Southampton: October 2010

Jonny.

Hello and welcome back to the Southampton Story. You left us in 6th place in League 1 with a 4 match unbeaten streak. October was a pretty dull month off the pitch, although despite being permanently in and around the play off positions, the media constantly claimed I was at risk of losing my job. Anyway, onto the games.

Dagenham & Redbridge Vs Southampton
Date: 02.10.2010
Competition: npower League 1
Match day: 10
Location: Victoria Road, Dagenham
Starting line-up: Sylva, Butterfield, Jaidi (Connolly 88), DeMerit, Domi, Do Prado (Puncheon 66), Schneiderlin Livermore, Lallana (Harding 66), Lambert, Barnard

To kick off October we made the trip to Dagenham to face a side who weren’t in great form, should have been 3 points in the bag. Not so easy. Dagenham started off on top, dominating the game and going close with a couple of chances, then we hit them on the counter and Abu Ogogo brought down Lee Barnard in the area. Ricky Lambert stepped up and calmly slotted home off of the post. Dagenham pulled level 4 minutes later with a cross from Karl Moore finding the head of Damien Scannell. After that the match was very back and forth, Lee Barnard had the ball in the net early in the second half but it was rightly ruled out for offside. It finished 1 – 1 and we extended out unbeaten streak to 5 games, but not the way we’d have liked.

Final Score: Dagenham & Redbridge 1 – 1 Southampton

Brighton and Hove Albion Vs Southampton
Date: 05.10.2010
Competition: Johnstones Paint Trophy
Round: 2
Location: Withdean Stadium, Brighton
Starting line-up: Sylva, Butterfield (Geary 87), Fonte, DeMerit *MOM*, Domi, Dabo, Livermore, Puncheon, Lambert (Connolly 87), Holmes Barnard (Lallana 76)

After receiving a bye in the first round of this competition, we began our defence of this cup in the second round against local rivals Brighton. We changed to our back up formation of 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 for this game as my assistant manager informed me that Brighton play well against that formation. We started out on top and got our reward on 11 minutes when Jason Puncheon got his first of the season with a cool finish following a cross from Lee Barnard. One became two just three minutes later when Jay DeMerit attacked a corner and poked it home at the near post. We carried on our dominance to and beyond the half time whistle and looked assured. That was until Substitute Kazenga Lua Lua pulled one back on 61 minutes with a skidding shot from the edge of the area. Brighton continued to press for an equaliser but their chances were all but ended when on 91 minutes Graham Ramalho was sent off for a professional foul. So we marched on to the next round where we would face Bristol Rovers it turned out.

Final Score: Brighton & Hove Albion 1 – 2 Southampton

Southampton Vs Hartlepool United
Date: 09.10.2010
Competition: npower League 1
Match day: 11
Location: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Starting line-up: Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, DeMerit *MOM*, Harding, Do Prado, Livermore, Dabo, Holmes (Lallana 74), Lambert (Connolly 74), Barnard
We welcomed a Hartlepool team near the relegation zone to St. Mary’s and were hoping to extend our unbeaten run with a win. We had to put Kelvin Davis in goal due to Tony Sylva being away on International duty. We took the lead with the first meaningful attack of the game on 13 minutes when a Lee Holmes corner found Jake Livermore’s head and on its way towards goal the ball took a deflection off of Gary Liddle and into the goal. The first half saw us on top, and we were unlikely to not extend the lead, but the second half saw Hartlepool come right back at us, we were lucky that Hartlepool’s strikers were very poor and Kelvin Davis was in cracking form. We managed to hold on.

Final Score: Southampton 1 – 0 Hartlepool United

Southampton Vs AFC Bournemouth
Date: 16.10.2010
Competition: npower League 1
Match day: 12
Location: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Starting line-up: Davis, Butterfield (Geary 79), Fonte, DeMerit, Harding, Do Prado, Livermore, Dabo, Lallana *MOM*, Connolly (Lambert 87), Barnard (Baxter 70)
Next up was yet another local derby as Bournemouth to the journey along the south coast. Bournemouth were a team in good form so we were expecting a tough game, especially after a bit of pre-game banter with Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. It may have been Bournemouth who started brightest but it was us who had the better of the first half, only to find their keeper Shwan Jalal in fantastic form. We finally brok the deadlock early in the second half when we broke down the left wing with Adam Lallana whose pinpoint cross found the run and leap of David Connolly. 1 – 0. After that the matsh slowly petered out. Both teams had chances but neither could convert and we came away with another 3 points. And the unbeaten run was now 8 games, 7 of which came in the league.

