A game that Saints thought they had thrown away and then thought they had won it only to think they had seen a point snatched from their grasp before VAR kicked in, but at the end of the evening Saints sit 10th in the Premier League.

Slowly but surely Ralph Hasenhuttl has crafted a squad that can compete in the Premier League, we went into this game knowing that at the end of the night we could be uncomfortably close to relegation, we ended it in 10th position and 11 points clear of the bottom 3.

Saints started the game well but found themselves a goal behind when Jan Bednarek put through his own goal, but within 5 minutes they were back on level terms when Armando Broja fired home an equaliser from close range.

When the half time whistle went you felt that perhaps Saints might pay the price for 14 chances on goal but only one counting, whilst Spurs hadn't got out of first gear, some would say it was the best half of football that the team had played all season.

The second half saw Saints put in a shift but often on the back foot and certainly not commanding the game as they did in the first, on 70 minutes it looked like the game had slipped away, Armando Broja was flattened on the half way line, replays showed a clear foul, but the referee felt otherwise and Saints were livid as Spurs attacked found Son and he fired home.

With 20 minutes left it looked like Spurs could win with ease, but the injustice seemed to rally Saints and suddenly they burst back into life, on 79 minutes the ball was laid to James Ward Prowse and his pin point cross saw a late run from Moi Elyounoussi who dived to head home.

The visiting fans were going mad and Spurs seemed to have nothing less, four minutes later an almost identical cross from JWP again this time found Che Adams who headed home what turned out to be the winner.

But there was to be a late twist, a cross went in and the ball was forced home, Spurs celebrated but suddenly VAR was in action and Bergwijn was shown to be a foot offside.

A reprieve for Saints but nothing more than they deserved, it had been another great team performance where they had dug in and fought hard to earn a result against a team which had cost much more to compile than our squad.

Another performance where picking a man of the match was difficult, but one man did stand out James Ward Prowse, he was everywhere, he won tackles he bossed the midfield and he put in two great crosses to turn the game on its head.

So we are now up to 10th with 28 points and it should be noted that at the same stage last year after we had played 23 games we were 13th, but then we were in the middle of a slump having lost 5 straight games, now we are on a roll and moving forwards on and off the pitch.

Suddenly two months ago when we gave away that late goal at home to Brighton seems a long time ago, things are looking good the future could be bright.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 22:47 - Feb 9 a game like this comes once every 10 years. What a brilliant game of football. The best 3 points we've got for years given our traditional poor record v. Spurs. With all the money Spurs have spent , but they still don't have ....a TEAM. Tough luck on JB's O.G., but we really had dominance in first half with 16 shots to 2. I'd give them all 10 for effort, and once again JWP was popping up all over the pitch. Let's hope this performance can give them a lift for game at Old Trafford.

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codge added 22:50 - Feb 9 In watching Saints over the last 66yrs l have seen some fabulous games this game rates right up there, so much fight in this team made me so proud to support Saints. Everyone played out of there skins and justly got there just rewards after the ref nearly gave them the game. Everyone deserves to be man of the match for this team performance.Bring on Manure and if we can play like this again who knows where we can end up.Coyr.

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AmericanSaint added 22:51 - Feb 9 What a game and we deserved the win. We played as a team and won as a team. Everyone put in a shift and we showed that we can play with anyone in the league when we put for the effort. I thought after their goal, we would collapse, but we kept attacking and JWP made perfect crosses to get the goals. I watched the replay and how Spurs 2nd goal was not called back by the foul on Broja shows how VAR can be a farce. Within 4 passes, they crossed and scored on the firth one and it was all in the same attacking movement, so VAR should has told the ref, hey this is a clear and obvious foul - come look at it. Anyways, we play like this against ManU and we can win that game too. So looking forward to the next game now. COYR

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WestSussexSaint added 22:54 - Feb 9 Brilliant performance by the lads. Quality, intensity and a never give up attitude. When we went in level at half time I feared the worst after such a dominant performance in the first 45mins. The spurs second should have never counted after Broja was assaulted in the lead up. But we got what we deserved and great crosses by JWP were converted. So hard to call a Motm and JWP is rightfully called out but a mention for Elyounoussi who linked up things beautifully in the first half and his late run in the to the box got the deserved equaliser. I would rather have Ralph than Conte! Bring on Man U.

