It was an off day for Saints but they still managed to battle through for a point although you felt it should really have been three.

Saints were awful in the first half with the only highlight being that they scored a decent goal, the problem was that they kept getting caught with lapses of concentration and their passing was woeful and just about every piece of Newcastle play was the result of Saints players not doing their job.

The two main culprits were Yoshida and to a lesser extent Fonte, neither of whom looked comfortable and kept failing to clear the ball when needed.

The Newcastle first goal came after Yoshida failed to clear a ball and was caught in possession and we paid dearly, on the second goal again Yoshida should have scored with a free header from close range, if he had done then that would have made it 2-1 and put us in the driving seat, but what happened was that from the resulting corner the home side broke and scored and we were chasing the game.

The issues are that too many players on the day did not do their jobs to the standards required and that meant a very poor Newcastle side were not despatched as they should have been.

The plus points were that we kept battling and earned a draw, our first goal was a great cross from Soares who was struggling himself defensively and could have been asily sent off for a second yellow card hence why he was substituted at half time.

The second goal was a great cross from Dusan Tadic for Shane Long who leapt high to head home, from then on you sensed that Saints could win it and Sadio Mane almost did with two good chances in injury time.

But the fact remains that we need to plug that gap in the centre of defence we suffered too many lapses of concentration and if a side like Newcastle can exploit them so will better sides.

Photo: Action Images

saintwizzler added 11:28 - Aug 10 Bertrand needs to return ASAP & we need a CB to partner José.
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DPeps added 11:38 - Aug 10 Worst defensive performance I've seen from us for a while. The problem at the moment is that only Fonte is our only top class defender. I like Targett and Cedric going forward, but both need to work on their defensive game. Both young though, so will improve. Yoshida is good cover, but needs to eradicate the mistakes. Cedric and Targett were caught out so many times and, to be fair to Yoshida, he bailed Targett out on a few occasions. The loss of Schneiderlin compounds these problems, and Davis is not suited to playing his role. Not sure if Classie is either. On the plus side, attack looked sharp if a little wasteful. Good to see Pelle and Long get off the PL mark early

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perazi added 11:38 - Aug 10 While I agree with your analysis that defensive lapses cost Saints dearly, I think you have missed the main culprit(s). True enough Fonte and Yoshida, particularly in the first half, were all over the place - but to compound this, young Targett was awful on the day and Yoshida had to cover the LB several times. Poor old Matt didn't get much help from a rusty, out-of-sorts Rodriguez which the Geordies exploited time and again. Cedric was also poor defensively, and the loss of Morgan, Toby and Clyne as part of last years defensive structure was laid bare for all to see. Even with Clasie coming back we need CB and DM signings, and soon.

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A1079 added 11:48 - Aug 10 Went to the game and found it thoroughly entertaining, though probably due to some part for the wrong reasons. We were awful in the first half and one of the worst defensive displays that I have seen from a Saints team for a long time. I am pretty sure some teams would have taken us to the sword. As you say, the plus was, we managed to keep in the game and we could ironically, have won it in the end. Some of the things that happened in the game, were to be fair, evident to some extent against Vitesse, though less telling because of the nature of the opposition. Our passing was poor, easily shoved off the ball - particularly Tadic, no commander in midfield, the defence was all over the place - even from 2 of the more experienced ones, and even the goalkeeper seemed to have some hesitant moments. Yet, our forward movement was good, especially in the 2nd half and if we converted more of our chances we would have come away with an improbable 3 points. I guess (as some will suggest), also, was it also the curse of the Europa Thursday game. May be little wonder West Ham decided to get themselves knocked out at the first opportunity. Not suggesting we do the same, but if we do not strengthen further and if we progress it may come down to priorities. All in all an entertaining start to the season, no need to panic, I can see more goals from us this season, but conversely, potential for some heavier defeats.