Final Score: Southampton 1 – 0 AFC Bournemouth

Southampton Vs Plymouth Argyle
Date: 23.10.2010
Competition: npower League 1
Match day: 13
Location: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Starting line-up: Davis, Richardson, Fonte, DeMerit, Domi, Livermore, Dabo, Puncheon, Baxter (Dorado 78), Lallana, Barnard (Lambert 78)
We came into this game knowing that if we didn’t lose then we’d equal the record set by our opponents earlier in the season of 8 games unbeaten. Unfortunately this game we seemed to return to our old ways of not being able to put the ball in the net. We had 8 shots and only two on target, but we managed to stop them shooting. But the match slowly ebbed by and nobody scored.

Final Score: Southampton 0 – 0 Plymouth Argyle

Huddersfield Town Vs Southampton
Date: 30.10.2010
Competition: npower League 1
Match day: 14
Location: The Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
Starting line-up: Davis, Richardson (Geary 83), Fonte, DeMerit, Domi, Puncheon Livermore, Dabo, Lallana(Dorado 74), Barnard *MOM*, Connolly (Lambert 74)
We ended the month with a trip to a team near the bottom of the table, hoping to claim the games without losing record outright so far this season. After a slow opening 20 minutes we started to get on top but found Alex Smithies in good form. That was until on 38 minutes when a speculative Ousmane Dabo cross was spilled at the near post and Lee Barnard volleyed into the open net. After that Smithies seemed to re-find his form and kept us at bay. After the break Huddersfield started to have a slight comeback but we soon ended their chances with a sucker punch on 79 minutes when a counter attack ended with Rickie Lambert finding Lee Barnard’s head. And that’s how it ended.

Final Score: Huddersfield Town 0 – 2 Southampton

October review:
League position: 5th
Month Form: D W W W D W
Top Goal scorer: Lee Barnard (6)
Highest Average: Jay DeMerit (7.36)

Rob

October

Southampton vs Hartlepool
Southampton hadn’t lost a match since they travelled to Peterborough at the start of the season, the suffered a set-back away at Rochdale and were looking to bounce back with a with against a Hartlepool side sitting in 10th position. Southampton dominated possession in the early stages and as they broke through the middle with Yildiray Basturk , he played the ball out wide to Jason Puncheon who went past Garty Liddle, Liddle was able to get back and just as Puncheon shot, Liddle managed to get a foot on to it, it seemed to be going wide, at the last second it diverted its way toward goal and Southampton went 1-0 up. Straight from the kick off Hartlepool went after an equaliser, Andy Monkhouse passed the ball to Antony Sweeney and with Fabian Yantorno in space providing an option he could square it to him or opt for the shot, he chose the easy pass and Yantorno was in acres of space on the right, he pulled the trigger and drove the ball straight in the roof of the net. The first half action wasn’t done there though, in the 45th minute, Patrick van Aanholt ran down the left hand side linking up with Adam Lallana, the ball was put in to the box for Rickie Lambert to get his head on to and he flicked the ball on to Morgan Schneiderlin, Lallana then recieved the ball back who turned inside Sam Collins who was already committed to the tackle, Lallana cut back inside and found the bottom corner with a lovely placed shot.
Southampton decided to step it up a notch in the second half, their work-rate was simply outstanding and a pleasure to watch, the wingers were in sublime form and it was another winger who caused havoc for the Hartlepool defence, Jason Puncheon ran down the right flank and in the middle jostling with Rickie Lambert was Neil Austin, he got too much of Lambert and he went down under the challenge, the referee pointed to the spot, lambert stepped up tp take it and placed it in the top corner which sent Scott Flinders the wrong way.
If you thought it was over at 3-1 then you were mistaken, Southampton wanted to send a message to the rest of League One and from this display were doing just that, Morgan Schneiderlin ran with the ball, dribbled his way through the Hartlepool midfield who then played the ball to Rickie Lambert, he evaded the challenge of Peter Hartley and let off a shot 40 yards from goal, it seemed as it was only ever going to one place, right in the goalkeepers arms, Scott Flinders made a huge error, he tried to punch the ball to safety, he got hardly anything on it and ended up gifting a fourth goal to Southampton by punching it straight in to his net.
This result kept Southampton in the promotion hunt, all of the other teams around them also won with Plymough, Peterborough and Huddersfield all picking up maximum points.
Final score: Southampton 4-1 Hartlepool

