This day did not start well, firstly the news that the team was unchanged from Everton was not good news, then the fiasco outside the stadium, but by 4pm we had seen a pulsating game in which Saints had dug in and fought for every ball backed by a passionate home crowd.
I have to say that at 1pm the mood of every Saints fans in the bar I was in pre match was not good, there was not one person who would have picked the side that Ralph Hasenhuttl had chosen and many were perplexed at why he had made these selections on the walk to the stadium.
The moods were not helped upon arrival at the stadium to find thousands still queueing around the block and chaos all around with no guidance as to what queue was what, however I will deal with that in a separate article and not dwell on it here too much.
It was surreal to be in the stadium at kick off time and see thousands of empty spaces and knowing that there must have been around 5,000 people still trying to get in, why the game was not delayed I don't know.
But perhaps this adversity stirred the crowd and it certainly created an atmosphere that hasn't been seen at St Mary's in a long time even accounting for lock down.
Saints started well but almost went behind but after a goal line scramble managed to clear the ball, the longer the game went on the more composed Saints looked to be and the crowd seemed to sense that there could be a result here, on the half hour mark they started to believe that when Che Adams fired home from just outside the box, the goal seems to have been given to Fred as an own goal, but that is harsh on Adams.
After the break United came at us and just as we looked to have weathered the storm they equalised, should the keeper have done better, yes it came through a player or two, but a Premier League goalkeeper should be stopping these.
From then on it was going to be tough and it was, United enjoyed plenty of possession and at times looked to be swamping us, but sheer work rate carried us through, United had all the fancy flicks, all the step overs and the showboating, but we had pure guts and a crowd that seemed to be devoid of all the moaners of last season and just full of those who supported the team, better 23,000 Saints fans in the stadium backing the team than 28,000 with 5,000 whose only vocal support in a match is "Oh No Saints" and where every wrong pass is greeted by groans.
I'm sorry if some won't like that remark, I suspect they weren't in St Mary's on Sunday if they do, but Sunday was one of those matches where every Saints supporter seemed to be behind the team and willing it on, perhaps it was the pent up anger at the chaos outside the ground, perhaps it was the response to the Manchester United supporters who were in fine voice, whatever it was the atmosphere was great and one that spurred the team on rather than got on their backs.
The Northam End were magnificent and so where the Itchen North and there enthusiasm washed around the ground.
A point was a good result, but we although United had more chances in the second half, we had the better ones to win it, none more than Adam Armstrong who was put through by Che Adams, he got a good shot away well saved by De Gea but we should have gone ahead there.
So what of the four changes that should have been made in the side and those that should have been replaced.
In goal without making an obvious error Alex McCarthy did not look confident, too often he came for a ball and stopped, not errors but it left him out of position, not least on that first half goal mouth scramble, take a look at the replay and you will see what I mean.
His handling was not great, he didn't deal well with another shot low to his left and pushed the ball in front of him creating another goal mouth scramble and on the goal the ball went right under him, perhaps not a mistake, but these are the one that you expect your keeper to stop.
He is not a keeper in form, he is lacking confidence and with due respect to him he knows it himself ,he is coming out for things that he shouldn't do and staying rooted for thigs he should, his decision making at the moment is suspect.
We have two choices we either hope he plays through it or we replace him.
In the centre of defence, should Bednarek have played before Jack Stephens ? The answer is on the evidence from Everton absolutely, but top marks to Stephens, he had a decent game and justified Ralph's decision, a good tactical change at half time also helped give us a little more strength at the back when Bednarek came on for Walcott at half time.
Tino Livramento had another good game at right back, but I still felt that Kyle Walker Peters should have played with Livramento at right midfield, the new signing from Chelsea is worth his place in the team, just not at the expense of KWP who showed why he is the best full back at the club in the final 10 minutes when a cool head who can win the ball and keep it was needed.
Lastly Stuart Armstrong, he was not even on the bench, which asks the question was he injured or is there something else going on.
Ralph said he had no injuries in his press conference on Friday, but then again he would say that , you don't show your hand, so was Armstrong injured or is it "something else" at the moment we can only speculate.
Overall this was a great day out, the prediction was this would be another day of disaster, another game with the team booed off by those still in the ground after a heavy defeat against a United side who had slaughtered Leeds and would do the same as us.
But this was one of those days we got to football for, when we remember it is meant to be about enjoyment, for me enjoyment at football is not about sitting in my seat wallowing in misery and self pity and predicting doom and gloom at any moment, it is about seeing my team compete, getting behind it and enjoying a game of football.
Sunday showed that we are not the certain relegation candidates that too many of our supporters seem to predict, this harked back to the first half of last season where we topped the League, yes we are missing Danny Ings and we are yet to find out whether Adam Armstrong can replace him, but the early signs are that he can and the squad has more depth than it did a year ago.
There are more things to be optimistic about than a year ago, we aren't going to win the League, probably not even get into the top 7, but we can finish somewhere between 8th and 17th and make it a good season.