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Saints V Preston The Verdict
Saints V Preston The Verdict
Thursday, 22nd Sep 2011 09:57

A game that Saints should have won a lot easier.

Its hard to comment on a game like this where only 1 of Saturday's starting 11 was on the pitch at the kick off, if things go well then great, but if they dont then it can all be attributed to it being a second string side.

Nigel Adkins side lined up pretty much as i predicted in the preview, the only difference neing the return of Danny Butterfield in the right back spot and Ben Reeves in for Guly,strangely here, perhaps due to a lack of personel available Saints opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation with Forte alone up front and Ben Reeves usually a left back sitting in behind him just in front of the midfield.

In the first half this worked very well and Saints controlled the game woring well along the wings, however too many attacks broke down once they got into the final third sometimes due to having only one man up front to aim at, but also some poor decision making for the final ball, De Ridder being a prime culprit on several occasions.

The breakthrough goal was well worked, Lee holmes put a curling corner in from the right hand side, Reeves nodded it back across goal from the far post and Hooiveld headed in from close range, Saints were in the driving seat.

But they didnt build on the goal and in the second half they started to lose their grip on the game with Forte being increasingly isolated after Preston upped their game and equalised five minutes after the break, the goal was sloppy, Bialkowski saved but couldnt hold the shot and the three Saints defenders in the vicinity didnt react quickly enough to clear the loose ball and the Preston man did and it bobbled in off his shins.

North End could see an upset in the making and Saints looked ragged, Nigel Adkins made a change just after the hour mark, Lallana came on for De Ridder who to be blunt had flattered to deceive and within a minute Saints were in front again.

Lee Holmes did some good work on the right, tok on his man, got to the byeline and put in a cross that screamed to be headed home and up poppped Lallana for a rare headed goal.

From then on Saints were in the driving seat again and this time they didnt let go despite Preston bringing on main striker Neil Mellor for a last push.

Overall Saints were good for their win, and the depth of the squad was there to see, Hooiveld again did well and is confounding his sceptics with a series of tight displays, Lee Holmes is starting to look the player that he should have been before his injury problems, he is comfortable on the ball, has quick feet, but more importantly is able to deliver with accuracy.

On the other wing Steve De Ridder is a different matter, yes he has pace, yes he has skill and yes at times he does things that excite crowds, but in all the games I have seen him so far, I have yet to see him make the correct decision with the final ball, whether that be to cross it or shoot, last night saw a prime example of this in the first half when a sublime piece of skill and turn of pace by the Belgian saw him through on the last man with at least two unmarked Saints players supporting, all it needed was a simple pass to one of them to put them through on the keeper, he hesitated, went for glory and before he could get a shot away was robbed of possession.

Of course sometimes he will get in a decent cross etc, but at the moment the flaw in his play is his final delivery and perhaps the job of Nigel Adkins is to get his decision making right, if we can do that then we could have a hell of a player on our hands, but at the moment all his good work is coming to nothing.

On the night Saints deserved their win and once again as mentioned the versatility and depth of the squad were there for all to see.        

Photo: Action Images



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schatfield added 12:56 - Sep 22
Lee Holmes should be starting league games by now, better than Hammond and co. would at the very least place him on the bench.
On another site, last nights attendance was woeful. Really, really bad, they have to do something to get the gate up for these games. 7 and a bit thousand is no good.
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bstokesaint added 13:07 - Sep 22
Another good win against a potential banana skin. It's a shame de Ridder didn't excel himself, given that in the sub performances I have seen from him he's had an impact literally from coming on the pitch, both Barnsley and Leicester come to mind when he's left defenders in his wake and burst into the box. I still think he'll be an excellent player. It's good to see Hooiveld looking like he's settling in. He got some harsh comments when he joined.

So who's it going to be in the next round? If we can't get Aldershot I'd love to see us upset one of the Prem teams..
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schatfield added 14:19 - Sep 22
agree with bstoke - would like Aldershot, failing that Arsenal or Liverpool please. when is the draw made?
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bstokesaint added 18:46 - Sep 22
Round 4 Saturday 24th September on Soccer Saturday
Round 5 Saturday 29th October on Soccer Saturday
Semi-Finals TBC
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SalisburySaint added 21:01 - Sep 22
agree with most you say, but thought it was a 4 2 3 1 formation, with Chappers and Morgan in front of back four, De Ridder Reeves and Holmes as the three and Forte on his todd up front, although the 3 behind him were very flexible and allowed to move all over the pitch to support him
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st_bangkok added 06:04 - Sep 23
Being Holmes plays out wide, who gets dropped? It aint gonna be AL, so can only be Guly.
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