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SaintPaulVW added 23:11 - Feb 9 Game of the season. Everyone played well, pretty much everyone could have scored. Bags of chances, Broja missed 2 solid chances, Perraud hit the post even Romeu was close(ish). Armstrong played his usual driving game, Mo E joined in, played his best game for us and took an excellent headed goal. JWP pinged accurate balls into the box all night and we scored two headers from them. Job done. Spurs had some great threatening passing moves but we gradually turned them round.. Player was well offside for their equaliser so no controversy there. Great spirit to come back twice and get a well deserved win to take us into the top half of the table. COYR

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Block8 added 23:16 - Feb 9 So quick you must have compiled this, full of excitement on the bus Nick. How in gods name did we get KWP? Spurs are so very poor at the back you would find it hard to believe they would let such a very good defender leave! Anyway back to the game, superb performance all round and yes Ely certainly looked the part tonight but they were all excellent. This result has been coming for a while and will hopefully give us the belief that we can outplay anyone. Great to see Hojberg hooked too! COYR Looking forward to Saturday a bit more than usual, if that's possible. COYR

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DellBoyWally added 23:24 - Feb 9 Spurs lost despite the referee's best efforts. Each time a Spurs player felt a Saint behind them they threw themselves to floor and were awarded a free kick. Not so Saints. Long was flattened twice in 2 seconds with barges in the back. Nothing. Early on KWP was barged over in his own box - throw in to Spurs!?!? And the penalties!! Hojberg, the worst player on the pitch, shovels the ball away with his arm. No penalty. The foul in the box on Broja was given offside, a wrong decision. The Spurs defender headed the shot into the air starting a new phase then Broja is dragged down. Penalty. Seconds later, Badnarek heads a cross into the air and Krying Kane comes from offside to collect the ball. Play goes on!! Levy will want his "donation" back. Saints? Yeah, not bad!!! An incredible performance, lots of superb performances, no weak links except putting the ball in the net! We could have had 9!! 14 attempts in the first half. Yeah, 14! 23 overall. Amazing. I scored our players 8 or 9. (The Telegraph scored Stuey 6!? We were the better team by far and the stats reflected our superiority. If we could only put the chances away more regularly. Nearly everyone had a try. We can excuse FF!! Who said JWP can't cross from open play. And MoEly's run for his goal! Other than RH's hoarse pleasure at the end, my fave bit was Conte's face. A delight to behold.

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Colburn added 01:38 - Feb 10 Phenomenal performance, terrific spirit and high energy to the last whistle. I can't remember the last time a win gave me so much pleasure. Resting and rotating for the cup paid huge dividends today and we can go into the Utd game without fear. We could have scored a bagfull tonight and as mentioned by another, we've seen a result like this coming, just didn't expect us to batter Spurs on their own soil for 90 minutes. We were better than them in every aspect and we look like a happy unit at the moment, improving with every outing. Well done Ralph and the boys, magnificent! Delighted for those who made the journey, the limbs looked great on the tv for the equaliser and winner.

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VancouverSaint added 04:01 - Feb 10 I cannot remember a more complete, dominating game over a supposed big team away in a long time. This goes back to my first match as a nipper in 1957. We’ve had good teams along the way, especially in the late 70’s and 80’s but this came out of the complete BLUE! Everything and every player ticked. Not one player was average…they all played their hearts out and they just looked like they were in a different time zone. Please boys, keep this game close in your memory and get the same result on Saturday.

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KilkennySaint added 04:05 - Feb 10 Absolutely immense, we all know Spurs get the luck in this fixture, what character to come back after that and win it, a couple years back we would have crumbled. I seriously can’t remember a better performance from a Southampton team. I always felt Ralph was a great manager and was perfect for us, tonight is a reflection of that, we have to remember the constraints he had to work under, hopefully the ownership will back him this summer and who knows what can happen. How could you pick a man of the match after that, everyone was brilliant, just have to mention how fantastic S Armstrong is, what a bargain, he has to be the first name on the team sheet. So glad we kept Moi and hope we offer him a new contract. Doesn’t look like it Højbjerg has progressed since he left us, just another name added to the grass and greener list. It was brilliant bringing on Theo at the end to wind up the Spurs fans.