Brighton and Hove Albion vs Southampton (Football League Trophy)
Southampton travelled to Brighton in hope of pregressing to the next round, however in truth they started very poorly and it was Brighton who went ahead early on in the first half, Kanzega Lua Lua recieved the ball from Mauricio Taricco who drilled a through ball in to the path of Gary Dicker, he was very composed and slotted the ball home in the sixth minute. Southampton needed to find a way back in to the game and it didn’t come from their wide men but their central midfield partnership of Morgan Schneiderlin and Yildiray Basturk, they ran at the heart of the Brighton defence and through Andy Butler, Basturk was brought down by a nothing challenge from Gordon Greer and the referee awarded a penalty to the delight of the away supporters. Rickie Lambert stepped up to take it and sent Casper Ankergren the wrong way, it was all to play for with the score at 1-1.
Brighton took control of the match and were starting to pass the ball very well, players such as Lua Lua and Francisco Sandaza were taking the game to Southampton, their 2nd goal came in the 21st minute when Andy Butler managed to get on the end of a cross from Ashley Barnes, he directed his header at the front post and Kelvin Davis wasn’t quick enough to get down and prevent Brighton from going 2-1 up. This football match was exactly like a game of table tennis and to justify that Southampton levelled the game up at 2-2 thanks to a wonderful flowing move, started off from Seamus Coleman who played a lovely ball down the right hand side to Jason Puncheon, he then squared it to Rickie Lambert who linked up with Guly do Prado, Guly then cut inside of Adam El-Abd and placed the ball in the bottom corner at the right hand side of the goal, that move was a joy to behold.
This game was unlike anything that had been predicted at the start of the match by pundits all scross the land. Brighton again took the lead and what seemed to be the winning goal in the 64th minute, Southampton fell asleep at the back, Taricco managed to play a weighted ball over the top of the defence and it was Ashley Barnes who latched on to it and smashed the ball right in to the roof of the net, Kelvin Davis didn’t know which way the ball was going and he was powerless to stop Brighton from taking the lead yet again. Southampton had very few chances in the remaining minutes of the game, they might have snatched a goal in the last few seconds though, Adam Lallana ran through the heart of the Brighton defence , he made Mauricio Taricco look like a fool in the process and he only had Casper Ankergren to beat, he loked as if he was just about to pull the trigger when Gary Picker took his legs from underneath him and got his marching orders, it was a professional foul and rightly so recieved a straight red card, from the free kick about 20 yards out, Rickie Lambert stepped up and hit it very temely straight at Ankergren, that was the last of the action and Brighton managed to old on for the win.
Final score: Brighton and Hove Albion 3-2 Southampton

Southampton take Aston Villa youngster on loan:

Rob Gurney has managed to secure the services of Aston Villa youngster Jonathan Hogg on a loan deal for a three month period.


