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Saints At Manchester United The Verdict

For the second year running Saints won at Old Trafford to make it three successive seasons without defeat at the home of Manchester United.

From the very start of the game the Saints fans tucked away in the corner at Old Trafford sensed that this was perhaps going to be one of the more memorable games and that it was already written that at some stage Charlie Austin would come on and score the winner.

The Saints game plan was simple in its planning and clinical in it's application, Saints would keep things tight, quieten the crowd, keep the pace slow so as not to let United up their ante, get the crowd on United's backs and then when the chance came, deliver the coup de grace.

Long before Charlie Austin made it a fairytale debut with 3 minutes to go, the home crowd was indeed on United's back and many of them where not even still in the ground to see the Saints winner, it was if the United faithless were resigned to what was to come next for them.

There is a thought that says that United's support has been spoilt by nearly 25 years of mostly total dominance and they have forgotten what it is like to see their team struggle, they have lost their humility and cannot lose with grace and that seemed to be the atmosphere at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Again Ronald Koeman tweaked the team and again it paid off, so much so that it is hard to believe that less than a fortnight ago large selections of our support were in uproar and predicting meltdown and we all thought that Charlie Austin was just a t*** with a dodgy knee, how quickly us football fans adapt our thoughts lol.

It was truly a team performance meaning that not only did Fraser Forster keep another clean sheet, his third in a row, but in those 270 minutes United's one feeble attempt on target was only the second of this period and he is yet to have to make a save of note, Forster did do just what you want him to do and he commanded his box.

In front of him the back four stayed tight, the midfield ran and harried and up front Shane Long closed down and made sure the United defence had to be on their toes.

A mention for Sadio Mane, there were some who felt that he didn't have a good game, it was certainly true that his final touch was woeful whether it was trying to shoot or pass the ball, but his effort could not be faulted, he is in a run where whatever he does just won't go for him, but it will click soon.

The ending was what dreams are made of, on came Charlie Austin and you felt that something special was about to happen.

The foul that led to the goal was needless, Austin was in the corner and going nowhere and he was flattened unnecessarily by frustrated United defenders, James Ward Prowse's free kick was right where you wanted it, Fonte's run drew the defenders and Charlie Austin pulled away to get a free header and he didn't spurn the chance to send the away section into rapture.

Saints supporters perhaps chewed their nails for the final minutes and what seemed like eternal injury time, but the reality was that United were spent and a beaten side.

So a third successive win and Ronald Koeman is showing those waverers of a few week ago that form is temporary and class is permanent, of course any squad can be improved, but now we have one that can adapt and is back to its confident self, the addition of Charlie Austin can only be a boost and could be the thing that pushes us up a notch and perhaps could push us into a European place for next season.

This season has a long way to go yet, it might still turn out to be better than last year, certainly this was perhaps one of the most pleasing victories of the Ronald Koeman era.

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