A good point that was nearly thrown away at the death due to the diving antics of Grant Holt.

It felt like a win at the end of the game after a great penalty save from Artur Boruc in the final seconds of the game, but in many respects this game was like several road trips before it, a great performance where we really should have had the points wrapped up long before the end, but due to a lack of finishing we didnt.

Mauricio Pochettino raised a few eyebrows with his starting line up, the dropping of Clyne and the playing of Yoshida at right back seemed a strange decision as did the selection of both Lallana and Ramirez and leaving Steve Davis on the bench, however the manager had said earlier he wasnt going to let poor results affect his decision making and this proved the case and thats a good positive thing from a manager, better to have one that sticks to his guns and believes in what he is doing than one that panics.

From the start Saints go to grips with the game although it has to be said Norwich had a few moments thenselves when they could have scored, Saints 15 attempts on target plus  7 off compared to the home sides 3 on and 2 off tells a story of hos Saints attacked with vigour and really should have put a goal on the board, but Norwich could easily have had a penalty a cross flashed virtually across the goaline seemed sure to be turned in by Holt, replays have since confirmed that Luke Shaw tugged him back, for once we got the rub of the green.

Overall though Saints set up was strong, they dominated for long periods and it was only some good goalkeeping a few near misses and to be blunt a few that really should have been buried that meant the game went into injury time goaless, once again though a lack of concentration let us down, but this time it wouldnt prove fatal, Holt was going away from goal with Luke Shaw behind him he suddenly went to ground and the referree inexplicably awarded a penalty, he consulted his lines man who was no more than ten yards from the incident and who hdnt flagged, but this didnt change his mind, in fairness to Shaw TV replays showed that Hold had dived, however hopefully the young left back will learn another hard lesson and realise that in this league you have to be very careful and next time wont get so close when he really doesnt need to, too many players in the league will dive Im afraid..

So with baited breath and injury time now just about up, up stepped the villain of the piece Grant Holt, he hit his spot kick with power and accuracy, but Artur Boruc was equal too it and beat it out, 46 seconds later the whistle was blown for full time.

Once again Mark Clattenburg has to be called into question, the penalty decision was diabolical and with two officials so close to the incident it really shouldnt have been too hard to  spot, the only way to stop this blatant diving is to take retrospective action, players caught on camera diving as Holt did should receive an automatic one match ban for the first offence, two matches for the second and so on, I doubt many would continue with this play acting when faced with 3 or 4 match bans for being caught out.

One other thing that I noticed not only watching the game but on checking the match facts after was the amount of injury time played, the decision was given, 46 seconds into 3 minutes injury time, it took 2 minutes of jostling and consultation of the linesman etc before the penalty was taken, the whistle was blown exactly 46 seconds later, of the 3 minutes allotted time Clattenburg in reality played exactly half of that, the ball being in play for only 1 /1/2 minutes in total, I detact a sense of guilt from Clattenburg who sensing he had made one mistake felt that justice had been served and he didnt want to leave enough time for a goal that would perhaps leave Saints hard done by.

A lot of positives from this performance, in the pre match articles i mentioned that this game was about Saints proving to themselves that they can defend and not have lapses in concentration and make errors, they almost did that to perfection, but the fact is the team will probably feel that its luckk turned with that penalty save, that one incident might well be a pivotal moment in this season and can give us the springboard to push on and get clear of the drop zone, there are still tough times ahead, but after this we can have a little more hope.

Photo: Action Images

ExiledSupporter added 12:56 - Mar 10 We have all discussed and broadly agree that individual defensive errors and lack of concentration have cost us heavily over the whole of this season, so as you say it was good to see a performance with many fewer lapses of this sort. However it brings into focus a worrying trend, particularly noticeable since we have been playing a higher tempo more pressing game, namely that despite having the majority of possession in most of Pochettino's seven games to date (with the notable exception of Newcastle) and, in general, significantly more attempts at goal than the opposition (although a higher proportion are off target vs the opposition totals) and usually winning more corners,we still are failing miserably to make our dominance count. We do appear prone to blazing the ball over the bar with too great a regularity or driving the ball straight at their keeper after creating good openings for ourselves by some slick play. There were three or four occasions vs Norwich where we should have tested their keeper more seriously and I would have argued that we should have been at least two ahead before we had to rely on Boruc's heroism to salvage a point which we should never have settled for had we capitalised on our domination earlier. We need to get a great deal more ruthless at this, urgently.

