Look at what you could have won !
FA Cup Third Round and a visit from Luton Town to St.Mary’s. When you get a non-League Club at home it is usually someone you’ve never heard of or at least, a team from a place you’ve only heard of due to previous FA Cup matches. Luton are in their first year out of the League as a result of their inevitable relegation following the 30 point deduction they got from Mawhinney the Arse at the end of the 2007/8 season. As a Saints fan I have many memories of Luton and what comes to mind is plastic pitches, away fan bans, Steve Twat Foster and an FA Cup game in the early 90s where I missed the game as I waited for my lift at M27 Rownhams Services…. on the wrong side. Doh!!!
That particular game ended in a 1-1 draw and the replay at The Dell was 6-0 to us, a result that would do us very nicely today. In reality though, just getting through would be the order of the day, especially as we looked a bit makeshift. Neither Jaidi nor Connolly were fit and with Trotman having returned to Preston (where he didn’t even make the match day squad), Pards called in Perry and Papa Waigo to make up the numbers. Kelvin Davis returned in goal in place of Bart which I think was a bit harsh considering Bart has done nothing wrong at all in his 8 or so games. A scary indication of the strength of the bench was that the walking red card / own goal that is Ollie Lancashire was on there, having been recalled from his loan spell at Grimsby.
Due to the odd ticketing for this game, I was away from my Season Ticket seat in the central Kingsland and much lower down in the Kingland / Northam corner. Despite having spent 30 odd years watching from the Milton End at The Dell, it now feels very odd to be watching from one end. Maybe it was the totally empty Chapel End that made it all look a bit strange.
The game began and my assumption that Waigo would be up front was dispelled by him lining up on the left with Lallana partnering Lambert up top. Saints looked very shaky for the first 10 minutes with the wily Gallen causing problems for Wayne 12 points in particular, who was not dominating in the air like we needed him to with Jaidi and Trotters missing.
Most of Saints attacking play was coming down our right hand side where Antonio was doing his impression of the Bermuda Triangle where the ball goes in and never comes out again. He either falls over, forgets the ball, drills it into the nearest defender or occasionally when he finds a yard of space, crosses it straight to the keeper. On the other side, Waigo was giving the right back a few worries and this culminated in him being booted up in the air for his troubles earning a yellow card for the perpetrator. From fully, 35 yards and left-ish, Lambert produced a stunning free-kick which was expertly clawed away by Pilkington in the Luton goal.
On 36 minutes Saints pushed forward and Lallana got into a challenge with Nicholls near the edge of the Luton box. As is usual, the opponent stood his ground and Lallana fell over but it was enough for the referee to give us a free kick 25 yards out and central. Whilst I was pondering what a crap decision it was in our favour, Lambert stopped me pondering the injustices of it all by curling in a wonderful free-kick to give the keeper no chance at all. 1-0, any chance of floodgates ?
We had a glorious chance to double the lead a minute or so later as Schneiderlin’s cross was headed goalwards at close range by Hammond but a combination of keeper and defender managed to smuggle it away. With my ‘different’ persepective due to my seat, I got a better than usual idea of what the opposition fans were like… they were morons and the odd missile landed on the pitch. Also, I have never understood and I never will understand, going to a match and not watching it but staring at the nearest opposition supporter who is at 90 degress to the direction you should be looking.
Half time and the news of The Skates being 1-0 down at home to Coventry came through to much amusement followed by 5 of the worst attempts to score a goal into an empty net from the half way line that I have ever seen.
A double substitution for Luton at the start of the second half meant that Luton were disorganised and Saints nearly went 2-0 in the opening 15 seconds but unfortunately the chance fell to Antonio. Luton then took over and an equalizer seemed inevitable, never more so than when two players mis-kicked when in front of goal about 3 yards out. Throughout this period of Luton pressure, one player stood out and was having a great game. he never gets many plaudits but Wayne Thomas was immense, not only winning headers and heading it 30 yards up the pitch but also coolly mopping things up.