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saintmark1976 added 12:09 - Aug 10 One of your best summaries for a long time Nick.Whilst I accept that you are entitled to your opinion I have felt that for some time now you have had rose tinted specs on when commenting. Listening to Solent and watching MOTD I thought we were fortunate to get a point and the gaps caused by the departure of three of our best players was there for all to see.Bearing in mind that the departures were "nailed on" from the last kick of last season I wonder if Les is up to the job? We need at least two quality players before the window closes or I can see troubled times ahead. On a different note how was their substitute given a yellow for his upending of Targett?Total cop out by the referee.

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jmsaint added 12:45 - Aug 10 We are effectively playing with 4 forwards and look great in attack. Defensively we looked shaky, probably a combination of players missing and lack of Ronald's guidance on the sideline. I though targett had a very poor game, but he will get there. Yoshi is too inconsistent, when at his best he is decent but yesterday he was frankly diabolical. I also am unsure about Davies in that holding role, maybe give reed a chance while clasie is out?

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schatfield added 12:58 - Aug 10 i echo most of the thoughts above.....biggest calamity was new boy cedric though. Should probably have seen a red card in the first half. Targett was poor and so was Yoshi too. Our defense is a bit worrying right now tbh and we badly missed Clyne, Bertrand, Alderweild and Schneiderlin. On a good front though, our attack is great and we were unlucky not to win at the end! Football....funny old game

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IanRC added 13:11 - Aug 10 Whilst I agree that we need another centre back I think there is a degree of over reaction in some of the comments above. Yes we were not at our best and yes Rodriguez was somewhat rusty but we could and probably should have won with one of Mane's late chances I am sure he too will sharpen up over the next few weeks, but he really is good to watch on the ball. Great cameo from Shane Long and I actually thought Tadic put himself around a bit more in the first half. Referee bottled the sending off but just relieved to see Target up quickly. Cedric looks very exciting going forward, just needs to rein himself in a bit defensively. By no means all doom and gloom imo

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saintstuinoz added 13:42 - Aug 10 Bit harsh to blame Yoshida for their goals! The first came after a corner, where Mane cocked up by not closing off the short corner option and then took a massive deflection. The second came from our corner. Okay, he could have scored beforehand, but it was our failure to retain the ball after the corner that cost us. I thought Davis, Pelle and big Vic put in a good shift. Mane is a bit of composure away from being an absolute superstar.

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Zambucco added 13:47 - Aug 10 I can remember watcging games when we played like this last season, with Schneiderlin, Clyne and Alderweireld playing. If we were suffering from Europa Thursday, why we stronger int he last 10 minutes? I think it was first day nerves, in a massice stadium, rocking with expectation, a team out to porve a point and the 'new manager' effect. We are going to have a few more games like that, but as long as we stay patient and keep battling, we will get the points. Agreed as beastly as Wanyama has been he did miss Morgan, but this can and will be rectified. Our firepower is looking very good, Pelle seems to have his touch back, Tadic too (he's always been too easy to knock off the ball) Mane is still getting better and better, but of course he will become a marked man. We still have the promised land of JRod once he's back to full fitness and sharpness. How people can criticise Les Reed is beyond me, surely he was responsible for all the amazing signings over the past couple of seasons? It's not his fault that despite the best efforts Toby preferred to play with his mates? To negotiate the massive sale fees for those who have departed, give the man a break. No better than that, start appreciating how amazing he has been for this club, along with all the backroom staff. I've never felt so relaxed about Saints, okay we may not improve, we may even drop a place or two. But Rome wasn't built in a day, patience and enjoy what we have got. #wemarchon #COYR All in all a credible performance, that had us on our feet!

