So it was. The battle of the “hard to beats” versus the “hard to wins”. Middlesbrough swaggered into town unbeaten and riding the crest of a wave. Saints were growing but results were not coming. Midweek, a valiant display against Liverpool, raised the belief, slightly, that the side could be about to turn the corner. The teamsheet on Tuesday was classed as a mass resting of our key players to be ready for Saturday. There was not one Saints fan who didn’t go, “OOOOH” when the team sheet came out at 1:45pm. Gone were Stephens, Bazunu, Harwood-Bellis, Downes and Fraser. Often thought of as “our best players” but long under achieving. In came McCarthy, Wood, Edwards, Armstrong and Stewart. Masterstroke by Will Still or is that the way the tomobola or random darts throwing came up with the plan?
The game was tight but Saints showed a much better approach. Less tippy tappy, goalkeeper to centre back to goal keeper to midfield to goalkeeper and more thinking to go forward. Middlesbrough looked like a second rate team for the first half and Azaz’s inexplicable sky rocket, when scoring would have been easier, could have made things really interesting. Fellows is starting to look the real deal and when Saints scored through Armstrong it was well deserved. Time to manage the game and keep playing the same way.
Is it nerves, mentality or panic that then made the side lose their energy, purpose and let Middlesbrough back into it? That said when the opposition did score it was a poorly defended ball in and to be fair to Wood and McCarthy it seemed to ricochet off Wood’s under carriage or backside and freakily looped in. I still think McCarthy should have had it covered but it was one moment of lack of concentration and we got punished again. Quarshie had a decent game but somehow missed an absolute sitter when heading it down and over was harder than rippling the net.
I loved Will Still’s openness to change. He was brave enough to ditch the regulars and the team did look fresher and more forward thinking. It is so apparent to everyone in the ground that the one thing we lack is a finisher. I have been moaning about this for months and I assume I will keep doing that until the end of January and probably even after when we still haven’t addressed the issue.
Gutted but not disheartened. It is coming. Middlesbrough are a tough team to beat. It will be OK. If I keep up that mantra I will probably not worry about being 19th in the table with one win. That said a certain Russell Martin had 10 points after 7 games when we were last in this league and it ended up at Wembley. Win on Tuesday and we match the great managerial legend’s record. Keeping the faith. COYR!
