Despite the apt title, I don’t begrudge Tottenham for playing well at the weekend and awarding Southampton a bitter blow at all. Although, I do wish Saints had continued their pursuit to absolute victory, but their sheet wasn’t totally spotless anyway, so I’ll allow Mauricio Pochettino to govern Saints’ fate once more.
The old Pochettino charm could well have been the unruly demise for the St. Mary’s squad, but it was Christian Eriksen’s fortunate flick into the back of the net that sent White Hart Lane into fits of joyous uproar. Well, that accounted for the home fans. Within 40 minutes, the destiny of Ronald Koeman’s men was sealed, and it was certainly undesirable. For Koeman to have shown his predecessor that he has moulded the Spurs boss’ old side into a relentless, formidable regiment of mega-men, the post-match feeling would have been different; more enlightening. But failure to do just that caused Saints to forfeit, potentially, a great score and add a loss to their former tally of one.
Spurs Ruin Saints’ Winning Streak
Koeman’s boys hadn’t lost in weeks before Sunday’s fixture; in fact, it was only their opening Premier League match that saw them hand three points to an opponent. Liverpool were a cunning side with quick steps and stunning skill, and largely still are, so it was no wonder that they managed to sneak a win. However, Saints were in fabulous shape that match and should have won overall. These events were not recycled against Tottenham. Yes, forging a new campaign on home turf lends itself to some minor advantage at least, but Saints didn’t seem to possess their usual gutsy character. However, this was not without trying.
Saints were shunted down to third place in the league by Spurs, which was surely a shame. But any sniff, whiff or even hint of mild complacency echoing amongst the team has now been ousted, and regaining form won’t be a problem. In all, it was a strong Saints facing a strong Tottenham; the somewhat even pairing between sides didn’t bring a spectacle of epic proportions, though, rather a bit of a middling one.
One thing to glean from the game was that each and every Saint that danced around the ball during that 90-minute spell played well; Sadio Mané, the keen Senegalese hotshot, started again, which was certainly encouraging, whilst Shane Long enjoyed another chance to exercise his talents as a late substitute.
Unfortunately for the all-important and comfortably suave Dušan Tadić and Graziano Pellè one-two ensemble, Kyle Naughton was out on the rampage for Spurs, and left the duo feeling sore and disillusioned; had this affair gone to its typical plan, Saints could have snatched a draw overall (and I could have had a few more Fantasy Football points… grumble). Further disappointment for Saints came via Victor Wanyama, the man to save us mere weeks ago. His clumsy foul gave Érik Lamela the opportunity to really whack the ball into prime position; this was ultimately the making of the eventual goal.
Smooth and all-too-easy movement between Emmanuel Adebayor and Nacer Chadli set Eriksen up in such a gorgeous manner to take the shot and land Spurs the 1-0 lead. This dire turn of events for Saints will no doubt be etched into the minds of Eriksen’s ex-Ajax teammate, Toby Alderweireld, and ace new keeper, Fraser Forster, for their fumbles around the ball at goal time didn’t stop the mess about to change the score.
Throughout the game, Chadli was excellent again, showcasing how much of an asset he is to Pochettino’s crew. His assist would have surely alerted his new coach, displaying how well he acts in those sorts of crossing situations. However, on the other foot, Saints’ defence was sturdy, with Ryan Bertrand once again giving supporters of the south coast club reason to urge him to extend his contract and not head back to Chelsea- aka everybody’s rivals. Despite skill among the defenders, the paramount tight formation of the back line was absent; here’s something Koeman and co will have flagged up to undoubtedly seek to fix before facing Sunderland.
Before heading up against another team who are partial to parading around in red and white, Koeman should be careful to keep morale at a good level among his players. He might have been a little intimidated by Pochettino’s presence, and his past at Saints, as many of the Old Testament team members also might have, but Koeman showed respect and appreciate for the groundwork that Spurs’ new manager had put in.
Saints might be feeling a little glum, but they shouldn’t; their bid so far has been wonderful and wholly inspiring to footballers everywhere. Yes, they might be a small team in a mighty league, but they have earned their place tenfold. The beginning to their campaign should bring warmth and confidence to the team and managerial make-up alike.
With Sunderland currently resting wearily at a rather saddening 13th place, Saints should take the information from the Spurs debacle on board, leave their weaknesses back in the changing room, and skip merrily out on to St. Mary’s soil. After the international break, there could be no stopping them.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lastwordimogen. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Main Photo:
