Sadly I once again have to write the same review again as it was Groundhog Day again for Saints and no I don't blame the referee for the result.

Irate fans interviewed on TUI TV after the game were of one opinion that the referee was atrocious, however the fact remains that although he initially got the two big decisions wrong, VAR got them right as was shown on the TV later.

But it wasn't the ref who cost us the game, indeed 1-0 flattered us with the number of free chances we gave Newcastle in the first half we should have been out of the game at half time.

Time and time again we left their players unmarked in the box Dwight Gayle missed two glorious chances and Alex McCarthy made a superb triple save, but were where Stephens and Bednarek ? time and time again they left men unmarked.

When Djenepo was sent off I actually thought it might help us, it would force Newcastle on to us and that would create opportunities also the perceived injustices roused the crowd and as we battled in the second half we matched them in all departments and indeed looked more likely to get all three points than the visitors as the game went on.

But there was one last individual error to come and sadly it was Yan Valery who up to this point had had a solid game on his return who thought he had a little more time than he did and got caught out by Saint-Maximin who was right through on goal, should one of our central defenders have been reading the situation and covering ? certainly Jose Fonte would have !

That goal knocked the stuffing out of both the team and the crowd with 11 minutes left and you sensed there would be no comeback from this blow.

So it was once again as I have said before every game this season a case of we either get away with slack marking and errors or we don't, after getting away with it for most of the game it looked like this would be one of the good games, but ultimately what cost us the game was not VAR, not the ref, but the same thing that has cost us every other game we have lost, certain players are not good enough and individual errors.

Some will say I have something against certain players, that is far from the truth, what I have got something against is poor marking, individual errors, lapses in concentration and throwing away games, if some names get mentioned more than others for making these mistakes, that is not my fault.

The man of the match was Alex McCarthy without him we could have been four down at the break and it was good to see him bounce back after his error at West Ham.

Before the Burnley game I talked of how it would point the way forward as to whether we would look up wards or downwards for the rest of the season, that was four gaes ago and a return of only 3 points in that period means that we are now looking firmly over our shoulders.

The only good news of the day was that of all the clubs below us after this defeat, only Brighton picked up a point, meaning that we are still 7 points clear of the drop zone and with 7 games left that is a big ask for those below us, we should have been safe by now but we still need at least one more win possibly two, the game at Norwich is massive, they will be up for it, this is their last chance saloon, they fail to win this and they are virtually finished, we win it and we are virtually safe.

Photo: Action Images

darthvader added 13:09 - Mar 9 We are weak without Redmond and , at a stretch, Armstrong
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janecook added 13:44 - Mar 9 Saints are where they are because thy took a gamble and did not buy much needed players in the January Transfer window. Are defence is abysmal the midfield create nothing and the strikers miss to many chances. For 3/4 seasons we have been crying out for a commanding central defender so why have we not got one?
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LoisDeem added 11:14 - Mar 10 In our Jekyll and Hyde team performance, Valery probably most sums us up, with one of our few shots on target, so add in Long missing two when a pass might have been more productive. If we can get more consistent 7/10 performers for the 90 plus minutes, like McArthy, this particular home crowd and our away fans always manage, we'll do a lot better, and attract new buyers (=win /win).

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