JPT Final Carlisle United 1 Saints 4

Dean Hammond and Kelvin Davis lifting the Johnstone's Paints Trophy earlier this afternoon at Wembley! Well done Southampton - it is great to have won something - it's been a grim 5 years before this season.

Pyrotechnics as the teams were presented

An occasion for all ages to celebrate.

The beautiful game.

Impressive architecture - this was my first visit to the 'new' Wembley.

Everyone was up for it - a true red and white army!

It was a great day out - not just because we won. There were 45,000 Saints fans in the stadium and 30,000 Carlisle fans - we didn't hear much from them.

It was very much a workman-like performance from Saints - nothing flash, they were there to do a job and they did it. Next Saturday and it's back to the grind with an away match at Brighton. If Saints win all remaining games and teams above us slip up, there is a chance we will make it to the play-offs. In which case, it will be back to Wembley.

Well done Southampton Football Club. Grateful thanks to Markus Leibherr, Nicola Cortese and Alan Pardew.

COYR

Saints 3 Hartlepool United 2

It wasn't only the weather that made it hard going for Saints tonight! The inclusion of Papa Waigo for the absent Lallana (injured?) saw Saints in a new formation with Papa 'in the hole' behind Lambert and Barnard. It didn't work. Saints were out of shape and no-one seemed to know what they were meant to do. Once we went back to 4-4-2 it all began to fall into place - except for Hartlepool taking the lead! Jason Puncheon had a terrible game and seemed intent on only passing to people in blue!

In the second half Schneiderlin was taken off - I hope only as a precaution, and replaced by Wotton. At that point Saints lost control of the mid-field and with that the game. We went 3-1 up but Austin scored with a well-placed shot from 30 yards to bring it back to 3-2 - a great goal.

Hartlepool were supported by about 100 travelling fans - well done them.

Everyone was a little pre-occupied with Sunday. See you at Wembley?

COYR

We're on our way to Wembley!

My tickets finally arrived yesterday - a whole 7 days before the game! Amazing.

Looking forward to tonight's warm-up against Hartlepool United and then it's all eyes on Wembley.

COYR

Chris Rea at the The New Theatre Oxford

Firstly an admission that this is a pic I borrowed from a web search.

Secondly, let me begin by mentioning the support act Paul Casey from Derry in Northern Ireland. A singer songwriter of some ability. I particularly enjoyed the way in which he was able to coax a range of sound that was akin to an orchestra in its breadth, from his acoustic steel-stringed guitar. It was only a 25 minute set, but it was a strong performance and he deserves to do well. His self-deprecating patter between songs was an act of entertainment in its own right.

Paul Casey performing in Derry (with another borrowed pic!)

Now, back to the main act.

This is the first time I had seen Chris Rea live. I have owned a couple of his albums for a number of years. I am a natural fan of blues of rock so I guess it's easy to see that I would like this stuff. He didn't disappoint. What was refreshing was that he was accompanied by an additional five musicians that meant the sound-scape was rich and vibrant, full of detail and power - which was restrained more than uncontrolled. With two additional guitars, it was a full-on sound. what is more is the bass was allowed to be way forward in the mix which gave the whole thing  a driving urgency that demanded emotional engagement.

It is a matter of taste whether you prefer the slide guitar that Rea has become an acknowledged master of, or something more 'pure' like David Gilmour's Pink Floyd style (yes I know he plays slide very well too!). What is beyond doubt is Rea's vocal style which is forceful and gravelly.

The set was 1 hour 40 minutes to the second, including encore - extremely energising and enjoyable. A new studio album is due out in June once he has completed this marathon tour. Check it out.

La Belle France

As I'm on holiday this week I made another quick raid on the French with a friend yesterday. After the obligatory quick shop in Calais, we ventured inland to St Omer where we enjoyed a very good lunch in a small cafe called Le Zinc in Place Foch. I would particularly recommend the crab salad entree.

After lunch we made for the Office De Tourisime to seek directions to the 'anciens port' only to be told "there is nothing there - only 'ouses"! Nevertheless we made our way to the 'ouses and enjoyed the old canal waterfront of St Omer.

Just north of the town, on the same canal, we were surprised to see quite large boats and barges plying their trade. From there we followed the canal to the sea and enjoyed a brisk walk along the endless expanse of flat sand - not far from the beaches of Dunkirk.

By chance we made it back on a earlier than booked ferry which meant that we home at a reasonable hour. What added to the value was the fact that there is stiff competition amongst the three ferry operators sailing out of Dover. I was able to book the return day-trip for £20 with P&O. When we checked in I received a voucher for a by-one-get-one-free breakfast offer and also a voucher for a free half-case of Californian wine - no strings attached, simply £18.54 of wine for free! That meant we had in excess of £26 of freebies and so were £6 up even before we reached France. An exhaustive price comparison showed that the ferry prices for spirits were cheaper than Tesco Vins and Auchan, so a good day for P&O. Also, we have decided that Monday's represent the best opportunity to miss the crowds as both he ferry and the shops were almost empty.

