A scintilating display but with warning signs.

Saints blitzed ipswich Town in a first half performance as good as any i have seen since relegation from the Premiership in 2005, but in a 15 minute spell early in the second half they almost threw it all away before a late rally saw them comfortably home.

From the kick off Saints went at the Tractor Boys and two goals from Rickie Lambert in the opening 11 minutes both blew the home side away and dispelled rumours that Lambert couldnt score in this division, for the rest of the half Saints took control although Ipswich were flashing in some dangerous balls across the face of goal, when a sublime move shortly before the break saw Guly round the keeper, but pushed a little wide he kept his cool, didnt go for the tight angle but took a touch and laid it right back to the oncoming David Connolly who maintained his goal a game record, Saints were good value for the half time lead.

In the second half you knew the home side would come hell for leather and they did, but just as Saints seemed to have rode the storm they collapsed into disaray in spectacular fashion, it started with a long drive that cannoned off the bar, Saints were slow to react and clear the rebound and Keith Andrews drove the ball home at the near post with a shot that to be blunt should have been saved.

It was then chaos at the back as Ipswich sensed blood and poured forward reminiscent of the final minutes at Barnsley, the Saints defence was panic stricken and there was barely a member of it who wasnt guilty of failing to clear the ball, then just after the hour a high ball in the six yard box wasnt dealt with properly and Emanuel-Thomas lashed in the ball from a couple of yards out, at this moment you feared the worse.

Saints dug in though and rallied and had a good chance to make it four, but didnt take it, Adkins took a chance and waited ten minutes before making a change, bringing on Schneiderlin on the right hand side for Guly, although this didnt look to bring balance to the midfield, it enabled Saints to defend their lines better and Ipswich couldnt keep up the pace and needed a breather.

At the back we still looked dodgy as good as Seabourne was at Barnsley he was bad at Portman Road, he could seem to clear the ball although he wasnt the only culprit in the back four, at one time Seabourne and Harding kicked each other rather than the ball and you feared that unless Saints got another then when Ipswich got their second wind it might be a nervy finish.

BBut it was Saints who got the decisive and killer goal, with 15 mins left Schneiderlin executed a wonderful chip that put Lallana right through on goal and he finished well and Saints had their brething space.

Danny Fox then made his first appearance in place of Connolly as Saints went five in midfield to smother Ipswich and Saints closed out the game well with Lallana deservedly putting the icing on tha cake.

Overall it was a great win but the warning signs were there for all to see, Nigel Adkins has to make some harsh decisions in the next week or so and be pro active rather than reactive, its no use waiting ffor something bad to happen, defensively we have had two dodgy spells and although neither have cost us points, they will do soon, a good manager will take steps to rectify these weaknesses and make sure they dont happen again and therefore dont cost us dearly come the final points tally a the end of the season.

But I have left perhaps the best to last, Jack Cork put in a good a performance in central midfield as i have seen in a Saints shirt, to say he ran the show is underselling his performance, he seemd to have it all in his locke, tacklng, passing, determination, box to box and good in the air, he drove the side on and i give him 10 out of q0 only because there isnt an 11.            

Photo: Action Images

StSaint added 10:46 - Aug 17 Sweet lordy you are a tough critic. We scored 5 slick goals away from home and our attacking play was outstanding against a team that are expected to finish in the top 6. The first goal was hit like a missile as Kelvin was getting to his feet after Chopra hit the bar - the second was a bit scrappy, but do you really think that the opposition aren't going going to have spells of pressure? I actually agree with you in your previous criticism of Harding, but our current strength is our cohesive teamwork and we really don't need wholesale changes. Today is a great day to be a Saints fan. Of course it can't last forever, the only predictable thing about the Championship is that everyone beats each other, but just enjoy it and stop expecting perfection.

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LostBoys added 12:02 - Aug 17 I could not go and listened on the radio and saw the goals on Sky Sports News. While it was a wonderful performance I agree with Nick's comments regarding the defence during that period when they scored.
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SaintNick added 12:05 - Aug 17 If we want to be promoted then we have to up our game and be hard task masters, we also have to heed the warning signs. I was disapointed that kelvin didnt stop the first as he got to it, just didnt stop it, harsh yes, but you dont get promotion with excuses. Overall the team work was superb, but it isnt co incidence that in both our last two games sides have turned us in the space of a minute from composed to chaos. We dont need wholesale changes, we just need key areas strengthened

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bstokesaint added 12:27 - Aug 17 This was the first game I haven't seen us live, but I listened as always, as the neighbours are aware within a 500m radius!! I totally agree with you Nick that this is a very special team, without doubt the best since we were in the Premiership. There is a team spirit and arrogance about us which is only synonomous with a winning mentality. Unlike StSaint though I don't see our run coming to an end any time soon because we have so many quality players in this team. I'd say we are perhaps just a centre back away from a promotion winning outfit. I think it's a bit harsh to blame Kelvin for the first Ipswich goal. It was a top strike going on the highlights. Okay, the second goal looked a little sloppy, but this isn't the team of yesteryear and the fact we walked away with three points proves we are a team who will be hard to beat this season. Bring on Millwall..

