It really should have been a win, but again the team showed great spirit to come back from a goal down.

It many respects this was almost a perfect performance and it harked back to the Ronald Koeman days when we would base our game on keeping it tight at the back and going on the break, but it was ruined by an error from Wesley Hoedt who was caught in possession.

This was the only blip on the game for Saints although it took a few smart saves from Fraser Forster to keep the Cherries at bay otherwise.

The most pleasing aspect though was the way that the team now play with more urgency and pattern, Mauricio Pellegrino changed things again to suit the game and made the right substitutionsand again the players look like they are now motivated and playing for the manager.

Again it was pleasing for the under fire players to do well, Fraser Frster as mentioned made several decent saves and Nathan Redmond came on and created the goal for Charlie Austin.

Pellegrino seems to have learnt his lesson that if he plays his wide men then he has to give them something to aim for and Austin is showing he is that man.

Sadly though was the fact that despite all the plus points it was only one point when it really should have been three, we outplayed Bournemouth for long periods but could not take our chances and that was ultimately what cost us the win.

But we are now looking more like the Saints of old, it was a pleasure to watch and if we keep improving as we have done in the past week then we can aim for another top ten finish.

The confidence is returning and although we have a tough period ahead we can go into it with relish.

A few Saints supporters are still moaning about the fact that we gave a goal away etc, they have to realice that Rome wasn't built in a day, we are starting to move forward again, we are only 7 points off of Burnley who are seen as this years surprise package, we put together a good run and we can be up there with them and challenging for 7th place.

But the Saints support needs to have a little patience, get behind their team and realice that we can keep moving forward a Little each season, but it can't be smooth every year, we just need to keep ourselves in sight of that top 10 and then 7th place and chip away at it.

Man of the match was again hard to pick, Charlie Austin probably shaved it not only for the way that he took his goal, but the way he lead the line in general, if he stays fit then he can hit 15 goals this season.

But honourable mentions to Nathan Redmond for the way he ran at the home defence and created the goal, Fraser Forster for again showing that on his day there arent that many better keepers than him in the Premier League and Ryan Bertrand whose overlapping play was a constant threat.

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 09:30 - Dec 4 Completely agree.
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BaselSaint added 09:41 - Dec 4 They seem transformed. Something has changed and it's great to see the pointless ponderous play gone and the assertive forward movement return.
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redandwhitedee added 09:46 - Dec 4 Absolute nonsense. Bournemouth outplayed us as much as we”outplayed them”. They should have put the game well out of our reach by half time. Pellegrino got his tactics badly wrong in that 1st half. Tadic and jwp were passengers (and I am a fan of jwp). Pied after a shaky start (not surprising given lack of game time), settled into the game and showed a useful physical presence.

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LondonSaint added 09:53 - Dec 4 Still not convinced by MP but based on recent results you have to say he deserves longer to see if he can keep this momentum and improvement. Ultimately a win against a poor Everton team, a loss against City, and a draw away at Bournemouth is the bare minimum we should be looking for ordinarily, so still some way to go but what a relief to see some improvement! Top marks to Austin - a while in the wilderness and then coming back and proving himself once again. Let's hope the improvement continues!

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SanMarco added 10:01 - Dec 4 Bournemouth are no pushovers so a point after a bad first half is not a disaster. We perhaps should have won it in the second half but there were one or two worrying defensive lapses over and above the obvious one of the goal. Giving that guy a free header fron the last action of the game didn't do my nerves any good. I do hope though that the transfer committee don't decide that Austin is the answer to all our attacking problems. He is very injury prone and we do need a plan B and a plan C. I can't see Gabby wanting to stay much longer if he doesn't get more game time so there is a lot to do in January to make sure we don't have an anxious few weeks in the spring. Even a born pessimist like me doesn't think we will go down but I have got used to us being safe by not too long into the new year!!!

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highfield49 added 10:04 - Dec 4 Having already read comments, posted elsewhere, blaming Forster for not saving their scoring effort and Redmond for, apparently, just being allowed on the pitch I'm not prepared to point the finger at anyone today. It was one of those games where both sets of supporters can point at "what ifs" and claim some kind of hypothetical moral victory. It's rapidly looking like Gabbi will have to adapt his style to fit in to the team rather than the team change it's style to fit in with Gabbi, let's hope he can quickly adapt to the format because he's a class act and wasted on the bench.

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saintmark1976 added 10:11 - Dec 4 Sorry Nick but how on earth do you describe yesterday as " almost a perfect performance"? It was nothing other than yet another two points lost against a frankly very poor Bournemouth outfit who's home record this season is woeful. Have we turned a corner? Not when the manager continues to play only one forward and includes Ward Prowse in the starting line up ahead of Lemina, what was he thinking with that decision? Let alone Hoedt's error and a very fortunate non penalty decision. The only saving grace is that there appear to be some very poor teams in the Premiership this season which hopefully will be enough for us to avoid relegation.

