Last nights match probably signaled the end of Saints season. I was convinced of that last night, although in the warm light of day, may its not completely over. As I've said every match for the past month, the next two games are crucial. Actually, the next 8 games are crucial, plus hopefully another 3.I felt team selection for yesterdays game was a bit strange. Up front, Bradley W-P contributed little (apart from a tap-in), surely even Rasiak would have given us something more, or even young Leon Best who's back from loan bang-on-form. In midfield we lacked a natural passer of the ball in the middle, which was evident throughout. Pele and Viafara are too similar to play in the centre together. It needed a Jermaine Wright or Guthrie (or even Idiakez?!) to get the ball moving. Skacel, as usual, gave little to the side, and we looked much better with the introduction of Nathan Dyer. He put himself about, got stuck in and showed some real pace and skill. Surman had a solid game, without being spectacular. Up front Saganowski looked good and it was a huge surprise that he was replaced, instead of Wright-Phillips!! At the back, Bale did little apart from a couple of driving runs. Baird and Claus were solid, and Powell seemed to improve after taking a few blows to the head. Goals wise, the first was a piledriver from Baird after the ball was rolled across to him from a freekick. The second was a tap-in for Bradley after a good header from Saga.
Thought the overall performance was poor, and at no point (even half-time) could I see us ending victorious. We lacked creativity going forward and solidity at the back. If we are to stand any chance of making the play-offs, let alone promotion, we'll need a big improvement.
