I agree, he (DH), was in a difficult situation, KD was out of position, and Dan went for the safe option, we normally defend corners with more discipline, this was one where we didn't, as most pointed out, if Guly had stayed on the line, the ball may have hit him, no good bleating about it now, just tell him to make amends against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.
I would have taken a draw before the match, but seeing how poor Pompey were, I'm disappointed we didn't win. At least we're still top with 2 home games coming up. Hopefully Brighton get some more players suspended before we play them too!
It struck me as I watched the match on BBC at how much effort had be expended by both Saints and Pompey supports over the past number of weeks and this was all in preparation for a game that rarely raised itself to present any entertainment whatsoever. The first five minutes started optimistically enough but we seemed to spend most of the first half trying to measure-up Portsmouth. It seemed pretty obvious to me that Southampton did look capable of beating Portsmouth as the hosts did seem slightly over-awed by the encounter but as the game progressed the same malaise seemed to affect Saints. When we went 1-0 up I thought Pompey's inability to riase the game would see us snatch a win but the equaliser evened things up fairly for both sets of supporters who had to sit through this dross. Player for player, there seemed little difference between the two sides other than Lallana who showed flashes of brilliance. Lambert showed his worth by contributing a fine header to put us in front but I felt that Kitson worked extremely hard throughout the game and probably was worthy of adding to his own account for all the hard work he did with very little decent service. Huseklepp was nowhere near as good as I expected him to be and the choice of Joel Ward an "Man of the match" seemed more of a partisan choice than for anything he actually contributed the game. I felt than Lallana and Richardson seemed are best two player with most of the rest of the team being over-awed by the occasion and the extremely vocal home support which wounded impressive on the TV and must have been amazing at the ground istelf. Ample proof for some of those doubters who constantly belittle what is almost certainly the most passionate bunch of home supporters in English football. The experience seemed like The Dell on steroids. In summary, a very poor match with Saints being well below par and struggling to find some of the swash-buckling swagger that has brushed opposition aside at St. Marys. On the basis of this performance, there seems little between the two sides yet , whilst this was one of the most ineffectual performances I have seen us put in this season, I have no idea whether this was a good performance or a bad one in the light of Portsmouth's own season. With this match as the only evidence, the gap in league status and number of points does not reflect the the difference in ability. With the exception of a creative player such as Lallana and a goalscorer of the cailbre of Rickie Lambert, the difference in quality between the two teams did not seem that great. Neither goal-keeper had a lot to do. All in all, it was a fair result and I think that to win the bragging rights when both teams appeared to be well below par would have been a bit of an injustice. I agree that we effectively lost two points but perhaps this balances out the point we had no right to win after our performance against Blackpool. Hopefully our dip in form is over and with the likes of Chaplow looking to return, we can look forward to the kind of quality football that was being played week in and week out earlier in the season?
We'll be back at home next week with a more full strength team with more determination to take the win! Thought we played reasonably well
Well I predicted a draw and got one. I didn't see the game myself neither on tv or at Pompey. From friends that were there or watched it on tv it seems that they felt there was a couple that were not pulling their weight today. Lallana was only in the game in patches it would seem and seemed to lack confidence. Guly by all accounts had a mare, cork was over awed perhaps although he has experience of derbies and Hammond a bit too predictable. Rickies goal was a classic. There is no doubt in my mind we will have to use the cheque book in the January window. We need an experienced right midfielder as well as someone to take the heat off Rickie. The midfield are not perhaps pulling their weight with goals this year which is possibly another debatable point. Even our defenders do not seem to be getting in on the act as they used to. We are missing Chappers there is no doubt, any one know how he is progressing?
Sibley: "Adkins on injuries: Connolly v close, Chaplow back in training, Barnard has had operation on ankle injury, out for 2 months or so." Chaplow: "I've joined in the warm ups with the lads this wk but can't fully kick a ball yet due to the ligament still on the mend! Running is cool tho"
Now that's he's back from Preston, I wonder if maybe Forte might have been option on the bench today, in place of Connolly and Barnard.