A very good day out.

Shutter Island

My review of this film is here.

MK Dons 0 Saints 3

Here we go again - this courtesy of a Rickie Lambert hat-trick. It really demonstrates the only part of our performance that is lacking is consistency. This was a useful win as it cements us in 10th place in the table, 13 points off the play-offs. That is still a very hard ask. With 30 points up for grabs it will be hard - but not impossible.

Next week we play Hartlepool at home on Tuesday which should be an easy victory - but they are the ones that cause us difficulty! Then next Sunday we are off to Wembley to play Carlisle in the final of the Johnstone's Paints Trophy.

COYR

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A review of this film can be found here.

Saints 0 Swindon Town 1

Well done Swindon! They had obviously done their homework, they were energetic, harried us from the start and deserved their win. Saints were lethargic, clueless and for most of the match operated in headless-chicken mode. It will be interesting to see the pass completion stats as most Saints passes went to the opposition.

During the warm up, Swindon looked more like a youth team. During the match Saints looked like a group of jaded geriatrics - perhaps we have played too many games of late. With a crowd of just under 21000, the 2000 away fans certainly made themselves heard.

Well done Swindon Town,

COYR

Mairearad Green - Passing Places

If you want to listen to something different, try this album from Mairearad Green from Wester Ross in Scotland. I was watching BBC Alba - as you do - one evening and they were showing Celtic Connections which was a festival of contemporary Scottish folk music. It was amazing.

As it says on her site, "Written for Celtic Connections 2009, takes the form of a musical and filmic journey through the spectacular scenery and cultural riches of the Coigach peninsula, in Mairearad’s native Wester Ross."

Her composition and accordion playing style is very lyrical and the songs move along with a fair lilt. Every now and again the music lapses into a highland jazz-lounge fusion which is a bit awkward at first but after a few listens begins to settle down!

I would recommend this - well worth a listen.

Saints 1 Leeds United 0

COYR

Yesterday I  had the pleasure of witnessing the most complete Saints performance for some years. It was always going to be a tough game and with Beckford and Becchio up front for Leeds it was always going to be difficult - more so than recent games at Norwich or at home to Huddersfield.

Saints dominated the first half and despite many good attempts, including Puncheon hitting the post, Saints only managed one goal. It was a hard-fought contest with the poorest refereeing performance I think I have ever seen. No wonder he is now in the third tier when he used to be a Premier League regular! Poor.

Southampton defended from the front and Lee Barnard was particularly effective in chasing everything down. The midfield four were resolute in cutting out any advances Leeds attempted to make and on the odd occasion when they did penetrate, the centre-backs were immense with Jose Fonte my man of the match.

In the second half Leeds were more effective but fortunately could not beat Kelvin Davis who probably only had one save to make all game. Not only did Southampton score the only goal, but they defended their lead for 3/4 of the game and never really looked like surrendinering it - unlike the old days, or even earlier this season.

It is a hard ask to imagine Saints will make the play-off places, but if they do, I'm certain it will be Championship football next season with Leeds and Norwich.

The win was so exhilarating that I am still riding on the adrenaline rush it gave me yesterday! A brilliant feeling. These are good times to be a Saints supporter.

COYR

Tranmere Rovers 2 Saints 1

Well, it had to come to an end sometime! After a fine run we lost. Beaten more by the pitch and Referee - and of course our own inability to score more goals than the opposition. It would have been good to have won yesterday as many of the teams above us stumbled. It now seems like it will take a miracle for us to reach the play-off places.

New blog for movies

I am aware that my posts are of subjects that interest me and therefore may be of no interest to others whatsoever! I blog to aid my own personal reflection and engagement with the things I blog about. You will have picked up that movies, football and how to be Christian today are my main areas.

For those who find hacking through the tedium of Southampton's latest match reports hard work, I know you're out there - I have created a movie specific blog here.

I have transferred all my existing movie posts to it and will from now on only post movie stuff on the meaning in movies blog.

I hope that will help - if not, do let me know.

Saints 5 Huddersfield Town 0

Having beaten Walsall 5-1 three days earlier, I was more than a little anxious that we had spent our goal-scoring capital and the coffers would be empty. Huddersfield are going strong and it should have been a hard game. However, Southampton came out the blocks with all guns firing and never took their collective finger off the trigger. Huddersfield were not able to get into their stride and were completely overwhelmed.

Saints looked like a team from a higher division and were completely dominant. The back four were solid and Jose Fonte never looked like letting anything past. The midfield controlled the game breaking up Huddersfield attacks and then creatively distributing the ball to allow a counter-attack to be launched. It was heartening too to see five different scorers which underlines that the whole side is a threat in front of goal.

It was a great atmosphere - if but a little chilly with a freezing breeze flowing in from the sea.

Dare we dream of a place in the play-offs? The goals can be found here for UK viewers.

COYR