Saints went to Selhurst Park with a reshaped team after a raft of injuries, they didn't play well in many respects, but they played with fight and spirit and that saw them through 90 minutes for a well earned draw.

Ralph Hasenhuttl patched up his walking wounded and put out a side short on attacking quality and saw his team show both the good and bad points of their play, Palace dominated the match, but Saints had the fight in them to keep going through tough times and get a deserved point.

The game started with Saints attacking for the first two minutes and the home side had barely had a touch when some sloppy passing saw Will Hughes tackle Romeu from behind and within seconds the Saints defence was carved open and yet again we were a goal down before the game had got going.

Saints fans roared for a foul on Romeu but it was a clean tackle and it was of our own making.

The first half hour was hard to watch, Saints ran around and battled but Palace were bossing the game and it needed two smart saves from Caballero to keep Saints in it, with 30 minutes on the clock there looked only one winner and it was only a question of how many.

But then came our first stroke of luck in a game where the referee rarely seemed to give us anything yet Palace only had to fall over to get a free kick, we got a foul just outside the penalty area and up stepped James Ward Prowse for a free kick that was his trademark last season and we were level.

Five minutes later we were ahead Broja got the ball 40 yards out, turned and then let fly from 30 yards into the bottom corner, amazingly we were in front and the game turned.

We were suddenly a different team and the confidence was back.

The second half saw Palace come at us again and we gave as good as we got, just after the hour mark we looked to have weathered the early bluster but then we gave away another soft goal, we had plenty of chances to clear, didn't and then Ayew equalised from a tight angle.

The tide turned again and Palace felt they could win it, but this is where we dug in gave as good as we got and earned a well deserved point.

Some of those behind me were not happy with the substitutions, with 20 minutes to go Djenepo for Smallbone showed we had the appetite to try and win it, but many were not happy with Shane Long for Broja.

Of course Broja is a better player and more likely to score, but those howling their derision should remember Broja limped off on Saturday and was a doubt for this game, he had run himself into the ground, it was right to save him for Saturday.

Likewise the third and final sub, Walcott on for Tella, the youngster had also run himself into the ground and had a great game, but he was clearly tired and fresh legs were needed.

Overall this was a game were Saints didn't play well, they lacked confidence and Palace smelt blood, but we dug in, the keeper made some crucial saves and we gained the point not through flowing play or pinpoint passing, but pure spirit, battle and fight, everyone fought for their team mates and we ground out a point that looked highly unlikely after 30 minutes.

Given our missing injured this was a point gained, yes it was disappointing not to take home all three, in some respects we deserved to win, but Palace could also claim that themselves as they played some very cohesive attacking football at times, all in all a point was a fair result.

We now have some foundations we can build on, hopefully on Saturday we will have some of our injured back in contention and we can start to play with confidence again and how we know we can.

We are not far off being a good side, we have a squad that is not perfect but can challenge for the top 10, our problems though have been the usual ones of lapses in concentration and individual error and both of those were on display at times at Selhurst Park, both are also something that managers cannot legislate for, once a player crosses the line you have to hope he does his job, when he doesn't it costs managers their jobs.

The manager has also been under fire in some quarters, but last night he picked a team to do a job and it did just that, he got his selections right, his substitutions right and instilled a passion in his side to take them through.

For those that were there it was a rollercoaster, but an away game to enjoy, a great turnout by Saints and we made a lot of noise, but respect to Palace fans, a decade or so ago Selhurst Park was like a morgue, but over the past years the Palace Ultras have started a culture that has spread around the ground, I have rarely been in a ground in the Premier League that has made so much noise and continued to do so throughout the game, yes we silenced them at the end of the first half, but they soon came back.

It pains me to say it but it is something to aspire to, St Mary's can be loud, but not in the way that the Palace fans now back their team to the full, those who spent much of their time last night and there were quite a few, calling Long, Djenepo, Walcott & Redmond sh*t should take note, ironically the same people were loud in their support of the team, but we need to get out of our habits thinking slagging off our own players is support.

But I don't want to end on a negative point because overall both the Saints team and the travelling supporters were magnificent in their passion and it was a night to be proud to be a Saints fan.

