Sometimes you win a game that you had absolutely no right to get anything out of, the victory at Elland Road for Saints was perhaps one of those games.

They say that the sign of a good team is that it still wins when it has played badly, if that is the case then Saints are the best team in the division as they were absolutely battered at Leeds.

I do realise that all that matters in the cold light of day is the three points, especially given that Reading are coming up behind us like a speeding train with failed brakes, however on this site i do always try to analyse just where we went wrong and why and before we get to the plus points lets get the negative ones out of the way.

To be blunt we seemed to get our starting line up a little wrong but more to the point we made substitutions at half time that left us completely shapeless and once again with the four central midfielders all playing meaning we lacked both width and pace, I have often said that when a team makes a double substitution at half time it shows that the manager has got it badly wrong in the first half.

Many were surprised to see Tadanari Lee start the game, in truth he didnt have a bad first half including a great knock back for Rickie Lambert's goal, but seemingly jet lag showed and he couldnt last the pace, the surprise was that his repalcement was Guly and not Billy Sharp, whose running and ability to hold up the ball would have been a better bet than Guly, it also beggars the question whether Nigel Adkins actually was responsible for signing Sharp, he seems relectant to use him and having been completely benched for the past two games, it seems that Sharp is actually fourth choice striker at the moment.

Most I have spoken to felt that if two subs were to be made, Guly coming on for Puncheon and Sharp for Lee were the most logical changes, certainly in the period after half time we were at sixes and sevens and seemed to have lost all shape.

Its not that hard to pick a man of the match, Kelvin Davis made a string of excellent saves to put in a performance that is as good as any I have seen a Saints keeper make and he deserves all the credit for that, the irony of the situation is that perhaps his best save of the night came from his only error of an otherwise faultless performance, he came and flapped at a cross and as the ball dropped he threw himself at what looked a lost cause and made a wonderous block to keep the ball out, but whilst acknowledging how much we had elvin to thanks for these three points, we should also question just how the men in front of him capitulated so easily on so many times, this was not organised and calm rearguard action, at times it was chaotic and how the ball stayed out of the net is anyones guess, on another day we could have easily have lost this game by four or five, frankly this was our worst away performance of the season.

But the fact is we didnt lose and we took the three points more by luck than judgement, but three points never the less, we got away with our tactical errors and scraped and crawled our way to the win, on the plus side we never gave up and although Leeds not scoring was down mainly to Kelvin and woeful finishing, at times we did throw ourselves into last ditch tackles and we dug in to make sure that we kept the ball out, at times we were running on nothing but team spirit, we lacked a leader on the park, we lacked shape, but we didnt lack guts and thats a good sign.

Yes it was a very bad day at the office and questions have to be asked just how Leeds were able to dominate us so much, but it will do a lot for confidence and morale that we can still win in difficult circumstances.

Man of the match by a country mile was Kelvin Davis with 9.85 out of 10, regular readers will know that of course i cant let that flapped cross go without punishment and that has cost him what would optherwise have been a perfect 10

Photo: Action Images

stmichael added 10:01 - Mar 4 To be fair Sharpe did start when he signed but he has not settled yet. He will and Adkins said in his interview he will be great for this club. This is a squad game and the way the non playing subs joined in the celebrations showed their commitment. You often use the phrase 1st 2nd 3rd 4th choice. It does not exist at this club and nor should it. Unless you are KD or SRL of course! KD as I have said before will be our keeper for years to come. Simply outstanding and the players love him too.

