Just when you thought Saints were through the worst of an injury and suspension crisis up it pops again to make Saints task against Premier league leaders Chelsea that much harder.

Saints fans eagerly awaiting team news for the game against Chelsea expected the side to be depleted by the unavailability of Ryan Bertrand unable to play against his parent club, what they didn't expect though was that his fellow full back Nathaniel Clyne would also be missing, in his case through injury.

This made the task against Chelsea that much harder, but the 90 minutes that was to follow showed that this side under Ronald Koeman not only have adaptability, but they are able to knuckle down and fight with the best of them, the fact was that despite having 61% possession, the visitors would only manage 7 shots in total and i on target.

That 1 shot though was the one that earned them a point, Saints switched off in first half injury time and you just cannot do that against Chelsea, especially Eden Hazard who really should have been marshalled out o the touchline, but instead came back cut inside and fired home.

I said in the preview that perhaps the key for Saints would be pace and if we could get at the ageing John Terry and his back four then we had a chance, this we did in fine fashion in the 17th minute when SadioMane showed that if you play to his strengths he can be devastating when he raced clear of Terry and fired Saints into the lead.

From then on though it would be backs to the wall stuff especially in the second half when Chelsea virtually camped in the Saints half, but this was a performance that showed Saints have steel and although they were ran ragged they stuck to their task and each and every man put in a shift.

Perhaps what helped Saints though and was the reason why Chelsea managed so few shots and only that single one on target was that they always seemed to want one more tough, they always wanted to showboat, beat one more man or try one more trick than was really needed, yes Saints did their job, but my overall view was that what is stopping Chelsea being the side they should be is that they showboat too much.

I noticed throughout the game that too many of their forward players only worked when they had the ball, when they didn't they strolled back nonchantly leaving the defensive work to others and this was perhaps why we got a draw and could have sneaked it with the odd breakaway, it cannot be denied Chelsea are good, but they know that and sometimes forget you have to work at it.

But I did not come hear to tell Chelsea were they are going wrong, the praise has togo to a Saints side that played as a team, Matt Targett it should be remembered was starting for the first time in the Premier League and in a side that had to revamp its formation, one based on two attacking full backs, yet he played like a veteran, of course at times he rode his luck, but he also made it though his sheer guts.

It is hard to pick out a man of the match when so many players did such a fine job and showed just what a good squad we are assembling, our first game of 2014 was on New Years Day at home to a Chelsea side who destroyed us emphatically 3-0 leaving us in 9th place and wondering whether our bubble had burst, just under a year later and we are a different kettle of fish with a battling spirit and the ability to change and adapt that wasn't there last year.

So although a game which in fairness we could have collapsed in and been beaten by the same scoreline as in January, we knuckled down and came through meaning we go into 2015 in third place and with aspirations of a good second half of the season that could see us challenge for a fourth place finish.

A good end to the year and for me the only thing missing was Nathaniel Clyne running on to the pitch at the end in his full kit to celebrate with his team mates, now that would have been irony ith a capital I

Photo: Action Images

trotsky added 10:14 - Dec 29 I would say Fonte was the pick of the bunch. The movement from Hazard (and to a lesser extent Costa) with the ball was as good as you will see, but Fonte offered the blueprint as to how to deal with it. He got the right distance from them and shepherded them into cul-de-sacs or bought time for back-up. He was consistently making the right decision as to whether to attack the ball or shadow. Watching from the Chapel in the second half, it looked like a master class.

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Fordy added 10:30 - Dec 29 It's a shame we didn't have Clyne as I doubt we would have conceded a goal like that with him in the side. Apart from anything else, he is quicker than Yoshida so may even have beaten Hazard to the ball in the first place. Morgan's suspension is a shame and it always seems we are missing the big players for the big games. And just as Mané starts to show some form he's off. But overall, a really good performance against a very good side. I would say now that the Arsenal game is probably the biggest of the season so far. Win and we might have an amazing season. Lose and we will probably never catch them and will be in with a group of other clubs such as Spurs, Swansea and West Ham fighting for a Europa spot.

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darthvader added 11:25 - Dec 29 A fine performance . A year ago we would have lost heavily . The lads battled really hard. Morgan's yellows were unfortunate and so was their goal , a little tighter on that occassion to keep him out then who knows ? But then at least at halftime the danger was highlighted . If that happened early in the second Half then maybe Ronnie wouldn't have been able to do or say anything about it . Quality goal by sadio . Looking forward to beating arsenal , will have to be on top form again especially against the ox . 3 points though and fourth is ours for another week at least and confidence will be high for fa cup and man u . Ipswich will be fresh as they haven't played . But we can still beat them with our possession and finishing

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SaintNick added 11:28 - Dec 29 A year ago we did lose heavily, if we draw against Arsenal then we still stay fourth for another week, but I think we can win
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saintmark1976 added 12:16 - Dec 29 As usual a balanced report Nick. This was a battling Saints performance to be proud of against a very good team. My only concern was the manner of the spiders sending off.Was it really necessary to hack their player down in his own half? Now we will be without spider for the Arsenal game who by coincidence are touted as his next employer especially with the window coming up shortly. I wonder if it would simply be best to let him do a Lovern,pocket the money and move on. On a different note what is the nature of the injury to Clyne please?Will he be back for Thursday?

