Saturday 8th August 2009

Saints kicked off their League One campaign earlier today with a 1-1 draw at home to Millwall in front of Sky cameras.
The atmosphere at St Marys was electric, with both sets of supporters doing their bit to cheer their teams to three points to start the season. Of course, Millwall fans have a reputation for trouble and this was reflected by the strong police presence around Southampton this afternoon. Apparently there were a few arrests outside The Square in the town centre after the game, but apart from that I believe there weren't too many problems.
On the game now. Saints dominated the first half, continuing to pile the pressure on Millwall in the second half and were rewarded when Matt Patterson scored his first competitive goal at St Marys five minutes after the restart. However, the home side sat back after going 1-0 up, so it was no surprise that Millwall equalised 16 minutes after going behind. Before that, Kelvin Davis saved a penalty, but Southampton's defence was exposed from a corner and failed to deal with the danger to watch Abdou head home.
After scoring, Millwall seemed to rally and both sides had opportunities to grab a winner, but at the final whistle 1-1 seemed a fair result based on the second half. Perhaps if Saints had made their chances and possession count in the first half they may have picked up three points.

I've given each Southampton player a mark out of 10-

Kelvin Davis - 8 - Saved well from the penalty, dealt with most Millwall threw at him.

Greame Murty - 7 - Composed at right back on Saints debut, his long throws in the Millwall penalty area constantly threatened and led to Patterson's goal.

Wayne Thomas - 7 - Very strong in the air, remained solid when Millwall attacked late in the game.

Dan Harding - 8 - MAN OF THE MATCH - The debutant read the game well, restricted opprtunities for Millwall down their left flank and made some great passes out of defence.

Lloyd James - 7 - Looked comfortable in the right midfield role which he rarely plays, could be used there again.

Morgan Schneiderlin - 7 - Recovered well from an early knock, nearly scored twice from long range efforts.

Paul Wotton - 6 - Didn't boss the game in the middle of the park as much as he should have.

Adam Lallana - 6 - Had little influence on the game, but perhaps too much is expected of him.

Matt Patterson - 7 - Good close range finish for his goal, but needs to improve in the air.

Marek Saganowki - 6 - Unlucky to have a first half goal ruled out for a foul on the Millwall 'keeper, he was a constant aerial threat, but didn't do enough running for the team.

Subs-

Oscar Gobern (on for Patterson) - 6 - Should've done better with a goal scoring opportunity late in the game.

Simon Gillett (on for James) - 4 - Gave the ball away too much in dangerous areas.

Jake Thomson (on for Schnedierlin) - 6 - Made little impact when brought on for the last few minutes.

So the point puts Saints on -9 now, with a Carling Cup game at home to Northampton coming up, then trips to Huddersfield and Swindon.