Pards responded to Luton’s pressure by unpredictably throwing on Matt Paterson and predictably hauling off Antonio who made his most purposeful run of the day as he went off down the tunnel. Paterson immediately made a difference, giving defenders the hurry up and fashioning a chance for Lambert which he attempted to curl into the far corner. Sadly, it started wide and finished wider. Paterson then managed a shot himself but this flew wide.
Having weathered what would turn out the be the worst of the Luton storm, Pards threw on Carlton Gobern-Palmer for Waigo and then, alarmingly, Lancashire for Hammond but Saints managed to see it out before Ollie could do any damage or get himself sent off. The four minutes that he managed without a card or giving a goal away, beat his previous record by two minutes.
Well, we didn’t play particularly well but we got through. Luton, in all fairness were a decent side who tried to play the right way and for the first half an hour of the second half were the better side. They tailed off a bit for the last 15 or 20 and I did feel fairly confident that we’d keep the 1-0, even when Ollie came on. In summary though, I’d say Luton gave us a better game than many of the League 1 sides we’ve played this season and could easily have got a replay.
In the next round I’d like a home draw against shit side please. With the Skates still in the draw after managing a draw at home to Coventry in front of the best 11,000 fans in the world there will be many who want to play them but I’m not one of them unless it’s at home and we can set the prices to 50p a ticket so they don’t get any money from the game. Mind you, if we get them away and it turns out to be their last ever game, the Match Programme will be worth loads in years to come. On Sunday, all will be revealed….
Our squad is in need of boosting and boosted I’m sure it will be. We are one dominant centre back short with Trotters having gone back. Thomas had a great game today when they took off their big centre forward but we need another really big lump in the squad, especially if, as it seems, Jaidi can’t play three games a week. Another pressing need is up front where because of a similar injury situation with Connolly, we are short of numbers. Also, Lambert had looked desperately tired the last five or so matches so we really could do with any new forward being a big ‘back to goal’ type striker.
2010 has started in an ultimately positive way for the Saints with 18.700 fans seeing us win. Winning is really all that matters in any football match but in the FA Cup it is especially the case. I honestly wouldn’t swap our future for many teams right now.
Next up, Huddersfield at home.
That particular game ended in a 1-1 draw and the replay at The Dell was 6-0 to us, a result that would do us very nicely today. In reality though, just getting through would be the order of the day, especially as we looked a bit makeshift. Neither Jaidi nor Connolly were fit and with Trotman having returned to Preston (where he didn’t even make the match day squad), Pards called in Perry and Papa Waigo to make up the numbers. Kelvin Davis returned in goal in place of Bart which I think was a bit harsh considering Bart has done nothing wrong at all in his 8 or so games. A scary indication of the strength of the bench was that the walking red card / own goal that is Ollie Lancashire was on there, having been recalled from his loan spell at Grimsby.
Due to the odd ticketing for this game, I was away from my Season Ticket seat in the central Kingsland and much lower down in the Kingland / Northam corner. Despite having spent 30 odd years watching from the Milton End at The Dell, it now feels very odd to be watching from one end. Maybe it was the totally empty Chapel End that made it all look a bit strange.
The game began and my assumption that Waigo would be up front was dispelled by him lining up on the left with Lallana partnering Lambert up top. Saints looked very shaky for the first 10 minutes with the wily Gallen causing problems for Wayne 12 points in particular, who was not dominating in the air like we needed him to with Jaidi and Trotters missing.
Most of Saints attacking play was coming down our right hand side where Antonio was doing his impression of the Bermuda Triangle where the ball goes in and never comes out again. He either falls over, forgets the ball, drills it into the nearest defender or occasionally when he finds a yard of space, crosses it straight to the keeper. On the other side, Waigo was giving the right back a few worries and this culminated in him being booted up in the air for his troubles earning a yellow card for the perpetrator. From fully, 35 yards and left-ish, Lambert produced a stunning free-kick which was expertly clawed away by Pilkington in the Luton goal.
