A good positive performance to take us into the International break top.

Saints beat Watford comprehensively although they needed the help of a couple of penalties to get them started, calm the nerves and let them start to boss the game with the confidence a two goal lead does.

The first came in controversial circumstances, no one in the ground apart from the referee seemed to spot anything that warranted a penalty and TV replays dont seem to show much either, however the referee spottes a handball and gave the kick that Rickie Lamebert dispatched in his usual manner.

Lambert should have doubled the lead straight after when Danny Fox delivered another pin point free kick that found SRL unmarked at the far post, sadly he put it wide when seemingly easier to score, Adam Lallana though was unlucky with a shot that almost broke the crossbar such was it ferocity.

Second half and Saints needed that goal to kill the game off, they got it after ten minutes with another penalty, this time more clear cut, it gave them the breathing space they needed and there was now only going to be one result.

With 20 minutes to go the game was safe, Guly playing up front showed that although some supporters might not always appreciate him, he has a touch of class about him, he made space for himself after getting the ball in the area and stroked it seemingly effortlessly into the bottom left corner.

Saints could have had far more, Chaplow's introduction for De Ridder had added a little something to the play and he almost got his reward when indecision in the Watford bos saw him hit the far post, Richardson also saw the keeper make a fine save.

With four minutes left Lee Holmes came on and despite the short period of time he had, he still managed to put in a great cross which only the laertness of the Watford keeper stopped finding a Saints head and then cut in from the right and hit a low strike that made it four for Saints.

I have tried to be positive with this review and concentrate on the good points, to be honest it was easy to do so as Saints had the right attitute from the start and dominated from start to finish, but i will pick up on issues fro previous games.

Kelvin Davis distribution still didnt look all it should be, at one point the crowd started to get on his back a little as they sensed that it might be putting the side into trouble, luckily as the game went on Watford tired and didnt push up on us as much so it wasnt an issue second half, Davis had a good game apart from this, but its still an ongoing issue.

In the centre of defence we looked stronger, but Fonte is still out of sorts a little and doesnt seem to be able to form the same partnership with Hooiveld that he has done in the past two seasons with other central defenders, its hard to put my finger on it, but Hooiveld for me is just lacking something.

Danny Fox I paid special attention to, I have obviously championed him above Harding, if only because i felt that if a manager feels the need to spend £2 million on a position then he sees it as a problem, that being the case you have to back your own judgement, Fox in my mind had a very good game, he defended well and used the ball intelligently, finding his own players more oftne than not, his ability to deliver a crossor dead ball into the heart of a defence is becoming a powerful weapon, but for the woeful heading of Rickie Lambert both at Burnley, Cardiff and here he would have at least  two more assists to his name, the only real piece of poor play i could note was in the second half when Adam Lallana played him into trouble near the corner flag, he chose the wrong option and gave away possesion, this to be blunt was his only real mistake, the defence looked better and that helped Danny both defensively and finding room to go forward.

Steve De Ridder to me is similar to Mikail Antonio, players with pace always look good, but what really counts is the final decision, you can beat as many men as you want but if you cant use the ball it counts for nothing. early on De Ridder looked good but after about 15 minutes Watford had worked out how to play him and he drifted out of the game,

Lee Holmes is a different animal, he might not have the speed of De Ridder, but he knows how to use the ball and despite only a short period of time on the pitch he put in one decent cross and scored a good goal, if you put De Ridders pace with Holmes brain you would have one hell of a player.

The International break now gives Nigel Adkins time to take stock and work on the areas that need attention, perhaps the only worry of the day was the non appearance of David Connolly, if he is injured we are very short on attacking options             

Photo: Action Images

legod7 added 12:41 - Oct 2 I thought that was the worst first half display so far this season. We could, and probably should have been 3-0 down before we got that lucky penalty. Absolutely brilliant second half by Saints, but it could have so different after a woeful first half
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felly1 added 12:46 - Oct 2 Basically a dodgy decision which went our way turned the match because for the first 30 minutes Watford looked the better side , they looked organised and defensively strong but lacking in quality up front to punish us.Kelvin's kicking is at times woeful but he's still in my opinion a premiership class shotstopper with flaws.You are right to point out our defensive frailties and both our centrebacks dont dominate the opposition forwards and with our fullbacks looking to push forward means we can get carved open at times.We in return open teams up with our slick passing game and at times look absolute class.It's Nigel's job to get the balance right and we can hardly complain being top,but I agree with you in that particulary away from home we need to be more solid and tight.

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Struggers added 14:21 - Oct 2 If you look at the photo's in the gallery on the OS, one of them clearly shows the hand of the Watford defender on the ball. No controversy. Well done ref, good decision.
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saintBob added 15:22 - Oct 2 I disagree with felly1 - not at any time did Watford look the better side, they may have had their moments but Saints looked on top from the start. Lambert was being fouled constantly in the first half but the ref didn't seem to notice and a few tackles from behind went unpunished. The ongoing problem with playing the ball out of defence doesn't always lay with Davis. Quite often the back four do not have the support from the midfield which leaves them short of options.

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SaintNick added 18:24 - Oct 2 I agree its not just a davis problem, as was shown by Hooiveld at Cardiff, however every match Kelvin does play someone into trouble and its something that has to be eradicated
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hortonsaint added 21:39 - Oct 2 I agree that Fox (and Richardson) was excellent going forward. The main reason I pick you up on Fox vs Harding is that yes he is a far superior footballer but your gripe has been the defensive frailty of Harding and I can't see Fox is any better in that department and he didn't have a great deal to do defensively on Saturday. I do think it's a little harsh to blame Fonte's form on Hooiveld who has done little wrong apart from the Cardiff error. Fonte should be good enough to adapt to playing alongside him and to be honest he's the sort of dominant CB Fonte should enjoy playing with. Fonte is getting a little shown up by the movement and pace of superior forwards I feel who are exposing him as not the polished CB he looked in league 1.Totally agree about Guly, I'm afraid those who knock him fail to see that he tends to be involved in much of the positive play we have and one of the problems with football in this country is our insistence on all out graft and effort instead of the football intelligence and class which he possesses but is often not appreciated because things he does don't always come off. People naturally call for De Rida because he they perceive him to be more dangerous with his pace but I agree that he was poor and looked one dimensional. I'm one of the few that thinks that if fit Lee Holmes could play a big part for us.

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schatfield added 02:43 - Oct 3 For me, I will keep banging the drum for lee holmes. the guy can deliver a ball, and if you can deliver like he can, we will score a lot of goals. He doesnt have pace but he has vision. Would play him in the starting 11 every week and I hope he starts to get his chances now.
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