It was very much a game of two halves as Saints dominated the first and Bournemouth the second, but the home side held on.

Saints were brilliant in the first half and good money for their 2-0 half time lead and it could easily have been more. Dusan Tadic was calling the shots and Saints were carving Bournemouth apart with two very well worked goals from Steven Davis and Dusan Tadic.

But as Saints fans rubbed their hands at half time in anticipation of a goal feast, little did they know that the second half would swing in completely the opposite direction.

Perhaps it was the fact that Jose Fonte had to come off that changed Saints momentum a little bit, but as the second half wore on the Cherries got the ball and passed it around, at first Saints coped well and in truth they were not really damaging us, but they started to get their tails up and before we knew it we were fighting a rear guard action.

When Ronald Koeman brought on Romeu for Jordy Clasie with 20 minutes to go it initially looked a good decision, but it would have dire consequences when 6 minutes later Wanyama already walking a tightrope after having been booked in the first half received a second yellow, it was then truly backs to the wall.

Bournemouth now had their tails up and pushed forward and Saints looked a shadow of the side they were first half, however they were nothing if but resolute and dug in to keep their first clean sheet in six league games and if anything is to be taken from the second half performance it is this.

The truth is though if Bournemouth had had a decent striker it could have been different, but you can only play what is in front of you.

It felt like a defeat at the end of the game, such was the change in fortune, but it wasn't it was a victory and one that Saints had earned by showing that they could compete in all areas, both when completely on top and when being overun.

Ronald Koeman does have some thinking to do though, this is the 2nd home game in a row his side have been battered in the second half and unable to get and keep the ball to what could be deemed an acceptable level, the manager has to look at this and consider how he can stop it happening in future.

But it is a win and one that pushes Saints up to 7th place in the table which is a very acceptable place to be at this time of the season, unlike last year it has not been a lightening start, but it has been a steady and stable one with improvement all the time and we are well positioned to be abe to mount an assault on the top five in the coming months.

This game was not out finest of the season by a long chalk, but we should take some satisfaction in the fact that we were able to take the pressure and not concede.

Photo: Action Images

Jesus_02 added 08:59 - Nov 2 Second half was a bit concerning TBH. One word complacent. I think we actually played better with 10 as we woke up a bit. Having said that I wouldn’t say B’mouth “dominated” the second half, they never looked like scoring. A bit concerning for them really.
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GeordieSaint added 09:58 - Nov 2 Sure loads of people were at the game but I was watching on the telly. Loved hearing Niall Quinn describe Saint's first goal as "Koeman inspired Dutch total football." We should get a full Orange away kit for next season.
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saintmark1976 added 10:14 - Nov 2 In my opinion I saw Bournemouth for what they are currently. A poor, injury ridden outfit on the back of a very dispiriting run of form who unless they can do some business in the transfer window will be certain relegation candidates at season end. At the end of the day we did what was necessary to beat them. Two goals to the good at the break the second half resembled a mid week training session of attack against defence. Looking forward I hope that Jay Rod and Shane recover quickly to give us some more options up front again.

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SanMarco added 10:18 - Nov 2 I would actually also include that lethal 50 minutes or so when we went missing against Manure. Agree with Jesus that complacency is part of it but once we lose control we do look very ramshackle - we didn't 'fall apart' yesterday but Bournemouth aren't as good as Leicester. If we are 2-0 up against, say, Arsenal at half-time then we will lose if we play like that in the second half. Having said that - we won and scored two great goals, kept a clean sheet and hopefully the lessons that weren't fully learnt after Leicester will now be acted upon.