Brentford vs Southampton
Southampton travelled to Griffin Park to take on Andy Scott’s Brentford who were lying in 19th place, the Saints knew they needed to keep piling on the pints to ebsure they stayed within touching distance of Peterborough at the top of League One. Southampton kept possession well in the first half and found the break-through on 40 minutes, Guly do Prado was right in the thick of a goal-mouth scramble and it was Charlie MacDonald who rbought him down giving Southampton the chance to score from the spot, Southampton goal machine Rickie Lambert stepped up and slotted the ball past Richard Lee. In the second half there was a little more action, Brentford managed to edge their way in to the game but yet again  it was Southampton who kept on carving out the better chances and on 55 minutes, Jason Puncheon, who was having a magnificent game, cut inside Marcus Bean and Myles Weston, he then squared the ball to Schneiderlin and this gave him enough time and space to take a touch and find the top corner of the goal, unfortunately Richard Lee didn’t have a clue what Schneiderlin was going to do with the bal and the Brentford goalkeeper was rooted to his spot and he had to look on as the ball found the top corner of the goal.
Brentford did manage to cause some problems to the Southampton defence, it came through Myles Weston, he ran past Danny Butterfield, cut inside and also beat Andrew Davies, he then crossed for Carl Cort and it was a perfect header, he met it with such force and such accuracy that it was too good a header and the ball cannoned back off the cross-bar. Southampton wrapped the match up on 77 minutes when Adam Lallana took the corner on the right hand side, it was headed away by Craig Woodman, it was then put back in by Guly do Prado and this time was cleared away from Nicky Forster, it wasn’t cleared far enough though and it was Danny Butterfield who just watched the ball coming to him, waited for the ball to sit up and BANG! The ball went straight in to the postage stamp on the right hand side of goal, this was a joy to behold a shot from 35 yards was one thing but to hit it so well and then keep it down is another. That was how the game finished, Rob Gurney’s men marched on in their quest for the League One winners spot and Andy Scott’s Brentford needed a few results as that los had lowered them in to the relegation zone.
Final score: Brentford 0-3 Southampton

Southampton vs Bournemouth
Southampton played host to a Bournemouth side who were in need of a win, they’d lost their last four matches and a trip to St. Mary’s wasn’t how Eddie Howe and his side planned on getting back to winning ways, it was clear from the off that Bournemouth and Southampton would battle it out and it would be a real test of character for whoever was victorious. Bournemouth made the first real chance of the game, Marc Pugh who is being looked at by a number of clubs in the Championship, ran down the right flank and managed to put in a cross for Steve Lovell, he turned on his marker and tried to put a curling shot in the top left hand corner of the goal but Kelvin Davis was equal to the task and managed to keep him out, could Bournemouth caplitalise on their early pressing or would Southampton start piling on the pressure themselves?
It indeed was Southampton who managed to get the break-through, it came from a lovely ball played to the feet of Jason Puncheon from Guly do Prado, Puncheon cut inside Jason Pearce and Ryan Garry, he kept on going and with his right foot, he unleashed an un-stoppable drive low and hard in to the bottom corner leaving Jon Stewart helpless. This first half was proving to be very good in terms of chances being created by either side, the problem was that not many of them were being executed, Bournemouth knew they had to try and find that elusive goal that had been avioding them all afternoon and it came, it was right on the edge of half time when that man again, Marc Pugh managed to play a lovely ball to the feet of Steve Fletcher, he then played it in to the path of Danny Hollands who took a touch and got it off to Steve Lovell, the English journeyman then went inside of Jose Fonte and was able to get a shot off, it looped over the head of Kelvin Davis and in to the back of the net, that well placed chip was a joy to behold.
There was not much action in the second half, both teams were trying to probe each others defences but nothing was coming off, it looked as though today would be one huge battle in the middle of the park and indeed it was, it finished 1-1 and it was a fairly even scoreline in a game that most people thought would be pretty one sided.
Final Score: Southampton 1-1 Bournemouth

