A game where there were only two highlights as Saints struggled to break down a well drilled and well organised Stoke City side at St Mary's Stadium.

It was business as usual for Saints in terms of statistics, domination of possession with 60%, domination of shots on goal with 18 against 5 but with only 5 of those attempts actually on target.

The problem was with injuries and compassionate leave etc once Saints found themselves banging their head against the proverbial parked bus they had very little options open to them to try and change things, although strangely Mauricio Pochettino made only oen substitution, that being the like for like Chambers for Clyne, James Ward Prowse not getting on the field and perhaps being the only true option on the bench to try and bring some guile to the play.

It started well though, Rickie Lambert scored a trademark free kick to give us the lead and that looked enough to send us in at the break in command, but the 7 minutes before half time were bizarre to say the least, first Stoke equalised, the TV pundits pulled Luke Shaw to bits over the goal ane they did have a point, Odemwingie had got goal side of Shaw and made the type of run we were wanting our forwards to make, but perhaps the real culprit was Yoshida who instead of stepping up and leaving the Stoke forward well offside, he chased back and played him on, neither Yoshida or Shaw looked like catching him and that was also worrying.

But then came another bizarre moment with perhaps Begovic getting his pay back for his goal in the away game, the cross from Davis was clever, dont take anything away from him, it was just where he should have put it, but it should never have got that far to put Saints back in front.

The lead lasted 3 minutes, Stoke got a corner and scored, again questions should be asked defensively it was a bog standard corner hit hard and head height, it should have been cleared by the man detailed to protect that area, it wasnt and Crouch did what he does well and bundled it in.

That meant that it was all even at half time and it looked set for a goal feast second half, but Stoke battened down the hatches and we had no answer to them, the trio of Lallana, Lambert and Rodriguez never got going at any point and although we had plenty of battle in midfield we had no one who could hit that killer pass, hence why it was strange that JWP played no part.

A disappointing result and a good chance missed to overtake Newcastle , it does highlight though that we still need to use the squad a little bit better especially with a game coming up on Tuesday, however there is some excuse given that we were short on the bench, although as I type this im already thinking would this have not been the game to blood isgrove, or give Wanyama a chance to get 15 minutes in.

But it is another game unbeaten and increasingly there is little to play for in the league apart from between perhaps 8th- 12th, given that as I wrote in a piece in January, surely we should now be looking at the youngsters a little bit more than we are.

Photo: Action Images

Stephen added 17:46 - Feb 9 Negative attitudes like "there is little to play for" is not our way. We need to win every game.
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schatfield added 18:03 - Feb 9 funny old game football. some bizarre goals and both sides didnt even look like scoring in the 2nd half. Our bench did look very weak with no attackers I would like to bring on (yep including Guly there). This is when we could have done with Ramirez being back to fitness.
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SaintNick added 18:06 - Feb 9 The fact is that now there is little to play for in the league so we should be positive and start building for next season, want to see youngsters given a chance in games like these, far better to have players with experience when called upon than those that havent.
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slynch added 18:57 - Feb 9 I think 8 to 12th is 5 Million Squid, Tax Free. Lovren's absence costing 2 goals a game - so no pressure Ricky. But remember there's a guaranteed 3 points on the last game of season, LOL.
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stalbansaint added 19:30 - Feb 9 Whilst Shaw certainly got caught, it is a consequence of our pressing game and having our full backs push on. This will happen occasionally. Our tactics and style remain positive, and it should stay that way.
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SaintNick added 22:04 - Feb 9 I dont think the first goal for stoke was a consequence of our pressing game, in fact the opposite, no one was pressing the man on the ball who hit the pass and Shaw's job was to pick up odemwinkie but he didnt
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codge added 22:56 - Feb 9 I really believe we are still in the need for a true wide player, seems we have a tendency to try and play through the middle to much sometimes.Teams like Stoke just camp out and just look for the counter attack...
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Sango123 added 03:27 - Feb 10 The first goal was mainly due to the our high defensive line that we like to play. We will always have problem with a very fast attacker who can beat the offside trap. It is difficult to rectify unless we have a very fast GK or a very fast centrebacks. This is a flaw in the formation and system that we play I am more concerned about the 2nd goal which could have been prevented if we defend better. As shown in many matches this season, having more possession and more shots on goal does not mean for anything unless we got a positive result to match it. A draw against Stoke at home is definitely not positive. We need to learn to attack faster with more pace and penetration. We tend to hold possession for too long and the defense tends to get packed before we can do create a chance

