Saints started badly at Brighton, but rolled up their sleeves and ground out a big win albeit it in controversial fashion with a little help from VAR, but Saints fans won't care it was ultimately three points that took us to 5th place in the Premier League.

Saints stormed up to 5th place in controversial fashion to win their third straight Premier League game in a row at the Amex Stadium.

It was a poor start for Saints in the first half as they struggled to gain any momentum and as in the previous game against United were getting caught on the ball too often and second best on too many occasions.

Brighton themselves didn't look convincing and relied too heavily on getting the ball forward quickly at every opportunity.

The first penalty of the night was not under dispute though, for some strange reason James Ward Prowse stuck his hand in the air for no reason and when the ball hit it he had no excuse and Brighton scored from the spot to give them the lead on 26 minutes.

For a little while the home side were on top and it looked like Saints would need to get into the break and then try and get some enthusiasm into their game and indeed cut out the sloppy play.

But as Ralph Hasenhuttl was writing his words to lambast his side at half time a perfect corner from James Ward Prowse found the towering Jannik Vestergaard who powered home a header into the corner of the goal.

At half time on came the King Of The Scummers and Saints looked a different side, suddenly they looked like they wanted to play and started to control play and the game fell into a familiar pattern with Saints passing their way forward and Brighton trying to catch us on the counter.

As the game headed into the final 10 minutes came the controversy, Kyle Walker Peters stormed forward and was pushed, of that there was no doubt, no one was complaining on either side about it being a free kick on the edge of the box, but then came 2 minutes of VAR with no real conclusive evidence to suggest that the ref's decision should be overturned, but suddenly it was and up stepped Danny Ings to blast home from the spot.

It just left Saints to see out the remaining 10 minutes plus injury time and this was done with no real drama to see us take the spoils.

This was not a great win, we were far from convincing, too many times we were getting caught in possession and for most of the first half we looked too sluggish, even when Ings appeared although we picked up we struggled to make clear chances.

It was a game that could have gone either way, Saints were clearly the better side, but they lacked Brighton's battling and that made it an end to end even game, but the reality is that neither keeper had a real save of note to make.

But they say the true test of a team is when they keep winning when they are playing badly and we certainly did that this evening.

Sometimes you need a bit of luck and this evening was one of those days that it went for us.

So with all the weekend's fixtures over we are in 5th place on merit, every Saints fans would have taken that before kick off and certainly at the start of the season, not just this season but any season we have ever played in the Premier League.

We now have to press home that advantage on Sunday against Sheffield United, we have to keep looking forward, my first reaction was to thin only i we had held on against United and won, one point behind the leaders would have been fantastic, but we can't change that result, we can only play who is up next.

Not a game we will remember for flowing football, we rarely got into our stride, but it will be remembered for being the day we learnt to win ugly and that could see us well in the future.

As Ralph Hasenhuttl said after the game we are starting to believe in ourselves, we are fighting as a team and have team spirit, a year ago we would have lost a game like this to a side that looks to catch us on the break, but we rolled our sleeves up and never believed that we were beaten.

This attitude will carry us through this season and with every game we get stronger.

Photo: Action Images

DellBoyWally added 22:57 - Dec 7 Definite pen!!🤔 But we'd have scored anyway - JWP assist for JanV/JanB/DIngs/McC. OK, maybe not the last one. Poor game tho, lack of pressing again, front 3 disjointed and not really convincing in first half, JWP a bit off again but JanV immense again and JanB not far behind.
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perazi added 23:08 - Dec 7 Good report - a fortunate win perhaps as BHA could have been out of sight after 40 minutes. Second half so much better with Ings the catalyst for a more cohesive attacking display. Glad to see Armstrong improve in the second half after a string of sub-par performances. Romeu and Vestergaard both outstanding tonight and Bednarek very good. Sometimes you need a bit of luck and Saints got it tonight to maintain a dominant record against Brighton in recent seasons.

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FaroSaint added 23:16 - Dec 7 Jannik mom for me ,very tight game could have been a draw. Well done though winning with a below par performance.
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Farlow added 23:18 - Dec 7 Virgil Who
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SanMarco added 23:27 - Dec 7 I thought Nick was going to get to the end without using the very apt cliche about winning when not playing well! I was just getting ready to be relieved we were only one down at half time when suddenly we weren't. I thought we were marginally the better side in the second half but we didn't create much. As for the penalty I think it WAS inside the area so if the (rubbish) ref had have given it it wouldn't have been overturned. That said he didn't give it and I am surprised (and delighted) that it was overturned. Perhaps we deserved it because we scored the only decent goal of the game. 5th place - and we are due a good performance!!! PS I like KWP but he gives it away a lot towards the end of games

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VancouverSaint added 01:56 - Dec 8 We marginally won that game.....Saints had no rhythm and the press like we have been having. Jannik was huge tonight, great goal and a rock in defence and teamed up well with Bednarek. Dejnepo was a lost soul out there, too much individual play to no end and if he hadn’t been pulled at halftime he would have been red carded for sure in the second. Redmond looked more of a better choice. JWP was less effective than of late. Until Ings came on the odds for me were for a Brighton win. He seems to give the team a mental lift. He also looks like he loves playing as a Saint....give him a new contract and a huge raise asap...he’s worth every penny. Adams is lost without him. Ralph needs a good week on the practice field to remind them how they played before the International break. 3 points against Sheffield would be nice but let’s see what team turns out. I got a feeling RH will will get it done.

