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

Hamnottingham added 19:53 - Dec 4 I don't know if JWP was injured, but Pied was left exposed by him in the first half. I thought bringing on Redmond was a tactical change that gave Pied more support and allowed us to move forward more quickly, both of which certainly helped our second half performance. The last three games have 'felt' much more like Saints performances of the Poch and Koeman eras than the last season and a bit. What I have really missed is giving the 'big' 6 a scare every time we meet them and Wednesday was definately back to that . Squad management has been clever. Hjoberg was superb last Saturday, Davis rested on Wednesday, Romeu coming back from a game off and Lemina working back to full fitness. Yesterday Hjoberg was rested and Romeu and Davis did the really hard graft in central midfield. Lots of games coming up in the next few weeks and Pellegrino is setting them up to be as fresh as possible.

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lemmsy added 20:21 - Dec 4 Also if they’d done there homework and placed there shots low to exploit Fraser why was defoes effort & most of there efforts off the ground BoondockSaint ❓
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ItchenNorth added 21:07 - Dec 4 I don't want to be too negative about Forster, as he has played well these last two games, but he needs to learn to push shots away from the goal, not just block them. He's been lucky in the last two games that none of his blocks have dropped to a waiting striker. It's only a matter of time though if he can't improve his technique. It's been good to see him playing a key part in recent good performances though. He looks more confident, which is good news.

2

SaintBrock added 22:39 - Dec 4 Perhaps the verdict on this game is that in some minor respects our pattern of play seems to have improved recently but insufficiently to make much of an impact on our goal scoring ability and results. This game was yet another that confirms that the table doesn't lie and that right now we are no more than a lower mid-level PL club. Those hoping for a miraculous turnaround in our form and results and a sudden surge up the league into the top seven will be waiting for some time yet. Part of the problem may be that as supporters through a combination of loyalty and wishful thinking, we tend to over-rate many of our players and expect them to perform at the same level as players of the top six. The reality may be less palatable that the players we can afford and who are prepared to play here are by and large not good enough for top six clubs, if they were they would be there already. Of course there are exceptions but if rumours are true one or two of them won't be here for much longer.

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BoondockSaint added 23:54 - Dec 4 HI Lemmsy- You are right, the majority of their shots were high. I was wrong-I just checked the stats: See stats and graphics: https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1190319/Live/England-Premier-League-2017-2018- However, as the graphic shows, 4 of their 5 shots on target were low-including the one they scored on. The others, are high or wide of the net, which I think might be more an indication of lack of quality strikers than strategy . Unfortunately, as you can see, we have the same problem! All the best, Boondock.

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TeamCortese added 19:13 - Dec 5 I'm just happy we didn't get beat. 23 points left for the season. I heard in the grapevine we're after Theo in January. What are people's thoughts? If he's seen as a replacement for Shane Long and won't cost more than £20 odd million then that's okay by me.
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SaintBrock added 21:41 - Dec 5 Not for me. Too injury prone and not even sure he'd be very happy coming back here. Right now, Sofiane Boufal looks like our future if we can find one or two players of his quality to work with him whilst he's here. Already he has galvanised Bertie into action.
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