Despite a great first half it was back to old ways for Saints in the second as again two goals were conceded in sloppy fashion to cost us the game.

As good as they were in the first half they were as poor in the second, but again Saints looked to be coping with the Hammers blustering until the final 20 minutes when lapses in concentration cost Saints dearly.

The first West Ham goal saw a sloppy header from Cuco Martina put Saints on the back foot with Antonio running at goal, the danger seemed to have been averted when the former Saints loanee fell over, but as Fonte went to clear it ricochet off the fallen Antonio and looped over Stekelenburg for a bizarre goal that was a combination of poor defending and pure bad luck.

Ironically Yoshida was already stripped and ready to come on, if Martina had headed the ball into touch as he really should have, that would have been his last action and Yoshida would have replaced him, Saints would have broken the game up and regrouped and perhaps not have conceded, it was still Martina's last tough of the game though.

The second goal was perhaps the same with Fonte getting his foot to a cross before Carroll, but the ball looped up for Antonio to head and his the bar, Carroll was the first to react and he had a free header which he didn't miss.

So once again it was the old case of sloppy defending and a lack of concentration, Saints should have had at least a point and probably more given their dominance in the first half, but we failed to get a second and put the game to bed and ended up paying dearly for it.

Had you said before Xmas that Saints would get a draw from both festive games and two points then most Saints fans would have been happy with that, the reality was three points including a great win over Arsenal, but it doesn't feel like that, due to the slackness of this game.

The New Year sees a good chance to get a couple of wins and put the traumas of the past month behind us, it should also be remembered that we went into this game with a long injury list, with several key players injured, that however s no excuse for the poor defending on both goals conceded.

But we are still in touch with the seven clubs ahead of us up to Palace in 5th, we need to perhaps bring in a new face or two in January and freshen things up, if we do then we can tighten up and change the lax attitude on the pitch that has cost us dearly.

Photo: Action Images

schatfield added 09:57 - Dec 29 Such a shame. We absolutely destroyed them in the first half and could have easily had 3 goals. But like you said sloppiness took over and we couldn't get to grips with their change in personnel for the 2nd half. Not quite sure why Yoshi was bought on. On a side note, Shane Long is unplayable on his day, but on other days he needs at least 3 or 4 good chances to get 1 on target and is very wasteful. This was one of those other days.

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SaintBrock added 10:12 - Dec 29 Same old Saints, same old excuses from Koeman and his players. We can take all the positives we like out of a largely dominant display in the first half but the simple fact is that inconsistency on this scale can only lead to one conclusion, that really we are not very good and that our league position does not lie. 24 points at the half-way stage suggests we are not in any real danger of going down, luckily Villa & Sunderland are so poor that they are almost certainly close to being doomed and there are one or two teams vying for the third spot who are much worse than us. This doesn't look like being a 40 point season for survival either, more like 30/35 so even as inconsistent as we are surely it shouldn't be too difficult to muster another 10 points from 19 games? Looks likely we'll end up around 14th / 15th if we carry on this way with no evidence to the contrary to suggest that we will suddenly mend our ways and start winning more often than we lose. Some serious thinking will need to be done in the summer if we are to push on from this largely forgettable season.

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SanMarco added 10:43 - Dec 29 I am not as depressed as SaintBrock. The equalizer was a fluke and it was the sort of game where having not got a second we were always going to face an improved West Ham in the second half. Yes we should have got a second but at least we are playing better now. A win at Norwich will have us looking comfortable although I think we have to accept that lower mid-table is probably where we will end up this time round. Then of course it will be the depressing merry-go-round in the summer...

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DPeps added 11:06 - Dec 29 This game followed a similar pattern to others this season, with us playing well for part of the game and then collapsing. Before this season I've been confident in our ability to hold onto leads; this season we've lost that ruthlessness and many points from winning positions have gone begging. For a team that is reputedly very fit we don't end games very well. A few words on the opposition. When you factor in the injuries West Ham have got (Cresswell, Reid, Payet, Sakho) and the players they had on the pitch yesterday who lack game time because they're coming back from injury (Carroll, Valencia, Lanzini) then this was definitely 3 points lost.

