There was a big surprise in store for Saints supporters when the team was announced for this 3rd round FA Cup tie, Ivan Juric had decided against rotation and was playing most of the players who started the last Premier League game.

Ivan Juric decided that getting back to winning ways was more important than resting players when he chose his team to face Swansea City, back came Mateus Fernandes after his suspension for the game against Brentford and also Ryan Manning and out went Tall Paul Onuachu and Nathan Wood.

Other than that it was the team that started against Brentford.

On the bench there was no sign of youth or the two recent signings and it was very much those who have experience both as Saints players and elsewhere, clearly Juric wanted to get his first win under his belt and he wanted his squad to get back to winning ways.

Again he persevered with Kamaldeen Sulemana and in fairness it paid off, playing as a striker Sulemana had a decent game, but there should be a word of caution, this was against a Championship side and in cricketing terms he would be described as a fast track bully.

But he should also be praised for his performance, a game won is a game won and with his opening goal and the assist for Tyler Dibling's goal for the second, he was in fine form, but then again so where all his team mates who passed the ball around as if it was last season.

This should perhaps be how we base the performance, it was not against a Premier League side, you had the feeling that the opposition were a yard or two slower than our opponents in the league, we got away with a lot that we would have been punished for against Premier League opposition.

From the very start we were in control of this game, we never looked like losing it at any stage, Swansea only managed 1 effort on target and indeed only 6 efforts in total overall.

We were comfortable in all stages and any lingering doubts that this game might be another defeat were quashed when we went 2-0 up after 35 minutes.

In the second half we kept our foot on the gas and once Tyler Dibling go the 3rd on 65 minutes, only then did Ivan Juric feel that he could start to make a few changes, the goal saw 3 of them only minutes later, one of whom was Tyler Dibling, that was a little harsh given he was on for a hat trick, but Juric showed that he was more concerned about the team and perhaps resting Dibling for the two up coming away games in the next 7 days than personal glory.

On came Adam Armstrong and Cameron Archer and both could have added to the score, Armstrong in particular created a great chance for himself and after getting into a shooting position scuffed the shot just wide.

It was also good to see the return of Will Smallbone who looked back to fitness.

Sulemana understandably got the man of the match award, a goal and an assist being the biggest individual contribution to the scoreline, but for me there were also some notable performances elsewhere in the team, Joe Aribo had a superb game both in winning the ball and also in going forward, likewise Ryan Manning who ironically has played better this season than last, Big Les in the centre of the midfield also dominated and a mention for James Bree who was solid throughout and made a tackle in the second half that if Virgil Van Dijk had made would be on repeat on Sky Sports.

But at the end of the day we have to put this game in perspective, it was against Championship opposition and it will be a lot different when we return to League action, but Juric's decision to put the emphasis on winning the game and winning it well and getting the players used to actually winning, a word that I haven't used much this season, was justified.

Talking at half time one thing that was highlighted was the fact that even allowing for the fact that 3 or 4 of the players out there, might not be here next season, we would still have a team that would be as strong, if not stronger than the one that won promotion last season.

So Sunday afternoon was a triumph and we haven't had many of those in the last 8 months, a home draw against Burnley gives us a great chance of getting through to the 5th round and also a good barometer about the level of teams we will face next season when we are inevitably back in the Championship.

Even the crowd was a little better than expected despite there being only about 600 Swansea fans in attendance.

All Photos Via Reuters

Block8 added 09:24 - Jan 13 No mention of Fernandes, who was by far our best player on the day? Although we all probably look for and see things differently. It was a win which as you said is in very short supply this season however there were again several simple errors at the back, that would more than likely be punished in the PL, which we need to work on. Lets be realistic Swansea were not terribly good but we have been in such poor form that, hopefully, the result will give us a sliver of confidence going forward. Lets get to the magical 12 points which will take a little more pressure off and then see where we go from there! COYR

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PezzaSaint added 09:25 - Jan 13 Yesterday showed the ever widening gap between the Premier League and the Championship. It was great to get a win and puts a smile on one’s face. More smiling next season hopefully 😁
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Flamingbankers added 09:50 - Jan 13 Juric seems to have made a lot of positional and tactical changes in a short amount of time and against Swansea, at least, it seemed to be working. Let's just hope it does against much better Prem teams - starting with Utd on Thursday!
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IanRC added 11:01 - Jan 13 I think Sulemana was by far our best player. He showed what he can do, albeit against a championship side. The question is, if he were a consistent starter and we had a reliable scoring centre forward, could he carry that form into the PL. I think he deserves the chance. Sports Republic need to get their finger out and sort out the second part of that but he appears to have the manager's confidence. Good to see Will Smallbone back but I thought he looked well off the pace and made at least one mistake that could have been costly in other company. Lets see what happens against United. We are well overdue some unbiased officiating and hopefully the win has done wonders for confidence.

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Flamingbankers added 11:16 - Jan 13 Skate troll alert!
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Centurion added 11:24 - Jan 13 It was good for morale and something to build on for next season.
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Number_58 added 11:36 - Jan 13 Highly enjoyable afternoon. Great parking spot, no queues to get served in the pub, 3-0 win, home in record time. Let's keep this boycott going.
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ItchenNorth added 12:07 - Jan 13 I thought Fernandes was head and so holders the best player out there. Sulamana did well and showed lots of energy, but his shooting was pretty erratic other than the lob for his goal. Credit where credit is due though. I thought the atmosphere was pretty good from those of us there. All the talk pre match in the days leading up to it was so negative but it was a good night at St Marys abet against a poor Championship side. A home tie vs Burnley is good, as it will give us a tougher challenge and sense of where we are for next season.

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131153 added 13:10 - Jan 13 Just a general point the three teams who were promoted a almost certainly will be relegated together, all easily beat Championship/League 1 opposition easily. So it appears the gap between the promoted teams and the remaining PL teams is widening with even the gap between the bottom three and Championship widening as well.
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DPeps added 13:11 - Jan 13 Nice to give out a thrashing for a change. Well taken goals but really should have scored 4 or 5. As others have said, the main thing the game showed is the huge gulf between the PL and the Championship. I can see why Juric put out a strong team. We need to build confidence and get players in the shop window
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dirk_doone added 13:56 - Jan 13 "It was also good to see the return of Will Smallbone who looked back to fitness." If that's him back to fitness, God knows how slow he'd be if he was unfit. He jogged around in slow motion, not even bothering to try and tackle or compete for 50/50 balls. In fact, Saints were excellent UNTIL Smallbone, Archer and Armstrong came on as subs. Then we looked as toothless up front as we have all season. If Dibling and Sulemana had stayed on, we'd probably have won at least 5-0. I hope they were taken off so they will be ready to start again at Old Trafford, as they were the best attacking pair we've had so far this season. Well Done Juric for the team selection and tactics. It makes me feel a lot more optimistic about the rest of the season.

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dirk_doone added 14:24 - Jan 13 I think we'd have struggled to win this game if we'd started with Archer and Armstrong up front and Smallbone in midfield, because after they came on, Swansea hit the post and looked the more likely team to score.
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Peterx added 05:06 - Jan 14 If we can get Downes fit and can play Les and Fernandez with him in midfield we are going to be more of a prem proposition and will see an uptick in results. Glad he is playing Sulemana, as a fit and firing Sulemana is going to be a better option than anyone else up front and if this means we get him in the shop window and recoup our cash so be it. Happy for Manning, deserves a run in the side.

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