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Olley added 10:15 - Mar 4 To be honest I was not surprised by the way Leeds played, Warnock has made noises all week that this was the point his players had to play for the shirt & more likely a contract for the future. The new manager syndrome [not happen often to Saints], was also evident with their commitment & of course if Leeds had played like this all season, Grayson would still be there & they would be in the mix for promotion. Kelivn as mentioned was nearly flawless & to the credit of all the team they throw their bodies at every shot incoming. Yes the team did not settle & even with the great team goal, we did not build on this position. I felt that I agree I would have gone with Sharp & Guly for Lee & Puncheon, so yes the odd balance in midfield did materialise. All in all a great result for Saints, this is the way teams win / get promoted & I have very really seen Saints be second best but win when it mattered so much, COYRS

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131153 added 10:19 - Mar 4 This game had me pacing the living room not truly believing what I was seeing. When I saw the team only surprise to me was Lee in and not Sharp.It was clear at HT changes were needed. Puncheon had spent the first half either getting caught with the ball or giving it away. I thought his swap fot Hammond was the right call to give the midfield a bit of stability. I was surprised by Guly for Lee but would give NA the benefit of the doubt. They say a leopard never changes his spots and I could have sat down and written Warnocks after match interview, it could have been any game over the last fifteen years. It was nice though to hear him and see him losing it and us heading South with the points.

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rjh added 10:30 - Mar 4 Massive win and well done all Saints fans who braved the ticket prices.
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tiptop added 10:37 - Mar 4 Give Kelvin full credit. Legendary performance. How did he keep his 'mistake' from not going in?! I was just waiting for the ref to blow for a restart... Understand your point about the subs. As far as the starting line goes though I think NA chose what most of us would have gone for. His half time subs were defensive. You can see what NA was thinking putting a player like Hammond on (or should I say the type of player we wish Hammond really was..a leader who can get hold of the ball and dictate midfield). We needed to get hold of the ball or at least try and break up their play. In fairness to Hammond it wasn't his fault the rest of the team couldn't string 3 passes together, apart from that one time! Other thing is as you have pointed out we need to be aiming for 8 away wins and we also need to win away at top half teams. This performance reminded me of Reading away and also Leicester at home. These teams seem to grab the initiative from us from the start by having an intensity that we in these examples haven't been able to match. That is my worry. We must keep ball better in the coming home and away fixtures because teams are going to be even more up for it this end of the season. Still the momentum is with us and that will make us stronger..COYR's!

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SaintNick added 10:43 - Mar 4 I did give Kelvin full credit, im not sure that everyone would have gone with that starting line up, before the game most I heard on the radio etc were saying that Lee would be too jet lagged to start and i think that proved the case, was it the managers fault or the players for not factoring this in, meaning he only managed one half. I know why Adkins made the changes, the problem was that it upset the balance of the side, he could have brough on guly in midfield to keep the width and put Sharp up front who would have offered more grit than Guly, personally i thought that Lee should have at least started the second half and tried to get in ten mins at least

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ElSanto added 10:51 - Mar 4 I was really dissapointed by Puncheon yesterday, he gave the ball away needlessly on at least 5 occasions either through greediness or heavy touches. I also thought that Spiderman was brilliant, and exactly the kind of player we need if we are to reach the premiership. Some of Lee's first touches were also exceptional off dificult through balls, and I think he will be brilliant for the run in.

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patred added 11:06 - Mar 4 Nick the Graig Revel Horwood of goalkeeping judges :)
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BlackRod added 11:09 - Mar 4 Interesting analysis. This was a game that we won. At the start of the article you talk about getting the negatives out of the way before you get to the plus points. You then spend 95% of the time talking about negatives and the only plus point you are able to find is that 'we never gave up.' You perhaps didn't notice that Lambert scored another terrific goal. He makes it look easy but it's not. Lee had a great game, even if he did only last until half time. Full of running he is the perfect foil for Lambert and they combined spectacularly to get the goal. Kelvin put in the best performance I have ever seen from a Saints goalkeeper. Warnock said at the end he could have won 'man of the match' four times over. You highlight what you consider to be a mistake that he made. Do you not think a result like this will give a terrific boost to morale as we go forward? This is a day for celebrating, not carping.

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Whatsforpud added 11:18 - Mar 4 From what I could see of the game hiding behind the sofa, our midfield were unable to keep possession, meaning Leeds were in our faces for most of the match. Scheiderlin was good, but Puncheon, Cork and Chaplow couldn't find any space, although Chaplow was beginning to in the latter stages. The game was like one of those 11 against 8. It was impossible to see us holding on. If Adkins wants to give everyone in the main squad a run, it would have made more sense to have rested Lee for this one, and to have started with Sharp. However the front two were getting no service whoever started.

