x

Saints At Liverpool The Verdict

It was always going to be on the cards and there seemed to be an atmosphere of "lets just get this over with !" amongst both the Saints team and supporters.

I would like to say this was a bad day at the office, but in the grand scheme of things it probably wasn't, although Liverpool scored three goals, two of which we gifted, it was a bad time to play Liverpool and we ended up with the same result everyone else has got against them this season.

Ironically when Liverpool scored neither keeper had seemingly touched the ball, when Alex McCarthy made a vain attempt to claw back the ball as it rebounded off Wesley Hoedt, it was his first touch of the game and given that the ball was already over the line, as we kicked off he still hadn't touched it when the ball was live as such.

It was always going to be hard, we were always going to struggle going forward without Danny Ings, but we battled manfully and although it was tough going with Shaquiri, Mane, Salah & Firmino playing some sublime one touch football we stuck at it.

You knew it wasn't going to be our day with the final kick of the first half, when the referee signalled 2 minutes of injury time you wondered where he had got that from, there had been no injuries no stoppages, but the story of Saints season, soft free kick given against us and we are punished.

That took away any lingering hope that we might get back in the game, at 2-0 there was always a chance that if we sneaked one back there might be an unlikely draw, but at 3-0 we were dead and buried.

Perhaps the stats tell the story of the game, although Liverpool had 61 % possession they only had 12 shots on goal and only 4 on target, they dominated possession, they buzzed around, but we battled to stop them getting in and hurting us, ironically as has been the case for a while lapses in concentration letting us down, on the first goal, four players could have been said to have not exactly been covered in glory for their part.

But we have to accept that we were facing a Liverpool side in full flow, they have the best attacking force in the country at the moment, they have options, if the four attacking players who strated for them aren't in form, then they still have Sturridge and also Adam Lallana when fit, in comparison Danny Ings who most would agree is our top striker was 7th in line behind those half dozen, that is what we are up against these days in the Premier league.

So we have to chalk this one off, regroup and look to Wolves next week, this was a test, the result has been neutral, although we were not great we were not truly awful either, we can move forward from this with a little optimism in that we have played our most difficult game of the season.

On a last note yes we did have only one shot on target that in the last minute, but it wasn't our first effort, that fell to Vestergaard in the first half who saw his header go a yard wide.

What to read next:

Smyth’s smash and grab stuns City – Report
QPR continued their recent unbeaten run, despite another poor performance, away at Bristol City on Saturday, thanks to an extraordinary goal from Paul Smyth.
Bristol City 1 - 1 Queens Park Rangers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Old foes, familiar faces and new trends collide at Ashton Gate - Preview
QPR, picking up points and keeping clean sheets, head to Ashton Gate on Saturday, where they've beaten Bristol City four times in a row but have a trio of former charges lying in wait.
The Championship's most mid-table team - Oppo Profile
Bristol City spent a deal of money this summer trying to push Liam Manning's side on towards the play-offs, but the remain steadfastly stuck in midtable as doubts persist about the manager's style - we spoke to @fevsfootball.
QPR's late, late show on Ashton Gate opening day - History
We're back to 2007 for today's memorable match as QPR get ready to head back to Ashton Gate, scene of some high intensity clashes between the teams in the Ian Holloway days.
Smith takes QPR’s trip to Bristol – Referee
Wigan’s Lewis Smith, recently promoted to the Premier League, is the referee in charge of Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.
Field the world, lets them know it’s Rangers’ time – Report
A Sam Field double banished memories of a frightful first half, and continued QPR’s steady recovery run of wins and clean sheets, with a 2-0 home win against Oxford on Wednesday.
Queens Park Rangers 2 - 0 Oxford United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Pragmatism v idealism - Preview
QPR are winning, and keeping clean sheets, again, despite abandoning possession of the ball and their early season style, but will that hold in another home game they're expected to dominate and win?
Oxford survival bid faces familiar foes - Oppo Profile
Oxford have already bloodied several Championship noses but like Rotherham, Plymouth and others before them coping with injuries and winning away from home is hampering their survival bid - U's regular Adam England gave us his first impressions.