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BoondockSaint added 14:02 - Aug 10 Agree with the above. But disagree with Nick that we should have won-on paper yes, but the way we played, I think a draw was about right. It just reflected the talent we have lost over the summer and the talent they brought in. We could have got called for a handball (even though it was unintentional) and they should have got a red for a dive. However, you can't really blame the officials as it is the beginning of the season and it is hard to tell where Newcastle and Saints rank in the "Referees Preferential Treatment Table". J-Rod back to form: Miss great chance, rub beard, repeat. But Shane Long scored, so I reckon next week it will be J-Rod scoring and Long missing. Mane can miss chances like that all day long as far as I'm concerned-until the bloody transfer window closes! I still get nausea on corners: If we get them, I assume bad ball placement and a goal kick. If the opposition gets one, I assume good ball placement, confusion on our part and a goal.

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Jesus_02 added 14:57 - Aug 10 OK, well we were a bit rusty but not quite as rusty as Arsenal! We play a very similar style and I think when you play a quite intricate style with pressing short passes it may take a while to click and get into full flow. That aside I think we need a centre midfielder the most, maybe I’m overanalysing but we seemed to get hammered down the wings. Imp not comfortable with mane covering RB when teams double up down the wings! Yes, Target and Cedric could have been better defensively but I can’t help but think that we could have protected those young guys better. Because they were getting hammered the CBs (Fonte and Yoshida) were getting pulled around. Pluses, Cedric impressed and can cross! If he keeps it up Pelle will score a hatful. Also as saintstuinoz says Mane is confidence away from being a superstar.

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SaintBrock added 15:29 - Aug 10 We were poor for a reason, our midfield was non-existent as a controlling force until well into the second half when Newcastle tired rapidly and our superior match fitness gave us an edge. Yet paradoxically Steve Davies was Man of the Match by a country mile. In defence both full backs and Jose had nightmare afternoons. On this showing Martina is a better bet than Cedric and Targett seemed out of his depth. For once Yoshi was Mr Reliable and bailed out Target & Fonte on more than a few occasions. Up front, in my opinion it was just plain daft to start Jay after such a long absence from the PL. Not fair to him and it showed as he was all at sea from the get-go. Inevitably we improved when Long came on and help tighten things up on the left midfield freeing Davies to get forward with much greater effect. Then we started to hold the ball up and control play so consequently pressure was relieved on our defence. Not many mangers have the bottle to make unforced changes in the first half but it wa obvious that neither Jay or Cedric were not at the races yesterday and should have been substituted a lot earlier.

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SaintBrock added 15:37 - Aug 10 A1079 it was nothing to do with Europe, in fact the opposite because our involvement in it meant we were match fit and they were not so we bossed the last 20 minutes with ease. I'm with Koeman on this, we have no chance of winning anything else but the EL so it IS our Trophy goal, it's what we are playing for when striving for a high position in the PL. Otherwise what is the pointy of being in the PL? JUST TO AVOID RELEGATION IN PERPETUITY?

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SanMarco added 16:23 - Aug 10 I think we all agree for once: defence and defensive midfield need strengthening. We only conceded more than 2 once in the league last year - 2 will be the average not the maximum if we don't strengthen. Having said that we battled well and got a point - something we weren't doing away from home in the final part of last season.
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corkcitysaint added 19:21 - Aug 10 Hopefully just a bad day at the office. We didn't turn up until about 70 mins in. Cedric looks good going forward but got caught out defensively. Targett for me has no pace and doesn't do enough going down the wing, leading an attack, he appears to be more of a "back-up ' in attack. Need Bertrand back badly. JRod looked rusty, as you'd expect. Tadic faded in and out. For me, Mane was the best player on the pitch and looked dangerous anytime he got the ball and stayed on his feet. Such a pity he wasn't more composed with his 2 late chances. As for Yoshida's header, it just shows you how quickly a game can change. We could so easily have gone 2-1 up instead of 2-1 down. To be a top team you have got to take your chances when presented - Yosh & Mane please note!!

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jmsaint added 21:14 - Aug 10 Glad to see everyone pulling the same way. The important thing now is to get behind the team next weekend, regardless of who plays. If yoshi etc come out to negativity and worry from the off then it will only compound the nerves. Keep the faith COYR
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