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TimSaint added 13:32 - Dec 29 Oh how the media and Morinho annoy the living whatsit out of me. Chelsea don't win, so Jose does his usual deflecting tactics about the penalty and the media take it to the extremes, question him so much and just report on that. There is no talk about the game and that Saints did really well thwarting the blue machine. Costa barely got a sniff añd we constantly frustrated then with our defensive display. There was no mention that Chelsea only mustered one shot on target, or the fact that Saints actually scored !!! Yes it was possibly a penalty, but contact was minimal and not really enough to make a grown man fall. But even if it was a pen, it is not a guaranteed goal and does not necessarily win them the game. Chelsea have previous in the diving stakes so they have made a rod for their own backs. What is perhaps less favourable to the media, but more apt to us, is the campaign AGAINST Saints. We have had countless decisions go against us this season. Shane Long has been pole axed twice in the box and failed to get free kicks, let alone penalties, yesterday all the Chelsea players were going down once they lost the ball and surrounding the ref at every decision. How we got so many bookings is beyond me - there is just no consistency and it was definitely a foul against us before the Chelsea goal. Pelle got book for the same foul on Hazzard as Ivanovic on Long, but did the Chelsea player get booked ? A big resounding no of course. I guess 'we march on' under the radar, with our injuries and suspensions - carrying on upsetting the odds and the top 4, so with a few Jan additions, hopefully we can upset a few more teams, their managers and maybe even the media. Can't help but think that if we or west ham finish in the top 6, it will be a bad premier league season with too many teams in transition that allowed either of us to gate crash the party. What they should note though is that we are alson in transition !!!

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BoondockSaint added 14:06 - Dec 29 Agree TimSaint! In previous rants I've mentioned how there is a "pecking order" mentality among the refs. For examle, Spurs get the benefit over us, but ManU get the calls when they play Spurs. Just as there was "Fergie Time" when ManU ruled the roost, look how the ref found 4 extra minutes to give Chelsea a chance to win it against us! I love how Jose complains about "other managers" planting the seed in the minds of refs that Chelsea are a bunch of divers. It's the same type of mind games he plays!

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davepid added 15:54 - Dec 29 TimsInt I would normally agree with u over the media coverage of the saints but in recent months at least some of them have reported extensively and / or favourably on our progress this season as well as our academy . The Times, Guardian and the Daily Telegraph have all done this. The BBC and Sky have also given a rounded account of our progress though the running order of motd over the last two programmes was baffling. The question that the thoughtful media hacks are asking is if saints can run an academy why can't anyoneelse ( apart from Everton) Coyrs I

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Jesus_02 added 09:16 - Dec 30 The media concentrate on the “big decisions” because it’s easy. They do not commented on how Chelsea controlled the ref because it is difficult to articulate. Some people call it gamesmanship, but I call it cheating. Just the right amount of contact with a player before he receives the ball and conversely, a well-timed stumble and fall at the touch of a feather, helps enormously to retain possession. Yes Morgan’s second yellow was spot on but maybe it was borne of the frustration that Long had just been taken down by the last man, we didn’t get a free kick and we lost possession.

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TimSaint added 11:20 - Dec 30 Davepid - i wass talking specifically about the media coverage from the Chelsea game and not the season in general. Most of the reports and paper reviews i read focused soley on the penalty that never was and because of this, there was little space to write about the actual match. Chelsea didn't win, so the press asked why - the excuse was not just a penalty that was not given, but the fact that there is a whole campaign against Chelsea. I managed to look at a copy of the Times sport section and the report for our game. Yes it centred on the penalty that never was and even devoted a section about it and the diving yellow cards Chelsea have had this season. The report itself was not exactly accurate, especially for our goal and failed to mention many of the important things that hgappened in the match,but was quite a good read. It was strange that they mentioned a couple of times how tired Chelsea looked. Maybe this was down to Saints making them look tired from the way we played, or perhaps they were playing lots of gamesover the festive period - just like all the other teams - and Chelsea have one of the biggest squads to handle this !! Finally there was a small but very interesting piece about Koeman that perhaps nick could find and post. It was basicially saying that ee are doing really well and have been unlucky of late with certain results, injuries ans suspensions. On top of this, we are in a fixture list from hell that lasts nearly 2 months, but RK just gets on with it, where as someone like Jose would bemoan the FA for months and accuse them of ruining Chelsea's season.

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davepid added 13:30 - Dec 30 To saint, sorry for misreading your original post.
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