BARNSLEY AT ST MARYS

Can Saints return to winning form?

well normal service restored with another win and 3 points at St Marys. Wasnt plain sailing though and not a great performance. Only one change from midweek with Fox in for Harding, no brainer there but thought Cork would have started and expected Chaplow on right side in place of Guly. Would like to know what is issue with Chaplow and whether an injury as he brings so much balance to the side which again was sadly lacking on right side. Guly started there but drifted inside but then Adkins changed to diamond and we had no width at all on right side.

Game started fairly slowly , admitedly was warm but hardly hot. lambert had a chance early on when their goalie was closed down but trying to tee up for others lost the opportunity. Barnsley played some neat passing in midfield, closed us down quickly and Nouble on loan from west ham caused some problems though was played out wide. Guly didnt seem to know where he should be half the time and was rarely wide right which again meant same as Tuesday no width or threat down right side. Barnsley did have a decent effort with a shot from the right which just went wide of the far post and if Kelvin would have go to it.

Saints struggled to make any clear chances, lack of width? so a real bonus when we took the lead in my view against the run of play. Ball was knocked ino the box, Lambert headed down and Lallana for once not trying to control first shot first time and their goalie never moved as it went into the net. That gave saints some confidence and took control but only real chance fell to lallana on left side outside box when he shot on the volley but shot went well wide.At least however he had a go.

Second half didnt start that great but saints got that all important second when Lee chested the ball down and took out wide right, he then cut inside along the byline into the box and took his time before measuring his pass back to lallana who had simple task of firing in from about 10 yards. well worked goal with Lee taking credit though he didnt look much of a real goal scoring threat if honest.

Lambert was then subbed with half an hour left to go, bit of a risk but surprised Cork was brought on which meant Guly went up front, then Lee was subbed for Connolly. Really why we bought Sharp if not going to use him. Connolly should have added the third when Hooveield had a long range shot which their goalie could not hold, rebound went to Connolly who took to long and shot was blocked. Was a scare when Barnsley had a header from a free kick which hit the post and could have been a nervy last 15 minutes left if it had gone in. Lallana could have had a penalty turned his man and checked and although he may have gone down a bit easy, for me a definite penalty. Should have been another penalty when a shot was clearly blocked with an arm, exactly same scenario first half outside box with a saints player resulted in barnsley free kick simply no consistency with match officials!

Sharp finally got some match time when he replaced Lallana which was surprising as Guly was dead on his feet and clearly wanted to go off. Thought Guly who gets stick from saints fans who text Solent after the game had a decent second half, played in 3 different positions and while he frustrates with his effort some times thought he did well today yet didnt look fully fit. Think those fans unhappy should get of his back, still scored 11 goals this season, more than Connolly and any other midfield player apart from lallana.

Davis 7 fairly quiet afternoon which sure he appreciated after last saturday
Fox 7 glad to see him back
Fonte 7 solid most of the game
Hoovield 7 one or two moments but generally solid in the air.
Ricahrdson 7 defended well but could not get forward that much as no support from midfield
Guly 6 letharic at times but also played short passes to our own players and more creative than Hammond and Schneiderlin
Hammond 6 industrious but prefer Cork in central midfield
Schneiderlin 7 decent game
Lallana 8, 2 goals and will be key player in last 10 games
Lee 6 looked a litte jaded but made the sceond goal
Lambert 6 first touch not good to day and didnt really looked like scoring to day

West ham dropping points again at home a bonus, we have 5 home games left and I believe we have to win all 5 plus 2 away games if we want to have chance to finish in top 2. Hoepfully W Ham might struggle with the pressure though their squad is probably the strongest in depth in league. Need Reading to start dropping points and our home game against them is a must win. No game now for a week away to millwall and one of the away games we need to try and win.

Thanks again Matty.

I agree it seems stange Chaplow has not been in squad, wonder if he has an injury or is out of favour for some reason. Also, Puncheon seems to have slipped down the pecking order.

Think you'll find there are only 4 home games left (not 5)..... Doncaster, Reading Pompey and Coventry.

It goes without saying that we need maximum points from the home games. WHU are having a bit of a wobble while, annoyingly, the Manager of the Month curse hasn't stopped Reading in their tracks. I can see Reading doing what we did last season, coming up from behind to snatch second place. As long as it is not at our expense and if it means we don't blow the chance of promotion or (slightly less importantly) the title, I would be pleased to see Reading go up. If WHU end up in second place it would be hilarious, given their panic buying and seemingly divine right to go up (in the eyes of the London-centric media) - and not to mention their chucking money at Skate loans in a desperate attempt to preserve their 6 points should the Skates go bust completely.
Saints need to keep Reading, rather than WHU, at bay for the next 11 matches.