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TimSaint added 11:39 - Dec 29 So we should have won the game in the first half, but again we were not clinical in front of goal and as a result we stepped off the gas a bit and let the Hammers back into it with individual errors and pure bad luck. Despite what the players say, we never seem to learn. Martina's poor header set up Antonio for his run into the box. Then the absolute fluke happened. Fonte was unlucky, as his interception could have gone anywhere, but Yoshida was ball watching as Antonio ghosted past him to head onto the bar. As Fonte was on the deck due to his earlier interception, Carroll had a free header - which is when Stek should have come out and jumped into Antonio who was right in front of him and got the free kick - just like Gazza should have done with Kane at home to Spurs. Hopefully this can be addressed yet again, before we go to East Anglia and a nice 3 point haul from there will set us up for our 3 home games in a row !!!

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bigmart added 12:24 - Dec 29 I think part of our problem is the goalkeeper. Stelelenberg seems to have quite slow reactions. There's been several times this season when he's stood and watched the ball go past him with just a token arm wave. I can't recall a decent save he's made this season, but I can with Gazzaniga. It'll be interesting to see our goals against when Fraser starts playing again.
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harrydunn999 added 13:12 - Dec 29 Highlighting two horrendous defensive goals given away doesn't really tell the story. West Ham also had far more vital injuries then we did. We dominated the game,the play and the chances and the game should have easily been over by half time. RK said the same, Bilic couldn't believe his luck to get that side in at 1 down. I understand the need to be relaxed when the chances come as a forward,but we seem beyond casual when an opportunity arises- as though oh well there will be another one !! It's not even the clear cut chances,it's a forward move when we out number the defence- the amount of times a final ball is misplaced or possession tossed away is quite remarkable. The so called transfer policy of strengthening the depth and not necessarily the first team was certainly not evident yesterday, we have once again became a team with zero impact off the bench- other teams change games with substitutions,ours weaken the chances of a result. Am I the only one who couldn't believe the standard of play from Gaston, it was so bad- I have defended him and thought highly of him in the past- but now he is a complete waste of a shirt and minutes I would rather see invested in youth. Yesterday was the chance to avoid drifting along in mid table and a uninspiring seasons, the players didn't seem to grasp it and have the desire to go after it. I guess in caulker we attempted to get a 3rd quality centre half in at the club,that obviously failed and needs addressing as soon as possible. Would yoshida get a start in any other premier league club? And in juanimi, the club have got exactly what 5 million gets you in this market- a forward woefully out of his depth and with no impact on the premier league. With such a shake up of the league this season, it's hard not to see this as a wasted opportunity and a thought of what might have been with investment of similar quality to Cabaye and of course a fit J-Rod.

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IWOZTHERE added 13:24 - Dec 29 We were so dominant in the first half I didn't feel that nervous about only being only one goal up. Easy with hindsight, but the change after h/t was so marked I suspect Ron may have told them to sit back and absorb expected pressure for ten minutes or so. We lost the initiative, most of the possession and couldn't get any momentum back. On the bright side, Romeu seems to be growing into a significant role (pity about his early 'cards') and VW was pushing 100%. The one who worries me is Jose? He keeps getting isolated in 'one on ones' . The current system seems to demand more mobility from him and I think he's struggling......Lets hope it's a HAPPY NEW YEAR all round!

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Consigliere added 13:27 - Dec 29 At the risk of being thought a contrarian for the sake of it, I don't think that this was as bad as some supporters have suggested. The Telegraph's reporter thought that W. Ham's victory was undeserved and the more I have reflected on it, the more I agree with him. Granted, we were pushed back in the second half and there was some sloppy defending but these errors were not unforced and W Ham were playing very well then. In a just world this game deserved a draw - the Dutch commentator on Dodgy Vision was screaming for a penalty when Long was kicked in the back as he was about to strike - but sadly this isn't a just world and we came off second best. I don't think we need to change all that much but at this level, marginal differences in performance equal the difference between winning and losing. With an extra 10% of effort this game could clearly have been won.