Photo: Action Images

davidargyll added 13:11 - Dec 16 Same old, same old was my - and I would imagine 100% of Saints' fans' - immediate thought when we went behind after two minutes, BECAUSE WE TRYING TO BE TOO CLEVER AND PASSING SLOPPILY WITHIN SIGHT OF OUR ON GOAL, a central defender gets turned over, there is suddenly a huge gap and "thanks very much..." And as you say that might well have been night, night, but for JWP's wonder strike and Broja's a few minutes later. And of course I am pleased but... What may have been missed by many is that on another day the first one would have been palmed round the post - Buckland did get a hand to it after all; and Broja's would not have bounced just in front of the keeper's arm but hit it full on, and we would still have been one down. But luck was with us, we were re-energised and, sure the CP second goal was yet another defensive balls-up but at least we ended up with something from the game. So what did we learn from last night? I think that overall we played at least as well as we can and showed some great skills, ok we were sloppy at times but I still reckon we get a pretty solid 7 maybe even 8 out of 10. So the skill requirement seems to be getting there, the big difference was that WE HAD LUCK ON OUR SIDE. the very existence of which most people barely acknowledge, let alone its importance. But If you look back at the last few games, by and large, if a fair slice of luck had been with us, we would have salvaged many a point and No, I'm not going to give you a "What If" scenario. I'm simply pointing out that football is a game of very small margins and we could easily not have got anything out of last night's game if luck had not been with us, but it was and we did. But more importantly it is the same for at least half, if not two thirds, of the EFL. With the possible exception of the bottom two in the table, all those teams around us play well and badly with equal measure, cf Palace on Saturday when they smacked Everton but couldn't beat us. So, as I said on Monday, if the Force (and luck) continues to be with us and we can keep averaging one point a game, I firmly believe we will be OK. COYS

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wrathoftazz added 13:14 - Dec 16 WELL DONE RALPH... 3 YEARS AND YOU NEARLY HAVE A GOOD SIDE pathetic
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SanMarco added 13:28 - Dec 16 A pretty fair 'glass-half-full' report. We showed some fight and got what was, in the end, a deserved point. I thought the passes back from a decent attacking position that led to their early goal were pretty typical and we were fortunate Palace didn't kill us off after that. It was about this time last year that one of Ralph's chief trademarks started to haunt us - that is lots of injuries. I do hope it isn't happening again. We don't have the points in the bank this season and the chief excuse for selling Ings and Vesty was strength in depth. For me the concerns are a, still, flaky defence and also the undeniable fact that not many of our attacking players are natural goal scorers. Yes, Broja is beginning to look promising and Adams has got a few but other than that? The presence of ghosts of seasons past like Long and Walcott simply emphasised this. Tella played pretty well and Redmond is Redmond but lots of goals? Romeu and Djnepo had our best chances to win it, and did we expect them to when the ball fell to them. JWP's attacking threat from open play is zero . The return of Stewie might help but the other Armstrong is no Ings... Having said all that I was pleased to see us battle and (if on) the game on Saturday is tremendously important. Win it and we have some breathing space.

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felly1 added 13:33 - Dec 16 Well done Ralph, with a young inexperienced side hampered by injuries we got a decent point against a side playing good football backed by a support base that sticks loyally to getting behind their team. Unfortunately Saints fans are slightly more fickle! Good to see Smallbone back on the pitch and he had a pretty decent first half apart from the wayward shot that went into row Z. Salisu is clearly our best centre back but still contrive to give the ball away cheaply at times. I think you can pick anyone out the other 3 to partner him as they all are of a similar ability. Roll on Brentford

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saintmark1976 added 13:38 - Dec 16 Another two points dropped from a winning position to add to the previous seventy one ( or Is it seventy three ) since Ralph took over as manager. He is also well on the way now to obtaining another record for us in being the club which has conceded the most goals in a Premiership calendar year, unless omicron saves us by match postponement. Despite Leeds valiant recent attempt, Ralph still jointly holds the record as manager for the club’s biggest top flight English league defeat ever and of course has sole ownership as manager of the biggest home defeat as well. Not forgetting of course, most consecutive defeats in the club’s history and an F A cup semi final appearance where the opposition’s keeper could have watched the match from a deck chair. What will it take for those who continually support him to realise that he’s a manager who simply cannot consistently win football matches?

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Ali_Diarea added 13:46 - Dec 16 “We have a squad that is not perfect but can challenge for the top 10” - doesn’t this result and performance prove that we don’t have the squad to finish in the top 10? And actually 15th is about right for our squad, a squad that is large bit but lacks real quality? You could argue we were only really missing Che and McCarthy from our best starting 11 (I’ve given up on Stuart Armstrong).

