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Monday, September 11, 2006
Southampton opted to do without the services of Gareth Bale at Ipswich, so Makin switched to left back, and in order to accommodate Idiakez, Wright filled in at right back.
Fine player though Idiakez is, the changes do leave us lacking in the engine room; but such issues were soon forgotten as Jones scored neatly after all of 3 minutes of Southampton attacking. Rasiak rattled the post with a spectacular lob, but the second goal Saints clearly deserved would not come - chief culprit was Skacel who failed to find the target when set up with a clear opportunity.
After the break, goalscorer Jones turned villain when he ran clear in acres of space and with eager support arriving in the middle; the shot blocked by goalkeeper Price lacked conviction. Absolutely against the run of play, Ipswich equalised through Walton's spot kick after Pele was adjudged to have fouled Lee. It looked a soft decision at the time and TV replays only increase that view.
Never mind, Saints were still on top and there was plenty of time left. However after 10 more minutes Clarke scored the decisive goal. In my view it was another howler by Davis, who had cost points in the last game, rather than an absence of marking - defenders who stay out of the way as the goalkeeper comes for a cross are probably doing the right thing.
Wright-Phillips hit a shot against the post as Saints surged forward to force a series of late corners from Idiakez, and from one they had the ball over the line if not actually in the net. This time TV replays show more doubt, but from the vantage of the visiting fans' seats, we can report that it was clearly a goal (or would have been, had the linesman had our view). I blame the coach driver who must have run over a black cat on the way to the ground.
Eric’s Man of the Match: John Viafara, but I am worried that our formation is leaving him too much to do.
