Saints 1-1 Norwich City

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Eric Shadick

Everyone connected with the club would have been feeling pretty good after a confident and entertaining display against Newcastle, but just three days later came a home game against Norwich that served as a reminder that Premier League football isn’t always that good, and that the Saints squad remains deficient in some key areas.

Understandably the team was unchanged but a lot of the fluency that had mostly been provided by Ramirez seemed missing. They did, though, take the lead after a better spell of pressure that ended with a free kick launched into the danger area by Lallana and which was bundled into the net by Lambert with a bit of help from his left arm – the sort of goal that leaves cause for complaint when it’s given against you.

It was an advantage that should have lasted until the interval, but those defensive demons awoke again just as the half drew to a close. We have to apportion blame for a sloppy goal that may have cost a win, and the finger first points at Shaw for sleeping during a short corner routine that left Clyne having to do the work of two players and conceding a free kick in the process. Then Gazzaniga decided that he only needed a three man wall in a dangerous situation, and that it should over-cover the near post. Snodgrass couldn’t believe his luck, and would have thought it was Christmas come early when his shot eluded a dive by the keeper that was based on a sack of coal.

Norwich can point to the better second half chances in a forgettable match, and most of them came courtesy of a mixture of Yoshida’s lack of bite in the tackle, his poor distribution and his ability to fall over at important times – all have led to goals in the past. As it was, there was no further scoring, but overall the headline has to be the latest evidence that between the three of them, Saints may have the worst goalkeepers in the top league.

LSSC Man of the Match: Nathaniel Clyne, who does look like a proper defender sometimes.