Nigel Adkins rang the changes with only three players surviving from the starting line up on Saturday, yet it was a side that would still be good enough to hold its own in the Championship and that shows the depth the squad now has.

Early on both Holmes and De Ridder showed their class on the wings, however Saints looked shaky at the back and it looked like Torquay fancied their chances of springing an upset and clearly werent going to lie down and be beaten easily

Going forward though Saints looked hungry and when in the 16th minute Steve De Ridder took a pass in his stride and then fired a shot across the keeper to open the scoring you thought it might be a game with goals.

But within a minute Torquay were level, the Saints back four were caught at sixes and sevens again and a cross from the right picked out Mansell who was completely unmarked to head home.

But ten minutes later the lead was restored when Rickie Lambert fired home a trade mark free kick from just outside the area that left the keeper no chance.

Saints were mainly in command now but Seabourne and Martin were still struggling to get to grips with their men and it took a few smart tackles and recovering sprints to make sure the score stayed in Saints favour at the break.

In the second half a pattern was emerging, Saints were playing some lovely football but they werent turning it into a third goal, therefore the visitors still had their heads up and could nick an equaliser if they werent careful, that almost happened on 80 minutes, when the game could have turned dramatically, when Stevens got a close range header that Bialkowski somehow kept out with a superb reflex save.

The game could have turned but less than 60 seconds later Torquay went from almost forcing an equaliser to being 3-1 down and game over, when Chaplow ran on to a ball and tucked it home from six yards, injury time saw Forte force home from close range after the keeper had made a smart save from Lambert.

The scoreline didnt flatter Saints in that we had been on top and created a lot, but it was harsh on a Torquay side who had battled hard and could have easily taken it to extra time.

Many plus points to be had from this game, the midfield four of De Ridder, Chaplow, Schneiderlin & Holmes all showed that although they appeared to be the second choice on Saturday, they were all capable of holding their own in the Championship, likewise at the back where Dickson & Bialkowski especially showed that they can put pressure on to be picked in their respective positions.

In the centre of defence it looked shaky, I cant deny that, but Arron Martin did show enough to show that this might be more down to lack of games than anything else and that given a run in the side he might just be a real asset, but there is only one way we can find that out.        

Photo: Action Images

st_mike added 09:42 - Aug 10 A good balanced report of the game Nick, and as you said it does illustrate our strength in depth, and compertition for places.
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tell101 added 09:58 - Aug 10 I agree with your comments but I thought Holmes didnt have the best of games at all. He looks the part but the performance wasnt his best. Also i think it show that we need another strong experienced center back as Martin or Seabourne can play but they need a strong player with them. If Fonte is out we would be exposed. For me the turning point in the game was when Lallana came on. All of a sudden we had movement and danger in their half. Just goes to show how important Lallana is to our side and I cant believe other clubs havent come in for him yet. Long may that be the case

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legod7 added 11:12 - Aug 10 Just one point. The Torquay goal came from a cross from the left. Butterfield got caught in the middle of the penalty area and did not cover the left wing area. This allowed the overlapping player to pick out the cross. I thought the best player on the park was Chaplow. Very industrious in what he did.And also Bart had very good game and must now be challenging for the goalkeeping spot.

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bstokesaint added 12:26 - Aug 10 7 goals and 7 different goalscorers really does highlight a potent attacking force. It's easy identifying threats when you're an opposing team and you can stick your best defender on a 30+ goals striker, but it's that much harder when the goals come from everywhere on the pitch. I still think that as good a player as Martin is, he is one for the future and right now we should really think about investing a little of the Oxo money in another established centre back of the Fonte class. It worries me that we may be punished properly by some of the top teams in this division. Elsewhere on the pitch I think we're about as strong as we can be for the Championship. Really looking forward to tgoing up to Barnsley on Saturday. I can only assume they rested their first team last night after going down 2-0 at home to Morecombe..

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