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FrankSaint added 13:36 - Dec 29 It's sad that the fact Saints started the game without a single homegrown player does not merit a comment. Especially when our club's vision is being compromised. Instead there are just contradictory suggestions that we buy even more mercenary players in January and then magically keep them all next Summer. The club is gradually becoming a poor man's version of Man City and some vocal fans just ignore it or say 'bring it on'. Let's be careful of what we wish for and bring upon the rest of us who will be left to pick up the pieces. Let's look beyond a few matches. After all this is the New Year...

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BoondockSaint added 13:51 - Dec 29 Well, it was nice while it lasted...one game...I might as well go back to earlier postings from the last two months and "copy" and "paste" because it's the same problems week after week. Dpeps- I beg to differ. I think last year we were the worst team (or maybe second worst) in lost points after leading-something like 18 maybe? I don't think we have to worry about Koeman going anywhere now. The last run of form has made him look like Van Gaal only with better hair.

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saintsnutcase added 15:08 - Dec 29 I can't figure out Steklenberg. He hardly ever makes a save but also doesn't make errors that obviously cost goals. Basically I think he does nothing at all. But the big problem is right back. How many goals will we concede in that position through huge individual errors? Without those errors we would be about 5th.
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DPeps added 18:58 - Dec 29 Harrydunn - yeah, unfortunately Gaston was dreadful when he came on. In his defence it can't be easy getting 25 mins every 5 games or so. Boondock - I stand corrected. Must have my rose-tinted specs on for last year!
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saintmark1976 added 20:55 - Dec 29 Please can somebody,anybody tell me the logic of Koeman's team selection for this game? On Boxing Day we played the current league leaders off the pitch.Less than 48 hours later we drop two players to the subs bench for a match against a team that had not won for eight games.Why? Has he never heard of the old saying "never change a winning team unless you have too". He did the same thing after we had beaten Sunderland,result we lost at home to Stoke and our current miserable run of poor form began. He has become the new tinkerman.

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TeamCortese added 22:03 - Dec 29 What we need is an ice cold finisher. A Van Nistelrooy type player. People can hype up Pelle, Mane and Long as much as they want but each of them will never get you 20-25 goals a season. With the chances created over the season we should have at least 5 extra-points. People are talking about sloppy play in terms of defending but the main cause of our lack of confidence is sloppiness in front of goal. If you don't take your chances then you don't win football matches. Simple as that. We need a top quality striker in January to shake things up. I think Saido Berahino is worth a gamble. The lad is still only 22 and he scored 20 goals last season. He's having problems with Pulis and I reckon he'd be willing to force a move with the Euros just round the corner.

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SaintBrock added 23:14 - Dec 29 Indeed, Mane in particular is not delivering and the price tag supposedly put on his head of £30m is looking rather more than ridiculous. At least Tadic creates the odd goal and now and then scores one too but Mane no longer seems to have the ability to go past defenders and spends far too much time running laterally and aimlessly across the pitch and rarely interchanges with other forwards unless he has to.

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IWOZTHERE added 23:43 - Dec 29 I think we need a couple of players to spark things up but just because Austin or someone scores shedloads for somebody else doesn't automatically mean he'd do the same for us. We've got forwards who can score goals, I just don't think Rk has found a system that works for the players we already have.
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perazi added 09:17 - Dec 30 Memo to SaintBrock regarding Sadio Mane. Go back and have a look at the Arsenal game where Mane played a 10 role and the first half against West Ham where he was strangely posted on the left flank. The guy is in tremendous form and most things creative in our play has something to do with him. Mane is a once in a blue moon acquisition by Saints - there are quite reasonably several big Clubs queueing up to sign him up and 30m is at least the price they will have to play.

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SaintDownUnder added 00:43 - Jan 1 The difference between blowing arsenal away and this disappointing result is down to taking chances, that's all. Some of the comments on here are so fickle, let's not spit the dummy. I agree we need a striker, I said as much last December too. It's the type of striker that's important, excuse the cliche but we need a fox in the box. I've lost count of the times we cross the ball along the six yard box and nobodies there to finish.

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