Saints climbed into the play off spaces after grinding out a hard fought win at Carrow Road with a second clean sheet in a row, now we can start to move forward with the confidence of knowing that without that 4 point deduction we would now be 3rd in the League.

Tonda Eckert rang the changes on Tuesday night, four of them to be exact, out went James Bree, Cyle Larin & Leo Scienza, all rested with a tough schedule of 3 games in 6 days as well as the suspended Cameron Bragg.

In came Zach Abbott, Lewis Dobbin, Sam Edozie & Matsuki.

The inclusion of Abbott was perhaps the most surprising, finally getting some game time after joining the club at the end of the summer transfer window on loan from Nottingham Forest.

He didn't enjoy a great debut, picking up a booking and being hooked off at half time, but he did show some promising touches and in his defence he is primarily a central defender and not a right back.

The first half was a fairly dull affair, neither side really looking like scoring, the best chance falling to City but their man headed the ball straight at Daniel Peretz from a free header.

Worryingly Flynn Downes had to go off injured, but Caspar Jander was a more than adequate replacement.

The break saw a couple of changes, both full backs Zach Abbott & Ryan Manning, were carrying yellow cards, so presumably Tonda Eckert didn't want to risk a repeat of Saturday's dismissal.

On came James Bree & Welington.

The only goal of the game came on 5 minutes, some good work from Sam Edozie on the left saw him get away a weak shot, but Grimshaw in the home goal could only parry it out, Caspar Jander saw his shot saved by the keeper, but it was third time lucky and Kuryu Matsuki put the ball in the net from close range.

From that moment you felt that Saints were in the driving seat, but whilst it was 1-0 Norwich were always in with a chance, indeed it took a goal line clearance from Lewis Dobbin to keep the scores level.

A few weeks ago perhaps Saints would have collapsed and gave away an equaliser, but this week has seen a change in mindset in the squad, perhaps it is the fact that we now know Tonda Eckert will not be banned, but it seems to have given everyone a boost.

We dug in for the closing stages and made sure we saw the game out, Tonda used his substitutions well and we were good value for the win and as mentioned a pleasing second clean sheet in a row after going 8 games in the League without one.

Now we sit 7th and the margins are now looking a lot slimmer between us and the rest of the promotion hopefuls, we are only 2 points off 4th and the margin is that fine that had we held on for a draw at Wrexham in the last game before the International break, we would now be 4th.

Without that points deduction we would be 3rd and that is the true barometer of our form.

There were some pleasing things to come out of this win, firstly the depth of the squad, I still think we are a player short up front and possibly a central defender.

Jack Stephens did nothing wrong and deserves to hold his place for Saturday, but if we want to challenge for automatic promotion then we have to have a little more class in the centre of defence than what he currently have on the roster.

Zach Abbott is a talent and one for the future, but if you are not going to play him in his proper position as a central defender then what was the point of bringing him in on loan.

Another pleasing fact was the performance of Lewis Dobbin, he did some good work going forward and also some sterling work defensively, including that clearance off the line.

He will be an asset this season, he has struggled because essentially he needs to play up front, in the hole behind a striker or as a left winger, we have no vacancies in any of those positions, so he has been a fish out of water, but with Larin & Scienza rested, he showed what he can do.

But again as on Saturday what really shone through was the team spirit, Keven Schlotterbeck is really showing his class and it seems that Jack Stephens is the best of the rest to partner him.

This team battled for every ball as they did last season, they did not give an inch from start to finish, they defended from the front and attacked from the back, this wasn't a great win in terms of scoreline, but it was in terms of keeping it tight and seeing the game out.

Two key players for me in this one were firstly Daniel Peretz, before the international break there were question marks about his form, but against Pompey and now Norwich, he has found his form, he has not had to make any spectacular saves, but his command of the area on crosses has been magnificent.

Earlier this season it was an a issue, both defeats came from crosses fired home from close range with a question mark on whether he should have come and dealt with, but now he is confident and this has been a big factor in both of our wins so far and the clean sheets, it takes the pressure off the defence.

Secondly Finn Azaz, I have been a fan of his since his first games here, he is everywhere and everything seems to through him, one minute he will be tidying up at the back, then out on the wing and hitting a cross ball to put someone away and then in the centre winning the ball and slipping it a couple of yards to start a move.

Sometimes games have to be won ugly, by gritting your teeth and not allowing the opposition to get a grip of the game.

That is how we won against Norwich, yes they were a team that had lost the previous 3 games, but that didn't tell the full story, defeat to a last minute winner at Middlesbrough, a narrow loss at home to Bolton and then at the weekend, leading at leaders Swansea before going down 2-1.

They are a difficult side to beat 6 of their 7 defeats have been by just 1 goal, this one was no different and those that say that they were a side in freefall and should have been put to the sword, have not looked at the underlying stats.

Now we have to keep winning, Bolton are a side that don't like draws, they have had just 1 so far this season, winning 4 times and losing 5.

They have won 3 out of the last 4 and will arrive at St Mary's with confidence, the squad cannot have an air of complacency for this one and nor can the Southampton supporters.

Bolton is not the most attractive match of the season, but promotion is won by putting games like this to bed, we need a full house for every game and support as we had on Sunday and indeed in the second half of last season.

There is a long way to go, but we are moving forward quickly now and we need to be firing on all cylinders both on and off the pitch.

imago via reuters