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wibbersda added 15:19 - Dec 16 "something that managers cannot legislate for, once a player crosses the line you have to hope he does his job, when he doesn't it costs managers their jobs." If that's the case why is he constantly barking commands at the players in-game, and destroying any creativity in the process?
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Farlow added 15:24 - Dec 16 Have i missed a rule change,i thought tackling from behind was against the rules,if so their goal shouldnot have stood. The goalie scares me to death but a very good point all things considered.
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LordDZLucan added 15:30 - Dec 16 At last we've scored more than 1 goal in a game but I don't think we can rely on a JWP free kick and a Broja strike from distance every week The side clearly hasn't got enough goals in it and until it finds more goals from somewhere every defensive slip up is going to be over analysed with a culprit identified. I'm hoping that once Adam Armstrong finds his feet and Stuart Armstrong gets fit it will be problem solved

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TimSaint added 16:21 - Dec 16 This result was not down to luck. The lads put in a great shift and did really well to come back from a goal down so early. Everyone knows what corner JWP picks, so if the Keeper can't save it, it is down to him, not luck. Likewise with the Broja goal. It was a great strike from distance, so the keeper had ample time to get across and save it, but it was hit with power and precision. We had 7 more attempts on goal than Palace, numerous pull backs that didn't quite find their man and if Djenepo could control the ball where it mattered, he could have had a goal or 2 himself, as well as creating further chances. If luck was on our side, then VAR would have ruled out the Palace equaliser, due to (possibly double) handball byEduard. Frustrating that if he had scored they would have disallowed it, yet because it was saved and went to Ayew, it was allowed to stand !! WTF!! It was pleasing to see us play with confidence and directness once we were ahead, with Tella playing one of his best games in a Saints shirt. We did well to stifle the Palace pace up front and could and should have got a few more ourselves. It was disappointing that Broja had to go off, but to get an hour or so from him was great in the circumstances - after his injury on Saturday, I didn't expect him to play any part at all last night. He is now the highest scoring Chelsea striker in the league this season, ahead of Lukaku, Havertz and Werner !! I actually thought Long did quite well considering, Walcott didn't have much time to influence the game and Djenepo did one superb slide rule pass to Long, but then couldn't control the ball when it mattered - in and around the opposition's box. Need to follow it up with a win on Saturday - but it looks like Brentford will attempt to get it called off.

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ElijahK added 16:27 - Dec 16 At the end of the day it deserved to be a draw, and for a game that most fans were expecting to loose like 3-0, I’d of taken a draw before KO, and am happy with it afterwards! As we were winning, loosing and drawing all for basically a third of the game and both teams had golden opportunities that they didn’t take. But on Ralph, I thought our starting 11 was spot on, but he really didn’t help his case with bringing on Walcott, but still we got a point and if we can beat Brentford on Saturday then we’ll of had a great week!

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ElijahK added 16:31 - Dec 16 Sheesh the fact that soo many “saints fans” are on here complaining about the result (which almost everyone would’ve taken before KO, especially with some of the injuries we’ve got) just sums up how unrealistic certain fans are! Sheesh do they think that the real world is no different to the likes of FIFA and that you can easily make a world class team within a few seasons and always win!? You certainly can’t please some people

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highfield49 added 16:47 - Dec 16 Thank you TimSaint your post has just saved me a lot of keyboard tapping, and I'm really not sure what any of us should be expecting from the current squad given its limitations. Let's give credit where it's due rather than expecting miracles. For those that touted Eddie Howe to replace Ralph just have a look at what he's achieved, or not, at Newcastle. You can only do the best with the players at your disposal and I've yet to be even slightly convinced that changing the manager is going to transform the players abilities. Let's get behind the team and give them credit for putting in a shift even if the end result is not consistently above the limitations enforced by lack of investment by the owners.

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deanosfc8 added 16:48 - Dec 16 Agree with mosts posts on here. Saintmark1976.. Really mate you need to off that agenda stool and try and back Ralph and the boys! Listen we are where we are, until a new backer can come in and maybe spread some good seasonal cheer then all we can do is back Ralph with the limited resourses. Last night was a fantastic point against a decent side. Lets stay positive chaps.. We March On..