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schatfield added 12:09 - Nov 2 very strange game, domination in the first half. And complete shell shock from us in the 2nd, so much so Bournemouth just camped in our half for the whole 45. Agree, they do look champo side without some of their injured players, otherwise we could have been made to pay like in the Leicester game. Why would a side like that put so much fear into us? Very odd...
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Consigliere added 12:30 - Nov 2 WE ALL KNOW that the first half was terrific and the second half wasn't. The issue for debate is why this happened? I really don't think that it had anything to do with the substitution of Fonte for Yoshida (he's pretty solid in defence now and certainly more than good enough to face Bournemouth) and I really don't think that its because our players grew tired (with the possible exception of Mane who ran riot in the first half and looked exhausted in the second). I also don't think that you could put it down to any one factor, so my take is that its a combination of a variety of issues which need to be tackled: (A) We need to recognise that a team that has gone 2 goals down in the first half is bound to press higher up the field in the second period, respond accordingly and not panic (B) This means not losing our shape! This is the second time that has happened, the first with disastrous consequences (Leicester). (C) The further back into our own half we are drawn, the worse it becomes. I like the way Pelle is prepared to come back to help out in defence but unless he remains fairly high up the pitch we are never going to have an outlet when the ball is cleared from defence/the centre (D) When under pressure we need to avoid giving away cheap fouls - VW was clearly at fault here and RK let him know it as he came off the pitch. (E) I agree with an earlier poster, we actually played better with 10 men than 11 in the second period, and I think that the reason for that is the team knew that getting the play back into midfield was essential. So, some important lessons to be learned. Overall a good result but nothing less than should have been achieved against a team without a decent striker so I think moderate congratulations deserved here but not more.

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SalisburySaint added 12:35 - Nov 2 I thought we looked more comfortable defending with 10 men than before Wanyama got sent off to be honest However we do not seem to be able to adapt to opponents changes to a more attacking force which is what both our last two league opponents at St Mary's have done, although losing Fonte at half time also had an effect yesterday IMO Still we survived I'm sure this is something the coaching team will be working on to correct in future games. Still 7 games without defeat despite these issues cannot be bad

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bstokesaint added 12:40 - Nov 2 Spot on Consigliere. It's totally a mental thing. We don't know at 2-0 if we're shutting up shop or trying to kill the game off. We seem to neither particularly well and consequently give the opposition hope when that should have been totally crushed! I love the way Fonte acknowledged this because as many a poster has said a better team would have got a result. If we're going to be a "bigger" team we need to think like a bigger team. You don't give the opposition a chance when you take a lead at home.

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saintsnutcase added 14:21 - Nov 2 We were so superior to Bournemouth it was ridiculous. There is so much class in our side. Not sure about Clasie yet - he looks off the pace, which is understandable.
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BoondockSaint added 14:59 - Nov 2 Grateful for the 3 points, but we still have the same bad habits: All over a weaker team in the first half, but only have 2 goals-another team would have had 4. We get up by 2 and reckon that's enough work for the day, no killer instinct to pile it on to secure the game and add to goal differential. The only difference between this game and last weeks was they didn't have Vardy. We tend to always play up or down to the level of our opposition. Still, a win is a win.

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DPeps added 18:48 - Nov 2 To add to what others have said: I think the main issue in the second half was our inability to hold up the ball in attack. Partly that was down to poor balls out of defence and partly the forwards were to blame. I sound like the Gaston fan club at the moment, but perhaps bringing him on for Tadic might have helped, as he might have held the ball better as Tadic inevitably faded out the game

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welhamdowed added 20:04 - Nov 2 Fair enough we defend a lead, the top teams do that too. But we need to still carry a threat in attack if/when we do. Sky sports talked about our pace but when Cedric and Ryan are kept busy we aren't overly blessed. This is where Jrod and Long come to the party with their pace and work ethic.
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1970 added 22:20 - Nov 2 Koemans insistence on getting Clasie up to speed is a big problem for us, he was a pedestrian on 50 mins he kept him on for a lot longer than he should and bum-muth nearly profited from it, I know it's easy to say sitting from the stands but I would of thought a double substitution on 55 mins of Romeu and Ward-Prowse for VW and Clasie would of saved all that one sided second half, Clasie is a very good player but his reading of the game is nowhere near the standard of schniedelin but he will get there so in the meantime we keep on the edge of our seats praying we hold on, Sunderland ,Stoke and Villa next we should do alright against them but start playing Yoshida at right back and expecting Clasie to play 90 mins would be a disaster against Shitepool coyr

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