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AmericanSaint added 03:00 - Dec 8 Like everyone and yourself Nick stated, not a good game by our new standards. However, we did grind on and made our opportunities. JV was MOM without a doubt. One thing I noticed all game was that people were slippy very easy on the turf. For the 15 minutes, our guys kept slipping at the wrong time and gave the ball away which sent Brighton on the counterattack. I have to strongly disagree with VancouverSaint about Djenepo. He was the only one driving at the Brighton defense and causing some havoc. Unfortunately he did not always chose the right option once in the 18 yard box, but he put in a solid shift. I counted 3 times he sprinted back to catch Lamptly and slow or stop a counterattack when Bertrand was out of position and one of our midfielders gave up the ball. Finally, I think we can all agree that towards the end of the game (especially in extra time) we were getting to cute with the passing and at least twice turned it over which gave Brighton a chance to attack. Well a win is a win and now SU. Good to have Ingsy back and let go win another, cause winning is more fun than losing. COYR.

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NYC_Saint added 03:27 - Dec 8 Romeu was great I thought and does so much f the non glamorous work for the team.I thought we looked a little tired at times and disjointed but never like we were in trouble even after their goal. My main criticism is why doesn’t KWP take on his man more? He has bags of pace and ability and Bertrand is alway looking to overlap or take on his man. Vallery was supposed reluctant to do so too - is there something tactically weak that prevents right backs from binning firward? Ings brought a different level threat in the second half and I hope he signs an extension soon

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A_Saint_in_Stoke added 04:14 - Dec 8 Good level-headed report Nick - and some excellent comments from other contributors as well. I remember some "so - called " supporters giving Vestergaard loads of stick when new to our team ..... describing him as being a slow useless Camel - I believe that if a certain Virgil scored a brilliant header like that - he would be described as being world-class - just like some supporters , wishing the board to get rid of Ralph ...... which I though was ridicules - there was nobody decent available to replace him for a start .... who wants to get rid of him now? Congrats to our 6.5 feet CH you have to give our lads a chance guys!

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Peterx added 04:46 - Dec 8 Lamptey and to a lesser extent March have created problems for other defences but it's testament to our defence that you could not say that they terrorised us last night. In hindsight, picking up 4 points without Ings out was a good effort, as Ings transformed our play when he came on with his linking / runs in this game. If we had even had him or Redmond off the bench last week the result would likely have been different. Djenepo provided a threat with his dribbling, but now with Redmond fit I think its likely he will go back to his sub role off the bench. The ref's yellows for Djenepo and Romeu looked harsh to me and certainly had me on tenterhooks for the first and second half respectively.

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SaintPaulVW added 05:06 - Dec 8 I think the defence won this game for us. All 5 were our best players. JV mam of the match. Thank god Leicester never made a serious bid for him. Attack seemed out of sorts. Armstrong, Adams and Djenepo pretty ineffective. We played better in the second half. Whether that was down to Ings or an RH half time rocket who knows. It was a definite penalty and what VAR is there for. KWP was fouled in the box. A good season is built from scrappy wins like this one. COYR!

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PezzaSaint added 06:32 - Dec 8 We hung on a bit after we scored the 2nd, but I thought our energy level was good after the break, we certainly looked the team more likely to win from the mid point of the 2nd half. Djeneppo not the answer for me, too much like a headless chicken. Armstrong needs to buck his ideas up. Theo looked better when he went into midfield. Great performances in particular from the CBS and Oriel. Ings coming on was a catalyst for a more spirited 2nd half display.

