For over an hour it looked like it would be a frustrating night for Saints, then suddenly the game matched the occasion.

Like most Saints fans I was a little disappointed with Claude Puel's selections to take on Inter Milan, I wanted nothing left to chance so to see Jose Fonte and Charlie Austin on the bench was not what I wanted to hear.

However that little gripe aside it was still a decent line up and one that showed that like the significance of playing Inter Milan in the Europa League and the progress that signified, that even a starting XI with the bulk made up of those who you might not pick in your starting XI is stronger than the team that we had at the start of our first season back in the Premier League four years ago.

But for over an hour it looked like the game might follow a similar pattern to the one over in Italy a couple of weeks ago, there was plenty of noise from the Saints fans, plenty of efforts on goal from Saints, some good saves from the Inter goalkeeper, a smash and grab goal from Inter and it was looking like it would be another great occasion but another defeat.

The first half saw some good attacking play from Saints and some good chances, but Inter took their chance when it came with Saints appealing for a foul on Virgil Van Dijk in the build up and we moentarily lost our concentration and it cost us dearly.

Just as it looked like Saints would go in behind at the break came another controversial moment, Saints got a penalty, in truth replays showed that it was harsh, it should never have been given, but of the ref got that one wrong, he lost control in the next minute or so as Inter players lost their composure.

I don't know what Sam McQueen was doing in going over to Candreva as Tadic prepared to take the spot kick, but the Inter player clearly elbowed McQueen in the face to spark a melee in which the referee had no control at the end of it he awarded Candreva a yellow card, strange in that if he saw the incident then it was clear and a red should have followed, if he didn't then there should have been no card, perhaps he felt that two wrongs made a right.

The delay did not help Dusan Tadic who then hit a poor penalty which the keeper saved with his legs and perhaps in this case it was three wrongs making that right.

I thought at half time that the game hinged on Saints getting a goal and if we did we would win, on sixty minutes I said that again that if we scored and left ourselves with 15 minutes to get a second we would, in the end I didn't have to wait that long.

The first came on 64 minutes with Virgil Van Dijk firing home after the ball came back of the bar and 4 minutes 57 seconds later we had the lead Nagatomo showing that Kamikaze defending is a Japanese trademark and failing to do anything other than let the ball hit him and spin into the net to send St Mary's wild.

We now had the lead and the impetus had to change a little, it was now more important to not give a goal away than score one, Claude Puel has much Europea experience and he knew what to do, on came Steven Davis for the tiring Tadic to shore up the midfield and see out the game and it was fitting that the final whistle should be blown with Davs on the ball next to the corner flag.

A great win for Saints, a historic win for Saints but one that was won by hard work and concentration on the task in hand.

That has now made Saints task in the final two games very clear, if they want to win the group then they need to win in Prague, if they do so then that is in their own hands, but even if they lose to Sparta, they now only need a win against Happoel Be'er Sheva in the final game to qualify, if we achieve that we are guaranteed second place whatever happens in the remaining fixtures in the group.

Photo: Action Images

abingdonsaint added 10:02 - Nov 4 Another subtle dig at Yoshida there then Nick, who once again had an excellent game last night. No mention of all Romeu's loose passes? (I do like Romeu by the way, but nobody's perfect!)
6

IanRC added 10:04 - Nov 4 No one was more surprised than I that we were given that penalty as otherwise the referee and official at the Milan end first half were both blind or incompetent. Inter are a great rugby side though, never seen anything like it at corners. The officials saw it and ignored it. Just shows how corrupt football remains, with the media and governing bodies content to only support the 'big' teams. Surprised you didn't highlight the incidents Nick in your article. Still a great win that keeps us on track.

6

IanRC added 10:06 - Nov 4 Abingdonsaint - very subtle I missed it altogether. I agree that Yoshida was very good, not sure I would rate him as better than Fonte though if that is what you mean.
1

abingdonsaint added 10:13 - Nov 4 Don't think it is corruption so much IanRC, I think it is more about interpretation of the laws. Grappling at set pieces has been standard procedure in Italy for donkeys years, and whenever a new directive comes in it seems we take it on board, but other countries ignore it. The referee was by no means perfect, but he did let a lot go generally, and personally I prefer that to constantly stopping and starting. Would have been interesting to see Mike Dean ref that game though!

