moans coming out of the game tonight, but to put it in perspective it was a game that Saints more then deserved a point from against a side who are still a force in English football.

Saints took on Manchester United and at times it seemed their own crowd as they battled to secure that 8th position in the Premier League, but again Claude Puel baffled the Saints support by again making multiple changes this time 8 from the side that started against Middlesbrough.

It looked like it might be a storming start when Saints were awarded a penalty in the opening minutes, Manolo Gabbiadini was the third player in four games to step up to the spot and the third player in four games to miss.

Why the job wasnt given to to James Ward Prowse who was the only player on the pitch who hasn't missed this season is anyones guess

That stirred United and it took a smart save from Fraser Forster to keep the sides level, but it was Saints taking the game to United and if the first half was played at a slow pace in the second half it picked up and at times Saints laid siege to the United goal with the visiting keeper making four decent saves to keep his side level.

Those who say they havent been entertained at St Mary's this season did not see goals in this game but they did see a second half full of incident at both ends, sadly it was the United keeper Romero who was man of the match though.

This would normally be considered a good performance by Saints but sadly for many they came to bury Saints not praise them and in the first half the crowd was on the back of its own team, in the second it responded to the increase in tempo and got behind them and hopefully the supporters will see that this was a step forward to an 8th place finish and not a step back.

Now it goes to Sunday, but it is now in Saints hands, they know that a win sees them finish 8th and that is a big achievement given the issues this season.

Photo: Action Images

PezzaSaint added 19:27 - May 18 Hope I haven't missed someone else making this observation, but could our penalty misses be down to the fact that they may be practiced against FF? After all he struggles to consistently move his feet. Great penalty save v Liverpool, but he had time to think about moving. A lot of the time the ball is behind him before he moves anything. Our so called penalty takers might be to complacent because they score every time against Big Fraser? Just a thought!

-1

SaintBrock added 09:48 - May 19 So, it was Fraser Forster's fault that Gabbiadini missed an open goal from 12 yards! Glad you cleared that one up PezzaSaint. Doh!
0

PezzaSaint added 19:57 - May 19 Saint Brock, clearly it's been a long season for you, you've lost your ability to spot irony?! Or are you secretly FF's agent. Have a good break.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Leyton Orient Polls