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slynch added 14:45 - Mar 10 Pochettino's wild dogs hounded down those Canaries from the off and tore Norwich to ribbons. They didn't get the ball for long periods and when they did they'll be chased down till they give it back. They'll fell into their own half and clogged up the penalty area and Saints with the correct personnel could have won 0 - 2. However, some knocks and bruises and maybe a little experiment forced Pochettino in to some line-up changes from his strongest team. Davis would have added some grit in the centre of the park and the team may have benefitted from Lallana coming on later and Yosh did well out of position but doesn't quite possess the creative skills of Clyne. Hooi and Fonte back together gave those watching the confidence, for once, that every set piece wasn't bound to be a goal. All that and the Somme-like conditions added up to a draw. Norwich put in a shift and weren't without merit and the draw seemed fair. In a recent interview Spiderman admitted all his running efforts were like a headless chicken and that under Pochettino his enthusiasm has been channeled to greater effect; certainly he seems to covering his main responsibilities a little better these days. Boruc saved a penalty and so the point but an incident just after that showed his real skill. A team member went to congratulate him on the save and Boruc pushed him away so violently he nearly fell to the ground, he berated him further, to keep his eye on the game which was still progressing behind him. A defence struggles to see movement behind it and continual instructions from a keeper makes a huge difference; I see Boruc developing in confidence and becoming the Captain of the defence.

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moran89thmin added 15:37 - Mar 10 It was 15 goal attempts with seven on target for us, and three goal attempts with two on target for Norwich....
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thegeneral added 18:23 - Mar 10 It has become usual and rightly so to give the defence a damn good slagging after many games, so why should our strike force escape criticism? Again we had the majority of possession and chances but still failed to score. Delivery from set pieces was appaling and Luke Shaw when he did get forward was the only one beating players and crossing well. Lallana went missing for the majority of the second half and Lambert only became effective when going wide, J-Rod made a few good runs and showed pace but lacked the end product. After so much domination it felt to me like points dropped rather than a point gained. Yoshida did ok defensively but was absolutely no threat going forward.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 19:42 - Mar 10 We created enough chances to win 2 or 3 games but we seem to lack that ruthlessness in front of goal. We need to convert more of our chances to make all of the good play before it worthwhile. Luke Shaw was phenominal down the left. We've got one hell of a player there. His forward runs with the ball are starting to look Bale esc! Even before the penalty save Boruc had a great game for us. He's a sound keeper. Commanding. Overall it was a good performance that deserved a win. Saints have just got to take their chances and do the basics well in defence and the points will come.

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BlackRod added 23:30 - Mar 10 Another somewhat optimistic analysis. What happened to the pundit who wrote this column last year who tried to find a cloud for every silver lining? Draw was a fair result in the atrocious conditions. Fact is we only got one point and are sinking back into the mire. With Liverpool, Chelsea at home and Reading away we'll be lucky if we get one point out of the next three. Meanwhile QPR are motoring in the other direction and there are signs that Villa will pick up too. Newcastle's win today takes them out of danger. Who will go down with Wigan and Reading?

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TreeHugger added 04:49 - Mar 11 i thought the team dominated again but we are still lacking a cutting edge in the final third. I heard clyne was carrying a knock hence the change there. shaw looked awesome again. Lambert looks a bit tired and i think he could do with being rested against liverpool or chelsea. Jrod is getting better, hopefully he will continue to develop as he has so much potential. Have to agree about the crossing. some of it was awful. Given the conditions it could have gone eitehr way so a draw is probably a fair result. although we had more chance, the norwich chances were a bit more clear cut, penalty claim in first half, snodgrass one on one and then the penalty at the end. The next two games are huge and if we find ourselves back in the bottom 3 we cant get on their backs. these tough games will even out and we must support the team no matter what

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Kiwifiedpom1 added 06:12 - Mar 11 I agree with what has been said and like others on here am puzzled as to why suddenly we can't convert all the chances we create
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SaintJez added 08:59 - Mar 11 A result that leaves us in a worrying position with games against in form Liverpool, and a quality Chelsea side, to come next. Hard to be too critical of the performance as we outplayed Norwich throughout but we need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Obvious culprits are Lallana and Lambert who needed to show more compsure when chances arrived (Lallana especially - take a touch!!). More concerning for me is wrong option Ramirez. He's definitely more super deluxe than match winner right now. I still believe he has the quality to be a star but he's got to be more of a team player and make better decisions on the ball. Clearly the penalty never was but Shaw looked very leggy as he turned to chase the ball over his shoulder. Had been a great performance from him on a draining pitch but energy levels til the last minute are important at this level of football. This is a minor criticism as the kid is 17 yrs old and was fantastic throughout but a fitter, sharper Shaw would have turned quicker than oil tanker Holt and been first in the race anyway - hence not getting into the position that allowed the ref to embarrass himself. Great save from Boruc. He has been a revelation since those horror early displays. Our season will now be defined by the games in April so I suggest we treat Liverpool and Chelsea as "freebies" and have a real good go at them. You never know they may under-estimate us, as Man City did, and we can take away the points. On our day, we can give any side a decent game - just need to work on making better decisions in the final third and to keep our composure when we get there!