0

abingdonsaint added 10:15 - Nov 4 PS.......I don't prefer Yoshida over Jose, but I just think he gets some unnecessary stick at times!
6

deanosfc8 added 10:50 - Nov 4 I thought the Inter we saw last night was a different side we saw in the San Siro, I think maybe that surprised us a little & us the supporters who many of us thought they would just roll over & have there belly tickled. VVD was man of the match but I have to mention JWP who I usually slaughter, but give credit when due I thought this was his best game for us.
1

Bison added 11:10 - Nov 4 Sam McQueen had spotted the Italian digging up the penalty spot with his boot so was going over to stamp it down again when he fore arm smashed him , Sam was not even looking at the player. As for the yellow card I am not even sure it was the same player who got it.
2

SaintNick added 11:53 - Nov 4 Yes perhaps I did have a subtle dig at Yoshida, he did have a good game last night (Lets not get pedantic as I said good and not very good or great) but in his four years here he does have that flaw to lose concentration and that is a weakness that you cannot coach someone. In my verdicts I tend not to get too much in depth but highlight what I see as the crucial moments and points in the game . Yes Romeu had a few stray passes and one that left us exposed, but it did not leave their man clear through on goal and that is why I did not highlight it, it left him 40 yards out with our defenders between him on goal, it was a dodgy moment but not a crucial one

-1

davepid added 12:09 - Nov 4 Most historic and amazing thing about last nights game was JWP hittinga moving bal towards the goal, making the keeper make decent saves , not once but twice. Now that is progress.
5

bstokesaint added 12:31 - Nov 4 What a fantastic night. We seem to always have better second halves in Europa League, but I didn't see that coming. VVD deserved that goal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was labeled the best defender in the world right now. I'm not sure if we should be a little concerned though that he tends to always get our best opportunities mind? Romeu looked solid and JWP and Yoshida put in some good shifts. I noticed a lot of fans saying Hojberg had a great game, but I disagree. Think it was one of his worst games for us. Plenty of effort, but his normal high standard of passing wasn't there and a number of times instead of looking up to release a runner he turned and went back to goal - again not his normal way of playing. Plenty of positives all round. And definitely the worst referee we've had in the competition so far, with the rest actually being quite good. A jellyfish would has more backbone than last night's official. Inter should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute at the end of the first half. So much for an end to surrounding the referee!

2

WestSussexSaint added 12:38 - Nov 4 I echo the comments about Yoshida. He had one of his better games but I still get nervous when he tries to play it out from the back. JWP was MOTM in my opinion and I think he really fed of the crowd support. As for the ref, I was starting to wonder if he had been left a horses head in his hotel room before the game..... Final word, I tuned into Talk Sport on the way home to get some post match reviews only to receive 60 mins of moaning Man U callers. Talk Sport - in case you hadn't head Saints were the team that won last night!

-1

LordDZLucan added 12:44 - Nov 4 Once Maya Yoshida gets his one guaranteed calamity per game out of the way he is a class act - precise passing, good in the air, quick. You just hope it happens early and he gets away with it. Yes, one or two loose passes from Oriol Romeu which was unusual for him. And Virgil was the stand out yet again. But I thought the key takeaway from the game, and no disrespect to Charlie Austin and JayRod, was how good we could be if we had a really top class striker. Put Aguerro in that Southampton team and we would have been out of sight by half-time.

3

redandwhitedee added 12:45 - Nov 4 Everyone could see the Cheating Italian blatantly diggging up the penalty spot. McQueen did exactly the right thing in sprinting in to try prevent it. He also did very well not reacting to the elbow and getting sent off himself. He had a superb game in fact and did not make one mistake throughout. Romeu did well again I thought. He is absolutely priceless to us in this formation. Our weakest links by far were Rodrigues who needs match practice still, but more surprisingly Hojberg who gave the ball away a lot (much more than Romeu), got caught ball watching several times and on more than one occasion looked simply unfit. When he gives the ball away, he does not chase it back. I can see after last night why Puel does not consider him yet to be a regular starter. On the other hand, JWP relishes these big games and is growing into a very, very good player. Is it just me though or is Forster looking off the pace recently ? He rarely holds a shot anymore, often gets beaten at his near post or through legs, and does not come out to command his box like he used to. I am a big fan of his, but something is not right.

6

LordDZLucan added 12:50 - Nov 4 redandwhitedee - I agree with your observation about Fraser being off the pace although I must have missed the game when you saw him come out and command his box!
2

halftimeorange added 12:51 - Nov 4 Last night's officials made some of the EPL's worst look competent. There is a large contingent of Polish Saints fans so I do hope the referee safely gets on his plane home today as they are not as tolerant as our indigenous supporters. As for the game, it showed the best and worst of Saints but I won't dwell on the worst as JWP, VVD and, in particular, Sam McQueen all had outstanding games. In respect of the latter, being tall, quickish and able to jump made me wonder whether consideration might be given to converting him to a centre back, what with Targett and Bertrand already in place and only Yoshida as cover for Jose and VVD. A very satisfactory result and I as glad I was there to see it.