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underweststand added 10:14 - Dec 4 Lots of different angles to this one. Firstly, the size of the ground is somewhat reminsicent of The Dell (except 1/3rd of the capacity) and the slightly smaller pitch doesn't favour wide men -as did Etihad last week. As for the play....I know Hoedt " looks good", but he still has a lot to learn about a CB's job in the Prem. He got caught out terribly which led to their goal. I know he has to learn, but shouldn't be at the expense of Yoshida . Bertrand is better every game, and Forster looking more like a Prem. goalie now. For all his shortcomings ..Charlie Austin is the only real threat in the box, whilst the rest of the team have target practice trying to hit Row Z. Pity we lost JWP at HT, but we needed Redmond on form afterwards. Boufal needs to play further forward and stop trying to beat himself 3 or 4 times when he's not even in the box. Penalty shouts /diving and time-wasting aside, we had enough good chances to have won it , but hopefully if MP has any real " nous " in tactical play and formations - expect to see team changes in all the forthcoming games - depending on the opposition. On paper we have a good selection of midfielders, but still can't seem to find the right combination of... who... plays.. where. The defensive line-up used v.Man City may work in away games v. Chelsea, Spurs and Man Utd., but we must be more creative in home games.

1

skiptonsaint added 10:21 - Dec 4 Overall more positives than negatives and one of those results where if we beat them at St Mary's then 4 points of a rival team is a good return. But it is a result that confirms that we are likely to be seeing a very midtable season. Can't see a run starting for a Europe place and at this point , we would need to catch Leicester, Watford , Burnley and Everton which I can't see. Possible but would need a lot of players returning to form. So Lets give the FA cup a go and make sure the transfer business we do in Jan is solid and all about a much stronger team for next year. Gabbi cannot be happy but I can't see us going back to playing with a striker like him in a 4231 after this upturn with an Austin style player. Maybe an upgrade on a Shane Long as a different option but that will be costly in Jan and also as someone said relying on Austin is risky especially in a tight division.

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LordDZLucan added 10:46 - Dec 4 I'm largely in agreement with underweststand. Overall, a much, much better performance. Frazer's now back to his best so we don't have to worry about the keeping any more; and Charlie Austin to my mind has solved our Number 9 problem. But there's still one issue that needs to be addressed. I get the argument that Hoedt is a better distributor of the ball than Yoshida but no way is he a better defender. He's been found wanting too many times already this season. Defending is the prime job of a defender so if Hoedt can't cut out the lapses Yoshi has to play instead of him.

9

Jesus_02 added 10:58 - Dec 4 Okay, I think its progress nor a sort, at least it was an entertaining game. I'm a little disappointed (but not surprised) that Hoedt is getting the blame. However Bournemouth where employing a press and for me the real error was in midfield. I'm not sure if it was Davis or JWP who leapt to knock the ball backwards with his feet from chest height, however the lack of control lead to a passage of play where no one really had control. It went first to Romeu who was being pressed and last man and then to Hoedt was left with few options and under pressure. It wasn't the first time that we had asked him to beat his man to give himself time to place a pass. We also did the same a number of times on the right. The commentators called it an unforced error, but in reality the team had played itself into trouble. It WAS an improvement, but we need to get that little bit more confident and iron out the impulse to pass back. If we make mistakes in midfield so be it, the team has more of a chance to recover. As an aside Charlie really gave it his all, in the end he was jiggered. Hopefully with more regular play he will get fully match fit

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SanMarco added 11:18 - Dec 4 Hoedt should have played it back to the keeper as soon as he got it - but shouldn't have been given it in the first place as (if my memory serves me right) we were moving forward and there was suddenly an unnecessary back pass (from Davis?) Too many teams have been watching Barca and think you have to mess around in defence as a sign of quality....
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Consigliere added 11:33 - Dec 4 Football is first and foremost about entertainment and that was a very entertaining and enjoyable game. Sure, either side could have won it but that's the pleasure and sport of watching two teams going for a win. We have all been moaning for months about Saints being boring to watch - well they weren't yesterday! Its hard to pick out any individually outstanding performances though I agree with others, JWP was poor and was rightly substituted and Lemina was silly to tug a Bournemouth shirt right in front of Jon Moss's nose but that apart, a very good team performance and sets us up nicely for Arsenal next Sunday.