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sidsaint added 09:17 - Mar 11 One week we're all complaining about the defence leaking goals the next week it's the attack that's let us down. Let's hope we can get the whole team gelling at the same time. We must get something from our 2 home games, although they are against quality opposition. If we don't we could lose confidence going into the final stages and we could be back in the bottom three, especially as the teams around us have easier fixtures. However I would not discount other teams being dragged down into the bottom of the table dog-fight.Let's hope we have another Man City performance in us.

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SaintNick added 09:20 - Mar 11 One thing that has struck me after reading the comments is how Luke Shaw perhaps epitomises Saints performances at the minute, several of you have commented how Shaw was immense man of the match etc, but two pivotal moments in the match fell in his lap and could have changed the game, the first was in the first half when he allowed Holt to get in front of him and tugged him back, the second was the penalty that was given when he got too close to Holt and gave him the chance to fall over, this is typical saints at present, dominant for long periods but found wanting at crucial moments, this applies to virtually everyone in the team at some point in a game

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LondonSaint added 12:01 - Mar 11 Good read, agree with your comments about Clattenburg - wasn't very impressed with his performance... Likes being centre of attention, perhaps... Yoshida understandably shaky at times at RB (and obviously crossing/shooting isn't his strength!) but worth mentioning some great blocks/tackles to prevent a couple of goals. Most disappointing aspect of the match was set-play delivery - whatever anyone thinks of Fox his set pieces and crossing are fantastic. Under NA I was getting used to good results against teams in the bottom half (with the exception of Sunderland) but likely defeats against the big teams - I get the feeling the way MP gets the team playing we stand more of a chance against the bigger teams who are less willing to change the way they play to counter little old Saints so am strangely optimistic about the upcoming couple of games. Or maybe just blind faith!

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Scummer added 12:35 - Mar 11 I think we can raise it a notch for the next two games. Good to see Poch show faith in Hooiveld again despite OG #3, and the player respond with another commanding aerial display. We do miss Fox's delivery on the pitch. Perhaps he should play in front of Shaw...
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Fordy added 12:44 - Mar 11 Oh no please no Hooiveld and Fox against Liverpool. Hooiveld is just about OK against the likes of Holt, but when he's come up against class like Tevez, Aguero or RVP he has been found wanting. Suarez will do the same. And I'd hate to think what Sturridge and Suarez will do against Fox. At least Shaw has the pace, if not the experience, to cope with them.
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TimSaint added 13:37 - Mar 11 Disappointed not to collect all 3 points here, especially with our domination and chances, but yet again, we are failing to take the lead or indeed kill games off, like Wigan A, or Norwich H etc. Grant Holt clearly dived and to be fair - was my most hated Prem player even before Saturday - after his JPT antics at St Mary's in 2010. He is twice the age and twice the weight of Shaw, so obviously dived - and he clearly pushed Shaw before the ball was played over - which was not flagged for. Speaking of flags, the linesman didn't put his flag across his chest to signal a pen, so not sure why he was even consulted. Holt should have been booked for diving and would have been sent off. Granted though, the first half incident was one we got away with. After mentioning diving and punishment etc, please all cast our minds back to 12th Jan - when we were awarded an even dodgier pen that sealed out win away to Aston Villa. Maybe this was the evening itself out incident that so many players, managers and pundits regularly mention. With Liverpool and Chelsea looking quite good yesterday, I am not sure we will be getting too much from our next 2 home games - although how Suarez didn't get his 10th yellow of the season and miss our game, is a joke !! As already mentioned on here, April will be our defining month - so lets all get behind the lads and cheer them on to survival.

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Scummer added 14:51 - Mar 11 @Fordy I think you misunderstand me. I don't think Hooivekd should start every game by any means, but if you are defending against a target man that is good in the air but slow on the ground then I can see why Poch picks him when he does. And I also like the fact that he doesn't knee jerk drop players, which is good for team unity. Secondly, I wouldnt (ever) select Fox in preference to Shaw at LB unless we were 100% camped in their half. Shaw is quicker (both feet and brain), more solid defensively and his surges down the left are causing problems. I was suggesting that playing him at LM rather than LB, in front of Shaw. I think that we might just need someone more defensively minded than Lallana / Ramirez / Rodriguez on that side with the threat that they have. And it would also mean that you have Shaw overlapping at times and Fox pinging in those crosses for Lambert. I'm not 100% sold on the idea as I think that J-Rod in particular has grown into that role, but worthy of consideration.

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SaintNick added 14:59 - Mar 11 Shaw overlaps a lot more than he did do as he gets more experience, but his crossing is somewhat lacking at present
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