Bradley Wright-Phillips fires into the side netting late on
IT MAY not have been
exactly what he was hoping
for, but at least Nigel
Pearson is off and running.
To be fair to Pearson, his head
must be in something of a spin.
Approached on a Sunday, appointed
on the Monday, given a home
game on the Tuesday.
Of course the side put out for the
Plymouth defeat was not his, but he
was having to learn about his
squad in double quick time.
Just a couple of days of preparation
time later and Pearson was
having to take his side up to
Scunthorpe for a relegation battle.
Saints didn't play particularly
well at Glanford Park and for a
while at least looked as if they
would come away with a defeat
against 10-man opposition which
would have been a dreadful result.
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But the most important thing for
Saints here was not to lose.
Pearson now has the luxury of a
full week to work with his players.
Davies saves the penalty.. but can't stop the rebound
Now is the time he can coach
them on the training field, make
judgements and ensure they understand
how he wants them to play.
The initial feedback is encouraging.
Pearson is going back to the
very basics and making sure the
players know what is expected of
them in every situation.
By providing a framework for the
players they can understand and
feel comfortable in, you give them
the best possible chance of picking
up results and being able to express
themselves further.
Even good teams need it to a certain
extent. Struggling teams low
in confidence are crying out for it.
It's too early to assess the Pearson
style of play. That should become
clearer in the weeks ahead.
But the most important thing was
always going to be about restoring
the confidence of the players.
This season has just become
about staying in the league: The
rebuilding work starts in the summer.
For now, everybody must remain
focussed on the job in hand and at
least try and provide some kind of
forward momentum.
But when the players are suffering
a crisis of confidence, it can be
hard to halt - even with fresh impetus
and new ideas.
That is Pearson's task but it's
quite clear he's happy to take that
weight on his broad shoulders and
carry his share of the responsibility
as well.
The frustration for both sets of
fans watching was acute.
Here were two teams that went
out and adequately displayed why
they are scrapping for survival.
A game dominated by three major refereeing decisions, all of which were highly debatable. It wasn’t a classic but for Saints the most important thing was not to lose and they achieved that. Pearson is off and running and has a week to work with his squad.
Adam Leitch
Also on display were two teams
who with a bit more confidence and
belief looked to have the ability to
be in mid-table.
Both sides were the same - able to
get the ball down and pass but often
just lumping it forward because
they were edgy and nervous.
On the occasions they did get the
ball down, both teams looked good
and there was neat build-up play
from the back and through midfield.
But for both teams, once you got
into that final third things broke
down. It was no surprise the two
goals came from penalties as there
seemed few other likely sources.
Kelvin Davis made a decent stop
and Jack Cork missed the rebound
early on, but that was about the
sum of the first half action until
five minutes before the break.
Martin Paterson was dribbling
the ball in the box, got a slight contact
from Jhon Viafara and went
down.
Referee John Moss awarded a
penalty which Andy Crosby saw
Davis save low down to his right,
but Crosby calmly slotted home the rebound.
Moss was again in the thick of
the action on 54 minutes when he
sent off Matt Sparrow for a
challenge over the ball on Wayne
Thomas which again looked
harsh.
Saints went 4-3-3 against Scunthorpe's
ten men but just weren't
able to find that breakthrough.
They got a bit of luck with six
minutes remaining, though, when
the linesman provided a chance
for them.
Craig Evans flagged for a penalty
for a shirt pull on Stern John
NOT spotted by the referee - and
NOT seen by the majority in the
ground and NOT appealed for by
the Saints players.
Still, Saints weren't going to
argue and Gregory Vignal topped
another fine performance by slotting
the ball into Joe Murphy's
bottom left hand corner, sending
the keeper the wrong way.
Saints had chances to win it,
first Marek Saganowski firing
well wide from inside the area and
then Bradley Wright-Phillips
rounding the keeper but hitting
the side netting from a tight angle.
But you have to start somewhere
and for Pearson this is at least a
start.
Daily Echo Man of the Match: Gregory Vignal Another terrific display from
the Frenchman who is proving
his worth at left back and
topped off with a goal.
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