x

Southampton V Sheffield Wednesday The Verdict

Saints fans were nervous before this game, the opportunity of equalling the club record of 19 games unbeaten in the League was almost a burden on the shoulders of the team whose job first and foremost to win the game and get three points.

This was a big day at St Mary's, there were two tasks in hand and if completed they would perhaps achieve a third, that of getting into the automatic promotion places.

Russell Martin was certainly taking no chances when he made his team selection, arguably this was our best starting line up and it had been the formation that had predominantly seen us through the last 18 games.

But it started shakily, we almost conceded in the first few minutes when we overplayed the possession football at the back and put Gavin Bazunu under pressure and were lucky not to concede.

But this would be the last mistake we would make and the game soon settled into a pattern, we had the ball and they got everyone behind it, Wednesday's tactics were simple, sit back, waste time and hopefully still be in the game in the final stages to have a crack.

This is a testament to how Southampton are seen by other sides, they are running scared.

The games first goal almost came when Ryan Fraser hit a shot into the ground which had to be headed off the line and the visitors were standing firm.

That all changed in the 35th minute when Adam Armstrong pulled the ball back from the byeline, really the defender should have dealt with it, but didn't and Che Adams took a touch past his man and fired home.

So Saints now had the lead, how would Wednesday respond, the answer was to timewaste and the keeper was the biggest culprit, they were worried about conceding a second before the break and every goalkick saw him try to waste more time.

The second half saw Saints in control, but before they could close out the game it needed Gavin Bazunu to make a smart save, this was perhaps our best performance of the season in terms of how we got the ball, passed it around and dominated, it was a true team performance, we played to the system and played it well, last season we were a shambles you didn't know what the team would be or what system we were playing, now we have identity.

Just after the hour came the second goal and this time it was Adam Armstrong who was the scorer, firing home as a defender made a desperate challenge on the line.

Now Saints were in control and Wednesday had to come out and try to rescue something and when they won a free kick in a dangerous position Gavin Bazunu had to be at his best to keep it out.

But in the final 20 minutes it was all Saints, Ryan Fraser ended the game as a contest on 75 minutes with a smart finish after an Adam Armstrong pass.

Now Russell Martin felt he would make changes, on came Alacaraz and Mara a minute after the goal and we now had fresh legs to make it a tough final 10 minutes or so for the Owls.

A strange change on 83 minutes when off went Jan Bednarek and on came Jack Stephens, the 4th change should really have been Tyler Dibling, the game was won and he should have got a little more game time than the 2 minutes of normal time plus injury time that he was given.

The 4th goal saw Sekou Mara slot home an inch perfect cross, it was a well worked goal, Fraser found Adam Armstrong who took the ball wide and then put in perhaps the perfect cross for Mara to score.

As mentioned on came Tyler Dibling who had a couple of decent runs, last year I saw him play for the U21 side and he looked a little weak physically, this season he has beefed up and he could well be a great asset this season, he looks like a cross between Matt Le Tissier, Jack Grealish, but with strength.

So at the final whistle Saints had achieved all three aims for the day, they had won the game, they had equalled the unbeaten run of 19 games in the League unbeaten and they had moved into the top two, sadly this would be only temporary as Ipswich would scrape past Sunderland in the 5.30pm game, but we had made a big point to the Tractor Boys, we are not only right up behind them, but we are the form team.

We can take several things from this game.

Firstly Russell Martin has put together a very good team and more than that a very good squad, Leicester perhaps not so much, but Ipswich are now looking over their shoulders and now we are not looking back over our shoulders and worrying about getting into the play offs, we are firmly in contention for an automatic spot.

With Leicester losing we have actually gained more points than them in the last 19 games, we might not be the team leading the division now, we might well not be by the final table, but since our four game debacle just after the start of the season we have slowly but surely honed our game and at this moment in time we are the best side in the Championship bar none.

Secondly we have shown it is a squad game, the reason we are so strong is that when we make changes it doesn't weaken the side, in cricket you have death bowlers, players who might not take wickets, but can make sure that the run rate stays down, Saints have their own football version of death bowlers, we have players who can come on and help close out games, be that as this one or for that matter help turn draws into wins as we did at Millwall & Hull or at Preston with a late equaliser.

The talk on social media might have been about worrying that we would blow up against Wednesday due to the pressure of that unbeaten run record being equalled, were far off the mark, our players now have a confidence that comes from knowing that they are the best squad in the division, that they play the possession football game better than the rest.

I would not say we will stay unbeaten for the rest of the season, but if we have a setback we will deal with it and move forward as we did after that 4 match run of defeats.

There is the outcry for a forward in the transfer window, obviously if Che Adams leaves then we will need one, but otherwise there are goals from every part of this team.

It was hard to pick a man of the match, the officially announced one of Ryan Fraser had it's merits, he undoubtably had a 9/10 performance, as did Kyle Walker Peters, in a starting line up that didn't have a man who should have got less than 8/10 for a good all round performance that saw them dominate, but deal with it when stretched.

But one man stood out and had perhaps one of the most complete performances that I have seen in a Southampton shirt in a long while.

Adam Armstrong was everywhere, he had 3 assists and scored one himself, he was at the heart of everything, at one point in the second half chasing back and making a tackle when we could have found ourselves outnumbered at the back.

Man of the match is often a difficult decision, more often than not it is the flair players who win it, those that take on players and fly down wings or score goals, but Adam Armstrong isn't quite like that, yes he has pace and takes people on, but he is different, he is clinical, he is the player with the most goals and the most assists this season, he is the man who truly make the difference.

On Saturday this was a man of the match performance from him, but not just that it was a 10/10 rating, that is because he was the one player who truly influenced the game.

It has taken a couple of years for Adam Armstrong to get the credit he deserves, his game is about more than goals, it is about work rate and it is about creating, there are players with more flair than AA, but none who truly influence games as much.

What to read next:

Norwich City 2 - 2 Swansea City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Queens Park Rangers 2 - 2 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Leeds United 1 - 0 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Leeds United 1 - 0 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Norwich City 1 - 1 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Norwich City 1 - 0 Queens Park Rangers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Norwich City 2 - 3 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Swansea City 2 - 1 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Queens Park Rangers 0 - 1 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Southampton 4 - 4 Norwich City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.