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davidargyll added 07:50 - Dec 8 I just love watching the Saints. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes worse than dire, but never unwatchable. Ralph said it was a slippy surface and I guess that accounted for several players falling over their feef and hence the scrappiness of our play and the seemingly constant giving away of the ball. But the fact was that we kept going, and kept going at them, ok most of the time fruitlessly but then a dream of a pass to KWP, don’t worry he’ll never pick it up the BHA boys thought, he does, give him a nudge, oops penalty! Piece of cake. I’m not really saying it was all planned but it does show that, for all the frustration of our youngsters, so long as they keep thrusting forward, then from time to time something will come off. As it did last night. They can’t hope to be top finishers yet like our Danny, but then look at Che; complete rubbish last season and now look at him. BHA though certainly looked a decent side on paper (but sh*t on grass, ho ho) but they just cannot finish; if they could, we’d have been dead and buried before oranges. And perhaps that ultimately was the difference between us. We may not be the finished article but on last night’s performance we are on the way. Winning ugly is part of the whole process, just as you need to avoid the Arsenal (and BHA last night?) syndrome (losing beautifully). One other thing, for the last three and a half games, when NR and DI were sidelined, we have always seemed to be trying to go down the middle. Nothing wrong with that but, with little play from the wings, and if defences keep tight, then our attacks by definition are limited and easier to deal with. Last night once Redmond came on and KWP using his wing more, suddenly we look more balanced and a greater threat. As I said I just love watching the Saints and it just feels to me that, on last nights performance, that feel-good feeling just isn’t going away anytime soon. PS. Why on earth do the TV pundits spend goodness knows how long dissecting the penalty decision, finally deciding it wasn’t? When it was. Or at least that was what VAR and the ref decided. End of. All the discussion was bollo*cks. Of course it could be interpreted as borderline but then most decisions involving VAR are borderline. After all you wouldn’t need VAR if they weren’t.

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Nomaesaints added 08:29 - Dec 8 This win doesn't hide the fact that a lot of defenders are still ball watching. Agreed Jannick overall had a good game but he was still ball watching on a number of occasions. Kyle earned the penalty and he was good going forward but defensively he was poor,. A couple of times BHA could have scored if they had used their head as Kyle was slow to get back and when he does he drifts in towards the CB's leaving the left wing completely open. Other than that the team battled well in the second half and just shaded the game.

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underweststand added 08:35 - Dec 8 Seems most people agree with most of your comments Nick ...(as do I ). Overall , a good example of not playing our best but still getting the points. We have played better and lost in some past perfomances. Romeu looks consistent but with 5 games to the end of the year has 4 yellows already (!). Vestergaard looks like a new signing this season. He's more confident and aggressive and although too early to compare... is going someway towards filling VvD boots. Confident penalty from Danny Ings and it suddenly felt like he'd never been away. Redmond needs some games to get back to his best and although Armstrong is good on the ball, he went missing a lot of the time. We need that competitive edge in midfield. Saints are finally beginning to look like a Top Half side, but still a long way to go.

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MRHALL93 added 08:54 - Dec 8 This was probably one of our worst first-half performances of the season. Maybe it was down to being overwhelmed by the Brighton supporters. It must feel weird from a players perspective having not had fans in the stadium for 9 months. I'm not sure what was wrong, but we could barely string together a bunch of passes. We didn't look like getting into the game, if we had played a better side, we could've found ourselves 3-0 within the first 20 minutes. We were sloppy with and without the ball, we never really looked to press in numbers, I'm not sure if this was down to Brighton tactically having 3 CM's and 3 CB's. Nonetheless, you can beat what's in front of you. And the second half was a lot better. I'm not sure if it was the introduction of Ings or what Ralph might have said at halftime. But we looked a lot more comfortable in possession in the second half, we still didn't create too many chances and both of our goals came from set-pieces. Both centre backs had excellent games, Bednarek covered the pitch so well, made some great blocks and tackles. Jannik scored the goal to get us back in the game, and also read the danger so well, sensing the danger and coming into midfield to win the ball back and then moving the ball forward. His range of passing is also excellent, that gives us another attacking avenue with KWP finding lots of space on the right. JWP gave another 8/10 performance for me, his consistent is excellent and his ability to control the tempo of the game is something we've lacked since we sold Schneiderlin and when you know you have someone with his set-piece ability you know all you need is a corner and you can grab a goal (so even if the penalty had been a freekick JWP probably would've assisted Vestergaard again)

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davepid added 09:19 - Dec 8 I agree with saintpaul about not selling Vestergard to Leicester! What are we going to do about Redmond. He seems to be turning into a Shane Long replacement before our eyes. He’s fast, he runs, he harries and he crosses ( though Shane never quite mastered that basic skill) and ,sadly, he shoots like Shane. He’s even learning the poor me , what do you expect facial expressions after every miss like those worn by Long these last 3/4 years. Danny Ings deserved better after his superb ball control delivers the pass straight to him in space; top 6 team deserve better week in week out . If we are to keep our place near the top then frankly Redmonds finishing skills aren’t up to this level.

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dirk_doone added 10:11 - Dec 8 I think a lot of the comments, criticising our first half performance are missing the point. Ralph adjusted our tactics after we weakened in the second half in both the Wolves and Man United games. Games are won by teams that score the winning goal, which usually comes in the second half. Successful teams are masters at pacing themselves and scoring late in games. That's exactly what Saints did last night. We didn't come racing out of the blocks like we usually do but played a containing game and then looked much the stronger team towards the end of the game and the only team that looked like winning. It's far better to win points from losing positions than to lose them from winning ones.

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