2

SaintNick added 12:56 - Nov 4 Good points about converting McQueen to a central defender, if we were to win in Prague, then perhaps we should try this in the home game against Be'er Sheva
3

Big_T added 13:45 - Nov 4 Redandwhitedee I total I agree with you Forster , must be something to do with england coaches as every time he spends time with them he comes back like a timid sheep. He needs to get some grit in his game again, quickly. Virgil was great last night and so was Yoshida, who has been very good in all the games that he has filled in, not easy coming in and out of a defensive unit but he is proving what a great squad player he is. If we get a striker who can hold the ball or real pace we will have another great year. Austin and Redmond are not good enough.

1

SaintBrock added 13:52 - Nov 4 Disagree about Sam McQueen. He was made to be a wingback and Targett surely has dropped to third choice at best now. McQueen can tackle in one-to-one situations when he is our last line of defence and importantly stays on his feet. He is also very much faster and fitter than ever he was in the U21's as a striker. He is obviously the sort of player who likes to have the ball in front of him. His runs down the left top third last night were not only spectacular and mostly successful but also a reminder of how quickly he has matured into be a consummate first team professional. In fact if I were Ryan Bertrand I'd be feeling a tad less relaxed this morning. McQueen surely to start at Hull on Sunday and definitely Yoshida for Fonte on current form.

1

landerwal added 13:55 - Nov 4 What I felt was great about last night was that for a time in the second half with Milan still 1/0 up, the match seem to be drifting away from us, with them looking the more likely to score, but our players stuck in and got back into it and fully deserved a memorable win. An interesting point was made on Radio Solent after the match about Fonte not having played in any European tie. Is the move to Manchester United still on in January and is his lack of participation is so he will not be cup tied? Though after last night's result for United being cup tied is looking increasingly less likely.

2

SaintNick added 14:09 - Nov 4 I dont think there are any conspiracy theories with Fonte, Puel rests one of his central defenders in midweek games, it seems to be Fonte in Europe and VVD in the league cup. I think one thing Puel has done is instilled a bit of self belief in Yoshida, under the last couple of managers Yoshida was only played when it was really neccessary due to injury, whereas Puel has shown confidence in him to play him in Europe league games, he probably feels a lot more confident in himself as a player because of that and not just making up the numbers

3

HungrySaint added 16:47 - Nov 4 Must say the best thing about last nights game besides the result was the number of shots from the edge of the box. In recent months we seem to have been trying to thread balls through and when teams sit back like Chelsea we came unstuck. Far better to get a shot on target and make the keeper work. One thing is guaranteed regardless of possession no shots will mean no goals!!!

2

SaintPaulVW added 17:58 - Nov 4 Yoshi was more than good last night. Anyway, not bad for a team playing with 2 third choice full backs and a second choice CB. Will JRod ever be back to being as good as he was, I'm starting to get worried about him. Also Hjobjerg did some lovely stuff last night. If we can just get a striker in consistent form we'll be flying. Buzzing today. COYR.
1

perazi added 18:13 - Nov 4 Brilliant come-from-behind win - there was a time when Saints didn't come back from a deficit at h/t. Special mention for JWP, a player I have been critical about - he is definitely showing signs of improvement this season.
1

aceofthebase added 18:16 - Nov 4 I heard that an official when questioned said that the yellow card was for unsportsmanlike action.mmmm Was he referring to the scuffing of the penalty spot if so retrospective action could be taken for the 'unseen' elbow incident I think that both full backs may now be our 1st choice players. Forster looks very static and apprehensive about leaving his goal line Well played our two centre backs, yes that's you Yoshida. VVD would make a wonderful centre forward when we eventually buy another CB.

1

luffy22 added 18:38 - Nov 4 Pretty poor really, a good side would have slaughtered us, this passing round the back and not attacking is really frustrating, it makes sideways Jim Magilton look like an attacking midfielder. My first game this season, probably the last as well, even though I was given some tickets for the next home europa game. Were pretty shit still. We really need to buy an attacker. Great result, one to remember and in 20 years time I'l be talking about the time I was at St Marys watching inter Milan get beaten, just like the Manu result 20 years ago. VVD was immense, can't see what all the fuss is about Redmond, yeah he can run sideways with the ball ok, but very rarely beats anyone going forward. The actual best bit was to see that saints have learned and JWP took the booking at the end to slow the game down, perhaps he has some italian in him. Their keeper mad some good saves again. Officials were bloody awful. as was inters kit, Sorry but not one to remember for the footballing, but for the result, yes

-1

Blogs 32 bloggers

Liverpool Polls