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After the disappointment of losing to a very fortunate Reading side, a result that knocked us from the top spot in the Championship, I said in my last blog that Saints need to hold their nerve in order to achieve promotion.
With West Ham breathing down our necks and in good goal scoring form, we had a potentially difficult looking Tuesday night trip to a Peterborough side, who had only been outscored on home territory by ourselves and West Ham. In fact Reading lost at London Road only a few weeks ago, their only defeat in the middle of their great run of form that has seen them promoted with two games to go.
I also commented in my last blog entry that playing away may well benefit the Saints players, as in the last two home games they have looked edgy, as the expectation of a fervent home crowd may have added a little extra pressure.
So on a chilly, breezy and damp evening in eastern England the Saints players took to the field accompanied by the encouraging roars of over 3,000 travelling fans. Some were confident, some were pessimistic but nearly all were nervous, as anything less than three points could leave the door open for West Ham.
With our record of not having lost this season after scoring first, we needed to grab a vital early lead, and we did just that in the fifth minute, when Jos Hooiveld managed to do what he couldn’t against Reading, and that was to score with a near post header from a corner. After failing to make proper contact with his head on Friday night, this time he got it spot on, to help settle any early jitters. Then five minutes later the situation got even better, when Billy Sharp slammed home the second to give us a comfortable lead against a surprisingly impotent Peterborough attack.
Saints were nothing less than comfortable on a night that could have been the proverbial ‘banana skin’, and they never really had to raise their game after repelling all that Peterborough had to offer. A third goal by Billy Sharp; his second of the night, and sixth in six games; early in the second-half sealed the win, and despite a late Peterborough rally that earned them a consolation goal, we always looked secure. It was a great response to that defeat against Reading, a result that obviously hurt the players as much as it did the fans, and with the added bonus of West Ham dropping two points at Bristol City, we are nearly over the finishing line.
Those dropped points by the Hammers meant Reading’s win over Nottingham Forest secured their promotion, and despite my tongue-in-cheek comment in my last blog, where I congratulated the Royals on winning the title, I firmly believe that if we win our last two games we can still be crowned champions.
So now on to Middlesbrough on Saturday evening, where a win will see us put an end to our Premier League exile after a gap of seven years. It is certainly a winnable game, with Middlesbrough struggling for goals on home soil, and if we can grab an early lead then there is no reason why we cannot go on a get the win, which will allow us to relax for the final game of the season against Coventry.
Unfortunately I will not be in Middlesbrough on Saturday evening, but I will be at home, hoping that we can finally win a live televised game, a feat we have rarely achieved in recent months. Needless to say, the Champagne is already on ice!
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