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allsaint54 added 12:00 - Dec 4 Hopefully MP now realises that JWP is not a PL player. He's got no pace, can't tackle or head the ball, pass forwards. His backwards & sideways passing is good as is his dead ball free kicks & corners although we never seem to score from them. He's also very adept at slowing up the play allowing the defence to get organised. He's had more than enough chances to prove himself.

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bstokesaint added 12:40 - Dec 4 I quite enjoyed the game yesterday, as I did against Man C and Everton. I've been one of MPS's harshest critics these past weeks, but credit where it's due he seems to have got the team playing for him and it's great to see Charlie banging them in again. He has a great conversion record and it's a shame he missed that second chance. By his standards that was a sitter. Although I think a draw was a fair result. We had a bit of luck from the officials for a change. Was a bit disappointed to see Lemina come on and literally bottle his first tackle. That stupid yellow basically put pay to his normal high energy , hard tackling game. Silly boy.

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schatfield added 13:24 - Dec 4 a draw was fair, and Bournemouth are quite a good team with a ground that is hard to play at. They could have won with that penalty that never was, and likewise we could have with Austin missing a sitter. Bad goal to give away by Hoedt though....wonder if Yoshi will get his go now. Tadic frustrates.
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IanRC added 14:02 - Dec 4 Thought Bertrand was our MoM by some way, some great crosses and solid defensively throughout the afternoon. I like Hoedt but on this occasion I do think he had plenty of time to play it up the line or back to Foster otherwise I think he brings a great deal to us defensively and with his long distance passing.
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Number_58 added 14:36 - Dec 4 Enjoyed the game and I thought it was a fair result. Every time Bertrand went forward we looked dangerous - for whatever reason this wasn't happening earlier in the season. Saints fans were good for the most part, although singing songs to show that we don't care about AFCB is a bit pointless in my opinion. I thought the home fans were fairly subdued - they always seem quite noisy on the odd occasions I listen to their games on Solent. Getting abuse from a nine year old relative of mine over in the Ted McDougal Stand was the highlight of the day for me - that's what local derbies are about, I guess.

3

GeordieSaint added 15:21 - Dec 4 At least we look like we are actually trying to score a goal! Onwards and upwards.
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lemmsy added 16:24 - Dec 4 From a saints fan point of view we could have won the game, van Dyk should have scored, boufal should have scored, Charlie should have scored another & Bertrand should have set Charlie up for another but from a neautral or Bournemouth point of view they could have scored when Fraser made that excellent reaction save & it was a penalty for sure. So all in all a draw was about right.i thought Fraser looked a bit leaner and sharper although apart from the Defoe reaction save you’d expect him to save the others so I wouldn’t quite put him back to his best. Hopefully as a team we’re gaining some momentum, I feel the manager needs a little patience In the toughest league in the world

3

Whatsforpud added 16:35 - Dec 4 Can't agree with your comment that on his day, there aren't many better keepers in the PL than Forster. Yes, he has had a couple of good matches, and has done well to keep the ball out of the net on occasions, but always has a tendency to parry away shots that are fairly close to him, when he could well be gathering them in his hands. He actually catches very little. What do others think?

3

BoondockSaint added 16:45 - Dec 4 The third strip must have confused the ref and he thought we were Arsenal or the Scouse, so he waved off the penalty. Agree with posters looking for Gabbiadini to get playing time....if he doesn't he'll be off. Imagine being him and you have to sit while JWP starts!?
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BoondockSaint added 16:57 - Dec 4 Totally agree with Whatsforpud on Forster. The first big save he made was more of a reaction after the ball hit him in the shoulder and the goal was Bournemouth doing their homework and shooting low. "On his day" must be some calendar I am not familiar with because he's not even the best England keeper........
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A1079 added 18:17 - Dec 4 I am beginning to think I saw a different game to most of you fellow fans and has made me think, may be I have been a bit harsh in my initial assessment. I thought we were poor in the first half but better, but not great in the 2nd. It seemed a fairly evenly matched contest. I did not understand why Hojberg was not playing after his performance last Sunday. Ok, one swallow does not make a summer but if you play well and then get dropped I am not sure how that motivates you. Equally, I thought Lemina should have played from the start, but may be he is still not fully recovered. Hoedt I felt was not great. Boufal is so frustrating. He has qualities, but he is so inconsistent and instead of being a game changer, I don't think anyone knows what he is going or trying to do most of the time. He could though, make a real difference if he got his decision making and anticipation right. But, we came back in the 2nd half and overall in the last week I feel there is an improvement in our style and desire to attack, but yesterday was a long way from an "almost perfect performance".

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lemmsy added 18:32 - Dec 4 Agree with what’s for pud that Fraser is parrying a lot of shots that look catchable, that suggests still low on confidence but the low shot on goal for there goal was just strikers instinct for me and certainly no blame on the keeper
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