Saints went into a crucial game and held their nerve and came out with a point, in the short term it wasnt great, but come the end of the season it could be crucial.

In my preview of the game I mentioned that the most importnat thing was not to get three points but to go to Upton Park and leave with not only our heads held high but something we can build upon in our remaining games and we did just that.

In truth it seemed to be on way traffic in the opening exchanges with Kelvin Davis needing to be at his best and the Hammers getting a succession of corners and when the home side got a penalty it seemed the game was about to turn against Saints, it did turn, but against the Hammers as in the melee of protesting players Matt Taylor appeared to push over Billy harp and was red carded for his trouble, yes it was probably a very harsh decision by the ref, but it was a moment that perhaps saved Saints promotion hopes, with 10 men to play against Saints stayed tight and played their way back into the game which was capped by a well worked equaliser, another pin point cross into the box from Fox found the head of Lambert who knocked the ball down for Hooiveld to sweep home.

The game could have gone either way, Robert Green had to make several smart saves and at the other end Hooiveld, emphasised just the points I have made about him when a lapse in concentration let Maynard in for a shot which was well saved by Davis, on this occasion it didnt cost us points, but to be blunt its the type of slip up we have made too many times on the road this season and which has cost us points.

But at the end of the day it was a point that keeps West Ham within our grasp and the chasing pack still just out of reach of us, although six points from our now four match unbeaten run is not great, in the long term this mioght well be seen as our turning point of the season, we have come through a difficult patch, our confidence should nw be restored, we have continuity and players starting to get back into form, this was another hard won point on the road, but we now need to win our next couple of games to really turn up the heat and show that Saints promotion challenge for a top two finish is far from dead

Photo: Action Images

zonehead added 00:30 - Feb 15 cardiff ,birmingham west ham drawn burnley win will settle for that in this blip!
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Zambucco added 06:37 - Feb 15 Listened on the radio and it sounded about the right result. Lallana sounded as though he's nearly back to his best, and Kelvin was on top form. It's not a negative just a cheap shot, but we've got 3 of the division's top scorers, yet it was a central defender that got the goal. But then that is what was good a bout us at the beginning of the season, we would score from all positions. This result will have given the lads a big confidence boost and they wil continue their return to form. But let's not be complacent, there are no easy games left, every game will be against sides fighting relegation or for promotion. COYR!

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SaintNick50 added 07:22 - Feb 15 Billy Sharp isn't quite so sharp both last night and on Saturday his first touch has been poor. He gave away the penalty and missed asitter last night after Lallanas shot. It would have been easier to score. We dominated when we were playing against 10 men if we had gone in 1-1 at half-time maybe we could have pushed on to win. A draw is not a bad result, but a win would have been great both for our confidence and puting a gap between us and third place. Can someone tell Lallana to stop diveing. He does this too often and was rightly booked last night. He has so much skill he doesn't need to and it is cheating! TOGETHER AS ONE!

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tiptop added 08:38 - Feb 15 I listened on the radio aswell. Have to be satisfied with a point and performance. I still felt we should have scored another goal. Billy Sharpe missed a sitter by all accounts and was out of touch as Saintnick says. We have the style to potentially take advantage of 10 men. Yes we played well with some good possession by the sounds but didn't seem to make the advantage count. Chaplow must be considered soon as his shooting threat alone from midfield is needed. Hope Richardson isn't too bad. Interesting listening to the tactical changes explained by D Merrington. His point was we went narrow and didn't spread our play wide enough to stretch WH and allowed their full backs forward more easily.. Love to know NA's tactical assessment.

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geezershoong added 10:15 - Feb 15 On reflection a good result, I just feel we missed a trick in not going for more width on the field in the 2nd half & would have liked to have seen Lee come on for Sharpe who had a bad day at the office. His pace against a team with 10 on the pitch might have got us the extra goal needed. Some great saves from Kelvin Davies as well, the game would have obviously very different if he had not saved the goal bound effort in the first minute.

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rjh added 10:49 - Feb 15 Three draws against Birmingham, Cardiff and West Ham are only decent if we beat Derby at home. Some tough away games remain but some very winable home games. Two points a game and we will do it. We have nothing to fear in terms of opposition as recent results have proved.
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TimSaint added 12:07 - Feb 15 We got the result that many would have taken before kick-off, but can't help thinking that in the circumstances and the the bigger picture, this is 2 points dropped. You are quick to pick out Jos for criticism, due to his lapse in concerntration, however with him back in the team, we look more solid, distribute the ball much more effectively and of course he showed our attackers where the goal was. In a game where we had 12 shots on target and numerous other wayward chances, I would perhaps been questioning our ability to put the ball in the net, rather than pick on one lapse by a defender.

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iwtwms added 12:37 - Feb 15 Thought Jos was outstanding and always has been. Just like against Leicester he was the only one getting his foot in. Too few last night were prepared to roll their sleeves up. That said, I thought the sending off wasn't harsh as Taylor had Sharp by the throat. Puncheon played well when he came on, credit to him. We still seemed to get plenty off balls in the box just like against Burnly but a lot of the crosses were inaccurate. Nobody's mentioned that West Ham don't play again until Tuesday so a win against Derby on Saturday will send us back to the top! COYR!!

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bstokesaint added 12:49 - Feb 15 Yeah, that's a bit harsh on Jos who has become a rock at the back and he pops up with more goals than some (okay most) of our midfield. He's made a huge difference to my confidence in our defence since his arrival. I'm happy with the point given that we've had to come from behind to yet another West Ham penalty. How do they get so many? And so many soft ones? You can't moan about sending off's as a counter argument either because both of their recent ones have been down to poor discipline. I hate to say it but SaintNick50 raises a good point about Lallana. Seen him take a few dives this season and it's strange because he's such a good player. Would hate to see him branded as a cheat. As for Sharp going down like I did I haven't seen the highlights, but he doesn't strike me as that kind of player. I'll reserve judgement on his missed efforts on the basis his record is generally 1 in 2..

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VeloSaint added 11:20 - Feb 16 We weren't in the game until the sending off and whilst it was a deserved red it was a fair slice of luck for us. Can't help but feel we will continue to struggle away from home if we continue to start with that midfield 4, perfect for home games but away from St Mary's they're lightweight and too often go missing. I'd be more inclined to use Puncheon/Chaplow on the right and bring Hammond in for these away games or even use Chaplow in the centre when fully fit.

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colinc1 added 00:39 - Feb 17 I hate to say it but despite what Nigel says it was a stonewall penalty and Sharp shouldn't have got involved, he was a disgrace to Southampton and to be honest West Ham were hard done by. Also, it might be hard to accept but West Ham were far, far better, a class above even when down to 10 men.
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nobby added 12:25 - Feb 17 colinc: Yes, that would be hard to accept if it was true but it is not. Sharp was no disgrace - more like Lallana for diving. Don't know how WH were hard done by, it was a def sending off, throwing Sharp to the ground so get back to East End where you belong.
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