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tiptop added 11:31 - Mar 4 You're right Nick. My mistake - Sharp would have been most peoples pick to start with RL. As far as Sharp being NA's signing I def think he is. If anything I would have said Lee might not have been, but he is turning out to be as BlackRod points out, a good foil for Lambert. He gives us pace and movement further up the pitch. Sharp has got his work cut out to get in the starting 11. He will have a part to play for definate. Maybe Tues he'll get a run-out to keep him in touch

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131153 added 11:46 - Mar 4 I feel the two home games this week are pivotal, two wins and I feel there will be a reasonable gap opening up. There are plenty of games where the chasing pack play each other so points will be dropped. I feel our aim is to have promotion secured before the visit of Reading.
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Fordy added 11:51 - Mar 4 Shows again how much we miss Lallana when he's out. Nothing really sticks in midfield and we seem a little short of ideas without him. The substitutions were probably the worst NA has made. I can understand Hammond for Puncheon, but Guly for Lee really didn't work. He was probably thinking that Lee wasn't holding the ball up very well, but we had Lambert to do that. Taking off any pace up front meant we were left without the option of the ball over the top to relieve pressure and it also meant that Leeds could push up even more and put us under more pressure. Very poor from Adkins, if Lee was tired Sharp would have been a better bet than Guly, or even De Ridder if he'd been on the bench.

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1962saint added 11:57 - Mar 4 What a strange season this is! This was the worst performance of the season by the Saints and yet the last two home games v Burnley and Derby were Saints at their best. Who would have predicted that Birmingham (who seemed to be the danger team) would only collect one point from home games v Forest and Derby. Blackpool also dropped another 2 home points on Friday. Apart from Reading who are on a great run, everything seems to be going right for us. The signs are good for a 2nd successive promotion.

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leeds17 added 12:36 - Mar 4 Firstly, glad the Saints website reporter found the ground if he thinks Leeds is in SOUTH Yorkshire, it's always been in WEST Yorkshire. Anyway, I think everyone went home happy, us because we played so well and just couldn't beat your keeper. You because you won with as good a volley as we'll all see this season, as Warnock said, Ricky would've scored 4 or 5 for us today. We really could do with Billy Sharp as the fox in the box, Danny Webber did well and could've snatched us a goal after a great impact substitution after not having a club so far this season. Saints passed it around very well to kill the game in the last few minutes and showed what they should've been doing for the 90 before, but credit to our boys in white for playing so positively when we could've settled for just stopping you from playing. Our fans appreciated it and, having seen the SKY footage, it was a shame they didn't mention a virtually full Kop still in-place applauding the team behind Lambert and Davis. Hopefully we can kick on from this and take some points in our next difficult games against Hull, Boro and WHU. On and on!

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splurty added 12:52 - Mar 4 Bottom line 3 points closer to the prem !! Kelvin immense ,Hoover solid as ever ,Morgan had his best game ever in a battling sense as that is usually his downfall and Ricky well was Ricky ,The main problem was pace/width away from home when under the cosh you need an out ball and we offered none ,but one signing when we go up can cure this so lets get to the promised ASAP . COYR

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davepid added 13:39 - Mar 4 Most things have been said - the match reminded me of us away to Walsall this time last year,where we did everything but score and they won it with the one goal. The only positive not mentioned by us -but picked up by the generous Leeds fan - was that we did hold the ball well in the later stages of the second half,especially down the left wing. Guly, Chaplow and Lambert deserve some credit for that rather than trying to shoot/cross and surrendering possession. Superb entertainment for those there.

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simmo400 added 14:49 - Mar 4 In this game Saints were poor. They never gained any possession or control. We were lucky to win this game but 3 points were gained and that's important. Win ugly will count all the way to the end of the season. So I credit the team for shutting out Leeds and getting the result. This we need to see us through to the promotion we crave.
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sidsaint added 15:27 - Mar 4 Best 'keeper save since triple Niemi against Arsenal, and what power behind Rickie's shot. Pity Puncheon didn't repay NA's faith in him. As for the substitutions at half time too defensive, Sharp wold have been a better option if he has improved his fitness which presumably he has as he was in the squad. Hope we can be at our best at home on Tuesday as this must have taken its toll mentally. I was drained just watching it on tv.