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Block8 added 16:53 - Dec 16 Observations on last nights game. The first goal came as we went backwards from the edge of their box and lost it in midfield, it annoys me but as we have no creativity through midfield its not surprising! Lyanco & Salisu both have a lot to learn and tonight it showed a fair bit. Tompkins is probably still looking over his shoulder for Tella who was excellent and JWP's free kick will hopefully give him his confidence back. Finally, sorry Nick but there is really no place in the first team squad for Long, Wallcott & Djenepo, who offer very little and are holding back some of our promising youngsters?

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Kenm added 17:21 - Dec 16 I believe Saints now have a NEW RECORD which I believe that Saints didn't want of flopping from winning positions !. we seem run out steam or lay back and take things easy from winning positions WHY ?, Hassenhuttl has got to start thinking up new strategys, other teams are now plotting ways of beating us, they now know we are all gung ho in the first 45 and will let us run ourselves ragged in the first 45 and then come out in the second half a lot fresher and then the games thiers for the taking

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schatfield added 17:29 - Dec 16 Just imagine how our team might perform at St Marys if the fans gave anything like the support the fans give Palace every week at Selhurst Park! Instead our fans either stay silent at St Marys the library, or slag off our own. We dont deserve this team sometimes.
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JoeEgg added 17:41 - Dec 16 Well judging by the posts voted up or down here most Saints fans want the criticism of Ralph to stop. OK - well done Ralph! When I saw the team selected to start the match with Palace I thought it was one of the best teams that he had selected this season; Well done Ralph. Two minutes after the start of the game and for the next thirty minutes I wasn't so sure! We lack creativity from the middle of the pitch and it is sad that the manager has to live with the fact that realistically he cant expect any of his midfield players to ever contribute to the list of goalscorers - the occasional free kick excepting. We gave the ball away too often as usual - did Romeu really give it away 19 times in this match? It is a shame that there will again be more changes for the next match because- as I said - I liked the shape of the starting line-up at Palace. Sadly we can never replace Danny Ings and probably Broya is now on 'borrowed time'. I would love to see Small brought in and not made to wait as long as Salisu was obliged to. But all in all, I felt the team last night that started just looked as if it needed a run of matches together to actually look a reasonably effective group of players. They certainly could not be criticised for a lack of passion. I dont think that many of our 'injured' or 'absent' players were actually missed too much in all honesty. Cut out the stupid mistakes , encourage this latest group of players and improve familiarity, and there's more than just a chance that confidence might return, and who knows, with it, a victory!!!!!

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halftimeorange added 20:41 - Dec 16 I'd rather see my team going down fighting as they did last night than drifting towards relegation with a whimper as per the Arsenal game.
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Colburn added 22:24 - Dec 16 I thought we played the better football over the 90 minutes, which was impressive and a surprise considering the inexperience of our line up and the fact new 'starting partnerships' were included in this. I have to say I enjoyed the way we played after the first 30 minutes and we'd stopped with the stupid dangerous passes back to our lesser adept ball users. Broja, Tella, Livramento and Smallbone all played very well, in particular the new striking partnership. This game will have done wonders for their progress and self belief. Yes we dropped points from a winning position but this was not due to our negative tactics this time, just how it panned out and a point was a good result. I'm still of the feeling that Ralph has run his time but this was not the game to judge him harshly for not winning. There were some huge positives and I hope Ralph rewards those who have played well when all are fit rather than dropping them back to the bench because of a pre-determined pecking order. Finally I think we learned that Longy, a great servant, has definitely lost the edge he had for his game and the much maligned Djenepo has a knack of getting into good positions and sees a good pass from midfield but needs to be more composed. I still believe he has something, however frustrating he may be. Hope everyone on here has a good Christmas, no matter what we all agree or disagree on..!

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sandywelsh added 23:40 - Dec 16 Am I the only one who thought Shane Long came on and done well unlike Walcott and Djenepo. Those 2 are a waste of space.
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saintmark1976 added 07:26 - Dec 17 deanosfc8, Thanks for the advice. Do I support the players? Of course, just as I’ve done for over fifty years now, right the way back to when we were managed by the man who’s statue stands outside St Mary’s. Do I support Ralph? No, because I truly believe he’s not up to the job and my view is supported by all of the unwanted records he keeps accumulating.Put simply, currently the facts speak for themselves. However, if the facts change then I will be happy to change my opinion.

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