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stmichael added 09:50 - Feb 10 Anybody else think Boruc was poor doe the 2nd goal? 6 yard box is the goalkepers territory from corners. Being a small side against a big side the goalkeeper knows his job from corners and he didnt clean up , he should have. Also he made it easy for Odemwinge with the 1st goal rushing out too far and making the finish simple. Since he came back from injury he has been very average.

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jonrog added 10:36 - Feb 10 Bit unkind on Boruc he kept us in the game in the first half at Fulham. I think the whole team were a bit of the pace on Saturday, suppose it happens now and again
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welhamdowed added 11:26 - Feb 10 The weather was a factor, plus Stoke played well in the first half. We huffed and puffed but couldn't blow their house down in the second. Artur seems overweight to me, not suggestion he was at fault but just an observation.
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bstokesaint added 13:04 - Feb 10 I agree with Stmichael on the second goal. Boruc should definitely have been stronger and been first to that ball. Shaw was at fault for the first goal but then how often do we say that? Not very often. I'm reluctant to blame Yoshida, and I actually thought he had a decent game. He made a couple of vital interceptions/ tackles and looked lively. I think credit should be given where it's due as he's come under fire for poor defending earlier in the season. It's disppointing not to take 3 points, but then not exactly surprising. Stoke pack the middle part of the pitch just outside the 18 yard box and we weren't going to get past them, with our neat little tippy tappy football. That only works against the better teams who do the same or teams that haven't come with a game plan. We looked fresh out of ideas very early on. As others have noted the lack of options off the bench is a bit of a concern, especially after a window has just shut when maybe we could have done something about that. All said and done though I'd much rather be a Saints season ticket holder than a Stoke one...!!

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SaintNick50 added 13:18 - Feb 10 I am concerned about Jay Rodriguez, yes a fantastic goal against Fulham, but his play in the last 3/4 matches has been very disappointing, where are those magnificent runs he used to make? Apart from the Fulham goal his control and shooting have been weak. Rickie's 'trade mark free kick'. He is taken too much for granted and never gets the full credit he deserves. To score from that angle and so precise as to go in off the post was magnificent. We desperately need a plan 'B'. Why didn't we snap up young Ince from Blackpool just the sort of player we need rather than these over expensive foreign imports. As for giving Wanyama a few minutes, are you out of your mind?!

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Zambucco added 18:51 - Feb 10 For me every time we got the ball on the edge of their area it was like Groundhog day, I had seen it dozens of times before. The ball just gets passed side to side, with no penetration, very easy to defend. We also had the option of Isgrove, who could have used his pace and nippiness to beat a couple. As you pointed out there was no spark of creativity. Lallana and to a certain degree Davis were the only players capable of that. I would have liked Adam to drop a little bit deeper, to drag them out, to open it up behind them. In my mind a day to bring on Ramirez or even Guly, as they both posses those neat little tricks that can sometimes open a defence. I think if we play this style there is no plan 'B' we just keep pressing until they make a mistake. This is how Barcelona play, they only know one way. Admittedly they do have a lot more creative talent. But if a team parks the bus in their own area, there is not a lot you can do, except punt high balls into the area and hope for the best. I remember a game where Barca had 82% possession and lost 0 - 1. Let's use the rest of the season for some squad rotation, blood some more youngsters.

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