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DJI added 17:24 - Mar 4 To answer those who question why Adkins brought on Guly and not Sharp, just read his post-match interview instead of speculating! "I thought I'll go with the momentum knowing I've got Billy Sharp to come off the bench and the way the game went it was something more to hang on to and Guly would suit that defensive role more than a Billy" And from what I saw, Guly did a good job of it too! Billy looks to me a bit like Rickie when he first came to Saints and needs a bit more conditioning to be the player he can really be. I think NA will make him even better, like he has with SRL. As for the game itself, we were not at the races but a great goal from SRL, good partnership with Lee who still found some energy after a long week of flying, and I get the feeling this will be a match we will look back on a season defining!

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Dperc added 20:38 - Mar 4 Bad performance but we came up against a side who put in one of their best performances of the season. Same as when Leicester came to SMS. Fortunately we had luck and Kelvin on our side this time. I know the Reading game is already scheduled for it, but please no more SKY coverage this season!
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Jesus_02 added 21:53 - Mar 4 In all honesty there where some good displays and some bad ones. I felt that Fonte had a bit of a poor one. Having said that the game was played at a thunderous pace and they also pinned the full backs well. I am sure that Leeds wont play that well again all season, the fact that we kept up at all was a small wonder
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thingummy added 08:56 - Mar 5 How exciting was that - how many times did we capitulate in the dark days, failing to protect a lead. This included the 4-3 defeat to Leeds after being 3-0 up I thought Hammond made a difference. He gives Morgan more space and time on the bal. This role will have to be filled if we make it up or we will get bullied. It puts far too much pressure on the back 4. I know Guly makes us all groan a bit at times (!) but he worked hard Thought chappers did well given how long he's been out Onwards

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bstokesaint added 12:33 - Mar 5 I'm chuffed for Kelvin Davis. The win for the team is always the ultimate aim, but the keeper was superb and gave us another example why he is still a top pro. Okay, if we get promoted he's not going to be the long term keeping option for the club, but he's a fine ambassador for SFC and you can see how much he's respected by the other players. From my own experience the goalkeeper is normally one of the bigger personalitles in the changing room and SKD is no exception. As for the rest of the game apart from a brilliant take from Rickie, some non-stop running fron Lee and glimpses from a few others, mainly throwing bodies on the line, it was a pretty poor game from us. Leeds to their credit playing very well, albeit some poor finishing. Our passing was shocking and we gave away possession in dangerous areas needlessly. As other posters have pointed out though we have been due some luck for a while now and it's another clean sheet.

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ItchenNorth added 13:58 - Mar 5 I haven't posted on this site for ages but I had to today given the negativity towards this game and more over performance of the team. Firstly I thought this was a fantastic game to watch. Tense, backs to the wall stuff (god knows how Leeds didn't score, but how cares !). It reminded me of the Premiership days with Le Tiss and co fighting for everything and surviving for another day / season. For sure this was not the flu'd football we want to see and have been seeing of late, but if this is what gets us 3 points away from home until the end of the season I'd be more than delighted. This was a fantastic 3 points with no inch taken by all of the players to see out the game. You could see how much it meant to them all at the final whistle. Well done lads. And for me, that's all that matters when you are going for promotion. Everyone battled and fort for the shirt for 90 mins and ultimately this got us a great 3 points. I take all of the points raised in the comments above, many are true but it doesn't matter now. The confidence the players will get from taking this victory will only serve to make us stronger in the run in. If Saints continue to perform like this away from home (note I say away, not at St Marys !)I will for one be over the moon. Grit and determination got us over the line against a team that gave everything and in an environment that is one of the most intense in the league. We could have crumbled, but we didn't. Now that's a sign of a team that means business. COYRs

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