On 36 minutes Saints pushed forward and Lallana got into a challenge with Nicholls near the edge of the Luton box. As is usual, the opponent stood his ground and Lallana fell over but it was enough for the referee to give us a free kick 25 yards out and central. Whilst I was pondering what a crap decision it was in our favour, Lambert stopped me pondering the injustices of it all by curling in a wonderful free-kick to give the keeper no chance at all. 1-0, any chance of floodgates ?
We had a glorious chance to double the lead a minute or so later as Schneiderlin’s cross was headed goalwards at close range by Hammond but a combination of keeper and defender managed to smuggle it away. With my ‘different’ persepective due to my seat, I got a better than usual idea of what the opposition fans were like… they were morons and the odd missile landed on the pitch. Also, I have never understood and I never will understand, going to a match and not watching it but staring at the nearest opposition supporter who is at 90 degress to the direction you should be looking.
Half time and the news of The Skates being 1-0 down at home to Coventry came through to much amusement followed by 5 of the worst attempts to score a goal into an empty net from the half way line that I have ever seen.
A double substitution for Luton at the start of the second half meant that Luton were disorganised and Saints nearly went 2-0 in the opening 15 seconds but unfortunately the chance fell to Antonio. Luton then took over and an equalizer seemed inevitable, never more so than when two players mis-kicked when in front of goal about 3 yards out. Throughout this period of Luton pressure, one player stood out and was having a great game. he never gets many plaudits but Wayne Thomas was immense, not only winning headers and heading it 30 yards up the pitch but also coolly mopping things up.
Pards responded to Luton’s pressure by unpredictably throwing on Matt Paterson and predictably hauling off Antonio who made his most purposeful run of the day as he went off down the tunnel. Paterson immediately made a difference, giving defenders the hurry up and fashioning a chance for Lambert which he attempted to curl into the far corner. Sadly, it started wide and finished wider. Paterson then managed a shot himself but this flew wide.
Having weathered what would turn out the be the worst of the Luton storm, Pards threw on Carlton Gobern-Palmer for Waigo and then, alarmingly, Lancashire for Hammond but Saints managed to see it out before Ollie could do any damage or get himself sent off. The four minutes that he managed without a card or giving a goal away, beat his previous record by two minutes.
Well, we didn’t play particularly well but we got through. Luton, in all fairness were a decent side who tried to play the right way and for the first half an hour of the second half were the better side. They tailed off a bit for the last 15 or 20 and I did feel fairly confident that we’d keep the 1-0, even when Ollie came on. In summary though, I’d say Luton gave us a better game than many of the League 1 sides we’ve played this season and could easily have got a replay.
In the next round I’d like a home draw against shit side please. With the Skates still in the draw after managing a draw at home to Coventry in front of the best 11,000 fans in the world there will be many who want to play them but I’m not one of them unless it’s at home and we can set the prices to 50p a ticket so they don’t get any money from the game. Mind you, if we get them away and it turns out to be their last ever game, the Match Programme will be worth loads in years to come. On Sunday, all will be revealed….
Our squad is in need of boosting and boosted I’m sure it will be. We are one dominant centre back short with Trotters having gone back. Thomas had a great game today when they took off their big centre forward but we need another really big lump in the squad, especially if, as it seems, Jaidi can’t play three games a week. Another pressing need is up front where because of a similar injury situation with Connolly, we are short of numbers. Also, Lambert had looked desperately tired the last five or so matches so we really could do with any new forward being a big ‘back to goal’ type striker.
2010 has started in an ultimately positive way for the Saints with 18.700 fans seeing us win. Winning is really all that matters in any football match but in the FA Cup it is especially the case. I honestly wouldn’t swap our future for many teams right now.
Next up, Huddersfield at home.
It will be great to watch World Cup 2010 - A1, i have bought tickets from
ReplyDeletehttp://ticketfront.com/event/World_Cup_2010_A1-tickets looking forward to it.