I had a alightly iffy feeling about this one, 2 teams on a good run of form should make for an interesting match, but Town with several injuries plus a suspension left me thinking perhaps that the enforced changes would throw us off. In fact, when I looked at the line-up, there were no shocks in there and no faces we'd not seen in the last few games anyway.

Jim stuck with Lewis Price in goal despite a few suggesting his gaff against Birmingham might cost him his place. Simon Walton was missing, Sylvain Legwinski too which meant that Darren Currie started along with Matt Richards. Sito again made the starting line-up and put in another improving performance.

10 minutes in and Sunderland had put us under enough pressure to indicate that I might have been right. We were taking time to settle and the visitors had obviously come with the intent of getting us rattled from the off. But after 15 minutes or so something seemed to change - Sunderland suddenly developed a nasty streak and 2 or 3 bad challenges went in which got the crowd going and Town reacted too. The Ref didn't do anything to stamp his authority on the game, and in the first half flashed a few yellows Sunderlands way when they could easily have found themselves two players down with another man in charge. They certainly looked like Keane's side, especially the elbowing incident that Sito found himself on the wrong end of.

For all their physical strength though, we had managed to keep them pretty comfortably at bay, and shot on target were rare. It took an own goal to break the deadlock, and what a scorcher it was from Jason Dev Vos. Totally against the run of play, but thankfully we held our nerve and were level within minutes from a deftly placed Darren Currie free kick that bounced in front of the keeper before finding the inside of the far post.

The second half was nothing of a spectacle and ambled on until we went ahead 20 minutes in. Alan Lee suddenly gave the game another spark of life by scoring a superb header. As he chased a high ball heading wide left of the goal, the goalie cam out to meet him but he looped a huge header right back over to the far post. It took just another couple of minutes for him to put the game beyond doubt, when he raced onto a ball the Sunderland defence failed to clear outside the box. The keeper had no option but to come out towards Lee, who knocked it wide of him and skipped around him leaving him free to pass the ball at an angle into the empty net.

I seemed to notice Macken more in this game - he was pretty lively and creative and had one or two chances. He was replaced by Billy Clarke later on who set about his usual terrorising of the oppositions defence. It was Clarke who finally forced the Referee into doing what he'd been resisting all game by sending a Sunderland player off. He bullied and jinxed his way past one defender and tapped the ball beyond the last man, and when he looked to be sprinting away with only the keeper to beat, Ross Wallace bulldozered into him and sent him sprawling giving the ref no option - although he did only get his second yellow and not a straight red. Shame really that Billy didn't have the chance to score and make the scoreline reflect just how we mopped the floor with the Black Cats today.

Like most, I thought a draw would seem a pretty good result up at the home of the favourites for promotion this year, but I can't help feeling a tad disappointed at not taking all 3 away from St.Andrews. We lead the game twice and dominated for periods, although of course we were under the cosh at times too. Add to that the fact that both goals were quite easily avoidable and the result of simple mistakes from Towm - a spill from Lewis Price and a silly free kick from Sito - and you could argue that the home side were fortunate to salvage and retain their unbeaten home record.

Five games ago though after a promising performance at Posh, not many would have predicted an unbeaten run of four games, taking 10 points to haul us up into the respectable end of the table. Nice to see certain "big clubs" freefalling in the opposite direction too - especially as I have friends who support them and had enjoyed bleating at Town`s expense early season when they actually believed they were too good for the division. Time will tell of course, but I'd take our position over quite a few others right now.

From a more traditionally Suffolkonian angle, you might simply say enjoy it while it lasts.

Pictures now online, click link below

Naylor`s
testimonial
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George Burley returned to Portman Road for the second time in just over a week, all smiles last week as he left the ground, but probably not so after today having seen his side dominate half the match and surrender a lead they took in the second minute.

Town fielded one of the two new faces that further bolstered the squad this week, loan signing Jon Macken starting upfront partnering Alan Lee. Some might have wanted to see Billy Clarke from the off after his excellent display at QPR, but having hardly trained since that match he was deemed not to be fit enough. The other new boy Sylvain “Leggy” Legwinski took to the bench.

What a start to the game. I’d barely had a chance to echo the words of someone seated a few places behind me, that Southampton were getting acres of space right there in our box, out wide on the right too for that matter, when they stuck one in the net. Didn’t look too difficult either, Kenwyne Jones having trapped the ball, turned and taken a step, tied his shoelace before shooting from 6 yards without challenge. Shabby stuff at the back.

The visitors continued to dominate, and it looked in danger of becoming one of those embarrassing defeats. Burley must’ve been pretty smug at this stage and quite rightly so. It seemed an age before we even had an attempt on goal. Our passing and flowing play that got us three points at QPR in such style a fortnight ago had gone without trace.

Many thought the game was slipping completely from our grasp as Southampton stuck the ball beyond Lewis Price for a second time, but thankfully the linesman had raised his flag for an offside. Half time couldn’t come quick enough.

No changes after the break, at least in personnel, but the attitude of the players appeared to have altered – obviously Jim had given them a gentle ear-bashing in the dressing room and it seemed to have worked. We were keeping the ball down on the floor and passing up through the midfield, it looked far more composed and the crowd responded.

The first substitution was the withdrawal of Matt Richards who was getting some stick from the terraces after more than one or two misplaced passes, debutant Sylvain Legwinski given a warm welcome in his place. He had a tidy game and didn’t seem to make any gaffs, a solid enough start.

We were still not a real threat though, Jon Macken had not made much impact in the game so far, and Jim took him off and brought on Billy Clarke who got a great reception. He lifted the game and began chasing down every ball. He certainly gets the crowd going and it rubbed off onto his team mates too.

We had to wait a while for the equaliser and it took a penalty decision to hand us the opportunity, although we had created chances before Alan Lee was daftly felled in the area for a penalty. Lee did look to have been impeded, but was wide of the goal and chasing the ball to the back line at the time so the defender didn’t really need to worry that much. Simon Walton again stepped up to take the pen as he had done at QPR, “Oh no! Richards has gone off – who’ll take it?” was not heard echoing around the ground.

Just ten minutes or so later though, we took the lead through a great goal from the young sub Billy Clarke, who ran in at the far post to meet a long cross from Noble, and although the ball looked like it should be at least punched away by Davis, he actually flapped helplessly at it and the Town striker rose to nod home.

Southampton were like a wounded animal and upped their aggression, and sought an equaliser and as the game wore on Town reverted to soaking up the pressure and allowing wave after wave of attack to come at them.. It wasn’t pretty and I’m sure it’s not good for you to watch that sort of game. Four minutes of added time didn’t help matters, and neither did the shot that looked to have crossed the line as it hung mid-air in the goalmouth. The lino said no, and so did the boot of Richard Naylor who hoofed it away.

Three points at last came our way and jubilation followed. The players were applauded from the field, and they’ll surely take so much confidence from that. Tough one on Tuesday against an in-form Coventry. Clarke to start, I say.