If in the previous round Saints thought they played the perfect game, then FC Midtjylland will think that everything went to plan at St Mary's last night.
I have to say that I cannot remember a more cynical team in action than FC Midtjylland, yes we expected them to be tight, organised and disciplined, but what we didn't expect was the cynical time wasting and blatant feigning of injury.
They were asting time in the first half long before they scored, but in the second they excelled themselves and in the final half hour there main tactic seemed to be to feign injury everytime they lost a tackle in a key area to try and con the ref into stopping play.
At the end of the day it perhaps did not affect the result, but it was disgusting to watch and if that is the way that they like to play football then god help their fans who have to watch it and god help Brentford who share owners with the Danish club and whom these owners are looking to build in FC Midtjylland's image.
It was another evening of frustration for Saints and not just because of the visitors tactics, we enjoyed 60% of the possession, had 23 attempts on goal compared to their 9, with 9 on target compared with their 2.
That perhaps tells you the story of the game, did Saints play badly ? I would say no, they dominated the game and just did not seem to get the luck when it mattered, it was not for lack of trying.
Jay Rodriguez could of put Saints ahead in the early minutes but is lacking a little match practice and confidence but overall in the first half Saints had dominated and FC Midtjylland had done little apart from one header well saved by Stekelenburg.
So as half time approached it looked to be goalless, then again Saints switched off for seconds a cross was headed out and it went straight to Sparv who unmarked and wit all the time in the world hit a low shot from 25 yards into the corner that gave Stekelenburg no chance
The second half was all Saints with the Danes trying to break up the game and throwing themselves to the ground for no reason, Steven Caulker who posed a real aerial threat had what looked to be a perfectly good goal disallowed before Pelle chested down a ball to James Ward Prowse who was brought down for a penalty, Jay Rodriguez stepped up and put Saints level.
It was hoped that with 35 minutes left Saints could win the game, they had their chances not least another Caulker header brilliantly saved by the keeper and a header from Yoshida that hit the post in the 96th minute, but they could not break the Danes down again.
If I was a fan of FC Midtjylland and they don't seem to have many perhaps for this reason, I would be ashamed of the way my team plays football, I have no problems with a team sitting back and keeping it tight etc, that is a valid tactic, however the blatant timewasting and cheating by the Danes was just disgusting.
Saints are still in this tie, the truth is they are a far better side with far better options, FC Midtjylland did what they do, score one goal and keep it tight and it might just suit Saints better to play them in Denmark where they will have to come out a little more.
If we can get an early goal as we dd at Arnhem it will put them under pressure, they will have to get at us more and this will create space for the pace of Mane.
It will be an exciting game, this is why we want European football, but we want more of it, Saints are struggling to find their form at the moment, they are not a bad team, they are a good team struggling to make things click, in the main Everton aside we are not losing games, we are getting stronger with every game and there are plenty of plusses to be taken from this performance, we can only get better and if we do in Denmark next week then we can progress.