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Boris1977 added 04:08 - Feb 10 Old skool Saints, bloody hell. A sweet victory against an unpleasant opposition. And an incredibly spontaneous report from Nick (Jack Kerouac).
6

Peterx added 06:08 - Feb 10 What a team performance. Livra has been a revelation this season, but KWP on the right is immense and Perraud's commitment and overall game is fantastic on the left so we have a good selection issue to have. Stuart A's running around and making himself available pulls opposing midfields and defense's around and makes us tick. Ely was also strong with his movement. Made the Spuds defence look ordinary. Romeu and JWP looked so much better than Hooijberg. Looking forward to the weekend and would not take a point if it was offered now.

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FrankSaint added 06:43 - Feb 10 Hear, hear. Just want to add that Perraut with his puffed chest, strength, buccaneering runs and piledriver shot, reminds me of one of our greats from the 70s... Ivan Golac.
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ItchenNorth added 07:21 - Feb 10 Fantastic. Love beating Spurs. Oh When The SAINTS Go Marching In! In Ralph we trust !
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JoeEgg added 07:23 - Feb 10 A splendid team performance as has been said by all. If you set the team out well and apply a positive approach we are capable of producing many more performances like this. It is a little worrying that a hgh proportion of opposition shots on tagert end up in our net, and the understanding between Forster and the central defenders still need to improve; But the overwhelming positive was seeing so many Saints players getting into the opposition boxes, looking dangerous, and getting shots on target. A similar approach at Man Utd could well produce another spectacular performance!

6

davidargyll added 08:51 - Feb 10 Listening to the radio this morning, there was a lot of talk about a “spirited” Saints performance, no mention of us pummelling Spurs, no interview with Ralph. And then to add insult to injury, an interview with Mr Overrated himself about how the Spurs “experiment” is going to take more than this season! What a load of little round things! But in fact I rather like that, because the more the commentators think that the supposed better team plays poorly! Without mentioning how brilliant we are, the more we are underestimated which can only work in our favour. That said, the three interviewers on BT, inc Crouchy and Franny, were grinning from ear to ear at the performance so some at any rate think we are rather better than average. A few observations: 1. Hojberg subbed after 60 minutes; rubbish he was at SMS and moving certainly hasn’t improved him, so what does that say about about transfer policy?! 2. As has been pointed out, JWP’s crosses were killers but then crossing is something we have only recently been starting to do more often; and others were doing it last night too and when you’ve got bulls like Che and Armando in the middle, it’s amazing how effective they can be. 3. I’ve sung the praises of Perraud before but he really showed yesterday what a real terrier he is - I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an international call-up soon. (I don’t think he’s had one yet has he?) 4. On the subject of commentators, ‘Oddle started writing off Southampton the moment Spurs scored their second goal; normally a good reader of the game, well, Glen, we all make mistakes…! 5. Didn’t you just love it that, as soon as the Spurs fans started singing OUR song, we put not one but two past them. Mmm, delicious, in fact bordering on … sadistic! I’m still on cloud 9 and I don’t care what anyone says about bubbles and bursting, in Ralph and his boys we trust, and if at some stage we come down to earth with a bump, my God this recent ride has been worth it…!

8

SaintNick added 08:51 - Feb 10 Great team performance suddenly though we have a squad, look at the players who didn't play a part last night, Livramento, Redmond, Tella, Adam Armstrong, Djenepo, Valery, Lyanco even Jack Stephens. We now have a bench in which we can change games, compare that with a year ago when it was full of kids who will probably not make it at the club
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PaleRider added 09:08 - Feb 10 Absolutely buzzing - I can't believe the turnaround in the last couple of months. Supporting Saints is fun again. I was hoping we'd hit 30 points by the time of the cup game so that we can focus on beating the cat kickers and hopefully a run to Wembley. PS - would you rather beat Spurs or Pompey?
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halftimeorange added 09:21 - Feb 10 Last night we saw an Elyounoussi we've only glimpsed before and I could see why we signed him. It'll be interesting to see whether he retains his place on Saturday, presumably over Redmond. If they're fit and eager I think Ralph should start the same eleven. Whoever scouted KWP and Perraud deserves a pay rise.
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Block8 added 09:37 - Feb 10 Pale Rider - beating P*****y is always a complete joy but as there not at our level Spurs are the next best thing!!!!
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SanMarco added 15:01 - Feb 10 The players did the talking on the pitch and you've all done the necessary talking in all the good points made so I shall just shut up and continue smiling....
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felly1 added 18:40 - Feb 10 Wow what a game and what a performance from us! So proud and it really proves the point that if you stand by talented managers and players when the going gets tough, the rewards when it all falls into place are sooo much sweeter.
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