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saintBob added 13:18 - Aug 17 I see your point Nick. Being 3-0 up at half time, I wonder what the half time team talk was. Generally for the second half most teams would try to 'shut up shop' to secure the points. It's great to hear people talking about promotion in our first season back in the Championship and it just goes to show how suddenly expectations are raised. Long may this run continue but the test will come to see how we react after a defeat.

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SuperKelvin added 13:18 - Aug 17 After going to Ipswich and seeing us walk the ball into their net at will its hard to come to any conclusions other than we are f*cking class. However heres my view: We are two players off being unbeatable- Yesterday if we had another CB who didnt lose the majority of headers, get turned so easily and not communicate we would have been a lot more comfortable. Also we need a new GK, one who perhaps won't pull off the odd superb save, but who commands his box, comes for crosses and can distribute with more consistancy to KD.

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ericofarabia added 13:51 - Aug 17 But I have left perhaps the best to last, Jack Cork put in a good a performance in central midfield as i have seen in a Saints shirt, to say he ran the show is underselling his performance, he seemd to have it all in his locke, tacklng, passing, determination, box to box and good in the air, he drove the side on and i give him 10 out of 10 only because there isnt an 11. Nick you are Admin .... you can do what you want .... Give Cork an 11/10 to match his 110% effort and skill FFS!!!!

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geezershoong added 14:47 - Aug 17 In previous years until recently we would have probably crumbled at 3-2 & blown it. Adkins seems to have added resilience & team spirit we've been lacking in recent history.
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COYRalex added 15:05 - Aug 17 Agree that Cork is going to be a very good player! Well worth the money! I agree that the Goalkeeper area may need a bit of a re-think as I am not sure Bart will be the answer but for now Kelvin is fine. I don't think that the 2 wobbly defensive moments are anything to actually be too worried about...against Barnsley it lasted about 8mins and against Ipswich 15mins...so out of 180mins of football plus injury time we have suffered 23-25 mins of wobbly defence...yes I know it can cost points but this usually happens to every team at some point in a game where they are under some pressure. Think Saints to get in a muddle at times but this is why we love them : ) Thought Harding played well...although could have cleared the 2nd off the line ; )

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BlackRod added 15:45 - Aug 17 As David Cameron once said "I agree with Nick." In the away end when Ipswich got their second goal there was a collective biting of fingernails and a feeling that we have seen all this before. No-one was thinking how much better we were or that we would eventually run out comfortable winners. This has to be corrected and comments about defenders/goalkeeper should not be taken lightly.The difference between promotion/play-offs and mid-table is being able to stay calm and shut out the opposition when they get the wind behind them. But WTF we scored five goals. It sure felt good at the end and the chant about us being 'the Brazil of the South Coast' wasn't too far of the mark.

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saintBob added 17:28 - Aug 17 Glad to see Dan 'is God' Harding sign a new deal at St Mary's. Nigel Adkins says: "Dan has been superb throughout pre-season and obviously in the first three league games as well. "He was terrific for us last season as well, and I'm really pleased to keep him and so many others here for the long term. "We need to have good competition for places to deal with the injuries and suspensions, and obviously we brought in Danny Fox last week to do that, because the Championship is so demanding."

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COYRalex added 17:52 - Aug 17 Nigel Adkins added: "Dan has been superb throughout pre-season and obviously in the first three league games as well. "He was terrific for us last season as well, and I'm really pleased to keep him and so many others here for the long term. "We need to have good competition for places to deal with the injuries and suspensions, and obviously we brought in Danny Fox last week to do that, because the Championship is so demanding."

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Zambucco added 17:58 - Aug 17 I agree with what you're saying Nick, if we start letting in goals when under pressure, what are we going to be like, when the 'better' teams start putting us under pressure? Anyway that said, I believed before the season started we would be true contenders for the title, our squad is brilliant and the 3 additions are spot on. Especially Jack cork. I loved him when he was here before, now he's so much better. He will continue to grow and dominate midfield, once he's settled in and his confidence is at its maximum, I think he should be made captain. At present we don't need another striker, just one more central defender, another Jaidi, but 10 year younger and English. I'm thinking Tony Adams, Chris Nichol, Dave Batson, big commanding and frightening!! It's great being a Saints fan, and I suppose we have to suffer the nail biting moments, as I'm sure every fan of a team is!

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saintwonston added 22:42 - Aug 17 The boys are playing football like the way Gordon Strachan had us playing Glad to see RL proving the critics wrong. Bring on Millwall
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ITFC_Sweden added 10:31 - Aug 18 Must congratulate you on the way you played. We can have no complaints, and we will continue to ship goals until we get our defence sorted, something I hope we'll have improved by the next time we meet so that we can actually give you a better game. Kelvin always did a good job for us; also, nice to see Dan Harding doing well. He was considered "patchy" during his time at PR - good going forward but a bit of a risk defensively - but I always thought he did a pretty good job. Teams that play football like you do deserve their success (except for the last one that put 5 goals past us at home, but that's another story). COYB!

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