Saints won at St Mary's against Spurs in a game that was not one for the purists but was pulsating and Saints got the result by their hunger and desire.

Danny Ings was again the hero winning the game with a goal that many pundits described as similar to Paul Gascoigne's strike against Scotland at Wembley in Euro 96, but this was a rare moment in a game that was about winning ugly rather than in style.

Saints knew when the game kicked off that this was a day that would either see them drawn back into the relegation struggle or could see them up into the middle ground and putting distance between themselves and the bottom three.

It was clear from the off that this was a Saints side up for battle, but Spurs were still a side with talent if a little disjointed at the moment.

The game was won in the 17th minute with Ings piece of pure classand from then on Saints fought for every ball, every tackle and every inch, even though at times they seemed to be also up against referee Mike Dean who seemed to give everything he could to Spurs and very little to Saints, how Dele Alli was not booked for a host of various offences is beyond me, but even Dean could not beat VAR that saved Saints in the second half ruling Kane offside and to rub salt in the wounds the Spurs striker went off with a hamstring injury, this being his last kick of the game.

But Saints had to win this game and they were led by the engine room of James Ward Prowse and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg who battled for every ball and again it was hard to pick a man of the match because quite literally it could have been at least 8 of the starting XI

Danny Ings was everywhere and ran himself into the ground and surely will get an England call up this season.

A few weeks ago you could not see Saints not letting a goal in, today they rarely looked like doing so, although there was the odd lapse of concentration that could of but didn't cost us dearly.

When Mike Dean signalled 5 minutes of extra time you could not see Saints giving the game away now after coming so far and they saw it out as they had seen the previous 90, by digging in and not giving an inch, some of the tackling would not have been out of place for their tenacity if they had been performed by Mark Dennis or Dennis Hollywood or any number of our past hard men.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted he had to get back to basics and he has done just that and the last few weeks have seen several players finally get back to form with no passengers and that has given us the springboard.

We finished the day in 12th after Arsenal's in in the final fame of the day, but we are now 5 points from the relegation zone and perhaps 4 wins from safety.

This time last year we were 3rd from bottom on 16 points, three years ago under Claude Puel a season where we finished 8th we were 13th with 24 points at this stage and in that great 2015/16 season we were 12th with 27 points.

Many said this was the worst season ever a couple of months ago, but it could yet prove to be a decent one, Saints are only 5 points off of Spurs in 6th and we could have indeed sat there or thereabouts now but for those late dropped points.

A couple of good signings in January and we could easily look at a top finish again, that would be sweet, but first we need to get the points on board for safety and we have some winnable games in the next month or so to do so.

Photo: Action Images

Saint55 added 11:59 - Jan 2 Let’s go and win at Leicester to complete the turnaround!!!!
1

SNAILOB added 13:35 - Jan 2 Fantastic performance all round. Plaudits for recent form of Stephens well deserved but would also say the other favourite of the 'boo boys', Cedric, must of won every header he contested yesterday. Was surprised that a lot of our fan pages felt the need to have him as one of our lowest scored players. Credit should be given where it is due and over this holiday period, do not think any player can be faulted for effort. As a team, we look so much better playing on the front foot. I was one of those who was calling for Ralph to go due to his stubbornness in playing 8 defensive players every week. A change was needed and its great to see Ralph going back to a style he knows best. We look such a better team when we press and look to go forward. Long may it continue.

4

fubsy added 20:27 - Jan 2 I agree with David Argyll about Nathan Redmond. I find him very frustrating to watch - he never goes for a 50/50 ball, if he runs with the ball he loses it and if he passes, it doesn't often go to a Saint. Stephens and Bednarek seem to be developing a decent partnership probably the best since Fonte/VVD. It was also nice to see our home fans getting into the act positively. A terrific Christmas programme by the Saints. Now let's turn Leicester over ......

2

Blogs 31 bloggers

Rochdale Polls