Southampton vs Plymouth Argyle
Rob Gurney’s Southampton side maintained their unbeaten run with a draw against Bournemouth and now had to look forward at the prospect of facing a Plymouth side who were playing very well under Peter Reid and mounting a serious title challenge, a win for either side would increase their chance of promotion. It was Southampton who made the most of the opening exchanges, Adam Lallana was able to break down the left hand side, he then put the ball inside for Jake Livermore to latch on to and he squared it to Jason Puncheon, he then crossed the ball for Morgan Schneiderlin, he managed to get some contact on the ball but it casually rolled out of play for a goal kick. It was in the 26th minute that thedeadlock beetween these two sides was eventually broken and it was that man again, Rickie Lambert who got the vital goal, Jason Puncheon drilled the ball in to the box from the right hand side touchline, Lambert got in front of Karl Duguid and managed to poke the ball home past the diving Plymouth goalkeeper Romain Larrieu.
Southampton played a very dangerous game in the second half, they were sitting on a 1-0 lead and just invited pressure from the Plymouth forwards, some could say that by letting them drain all the energy out of the Plymouth attack they could then break on the counter, those of you who think that would be correct and this is exactly what they did do. Bradley Wright-Phillips was the man to try and probe his way thorugh the Southamptond efence, he played a lovely ball to Rory Fallon on the left hand side of the pitch, his cross was met with a very good defensive clearance from Morgan Schneiderlin and his header fell at the feet of Adam Lallana, he ran all the way down the left hand side with no challenge, he kept on going and saw Alex Chamberlain on the edge of the box, he played a lovely square ball at his feet and Chamberlain let off a fizzing drive, past Larrieu’s right hand post and the ball went out for a throw in. That was the last real cut chance of the second half and Southampton kept on picking up the points and this extended their unbeaten record in the league to 12 matches.
Final Score: Southampton 1-0 Plymouth Argyle

Huddersfield Town vs Southampton

Yorkshire side Huddersfield Town played host to a Southampton side who were 2nd in the league, Huddersfield though in 3rd position weren’t far behind them and a win today for either side would create a little bit of breathing space between them and the chasing pack for the automatic promotion spot. Lee Clark’s side got off to a very poor start and Alex Smithies was under pressure right from the minute that the referee blew the whistle, it all came from a ball crossed in to the middle from Jason Puncheon, there was bodies everywhere and Huddersfield just had to get the ball away, they failed to do so and it landed to Jake Livermore who took one almighty swing at the ball and blazed it over the crossbar. Huddersfield knew that if they didn’t get their cat together then they would be on the end of a thumping, Southampton took the lead in the 26th minute, it was a lovely flowing move started off by Danny Butterfield, he played the ball in to the box and Rickie Lambert amanged to find Guly do Prado in acres of space on the edge of the 6 yard box, he composed himself and was able to put the ball in the far right hand corner, Southampton lead and Huddersfield needed to do something very quickly.
Alan Lee, Jordan Rhodes and Joe Garner all knew that if Huddersfield were to score then they were the three players who would be the more likely to get their names on the score-sheet. Gary Naysmith played a lovely ball in to Joey Gudjonsson who cut inside of Jake Livermore and played the ball to Alan lee on the edge of the 18 yard box, Joe Garner made a run and Lee managed to pick him out, the ball landed on Garners right boot and he caught it so sweetly that even though he hit his shot straight at Kelvin Davis it was still enough to level the score up and both teams went in with the game being anyone’s to play for. The second half was much and such the same as the first, it was Southampton that had the better of the opening and the piled on the pressure, Jason Puncheon played a cross field ball to the feet of Alex Chamberlain and he took the easy option and played it at the feet of Danny Butterfield, he then took the easy option and found Jake Livermore, Guly do Prado made a run towards the box and took two defenders with him, Livermore opted for Rickie Lambert who found a ittle bit of space, he managed to evade the challenges of Peter Clarke and Jamie McCombe, he only had the goalkeeper to beat and neatly lofted the ball over a helpless Alex Smithies in to the empty net.
Not one Huddersfield chance was created in the second half, this was due to Southampton having very good ball retention skills and also the Saints proving that their defence really was the best in League One as was shown from the 8 goals they had conceded in the league this season. Southampton’s job got  little harder towards the end of the match, it was the 89th minute when Joe Garner went down the right hand side of the pitch, tried to cut inside of Danny Butterfield but as he did, Butterfield left his leg in the tackle which caught Joe Garner as Butterfield was already booked the referee had no choice but to send him off and give him his marching orders for the first time this season, the Saints held on for a very important win though and kept their unbeaten run going, they look like one of the real contenders for promotion if they carry on playing as well as this.
Final Score: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Southampton

October Review:
Won: 4
Drawn: 1
Lost: 1
Player of the Month: Rickie Lambert