Southampton 1 - 1 West Ham United

Saturday 13th April

15:00

St Mary's

Southampton vs West Ham United

Goalscorers

1-0 Gaston Ramirez 59'

1-1 Andy Carroll 66'

Analysis

Another week, another point away from home. Considering how awfully we were playing away from the Boleyn earlier in the season, another away point should be seen as a real achievement.

Southampton aren't an easy team to get a result from, particularly at St Mary's (just ask Rafa Benitez), so to come away with a point is a very good result.

I wrote in my match preview that Jay Rodriguez would be key when deciding the outcome of this game. Well, I was kind of right. Rodriguez absence was clear throughout, with his replacement on the left, Steven Davis, unable to offer the same dynamism that the young Englishman had displayed in recent weeks.

A key feature of Southampton's play has been tackling high up the pitch, with forwards putting pressure on the opposition backline. In his last 5 games, Rodriguez has won 71% of his tackles, often in the opposition half. Without Rodriguez, there was far less high energy pressing down the Southampton left.

The image below shows Southampton's tackles against West Ham (Green = Successful). As you can see, there were no attempted tackles whatsoever on the right flank of the West Ham half.

http://epl.squawka.com/southampton-vs-west-ham-united/13-04-2013/english-barclays-premier-league/matches

Another feature of Southampton's play this season is their narrow approach play. This was again evident on Saturday. Of all the key passes that led to goalscoring opportunities, none were from outside of the width of the 18 yard box.

The image below shows the passes that led to Southampton's shots. This approach often played into West Ham's plans. Time and again they ran into the wall of James Tomkins and James Collins (22 clearances, and 4 blocks between them).

West Ham's own play was, as expected, in stark contrast to the Saints. One area of play that was unexpected was the way in which West Ham pressed Southampton. I wrote before the game that a common feature of West Ham's away displays this season has been a tendency to sit deep and invite on pressure.

The chart below shows that there was an even spread of tackles across the pitch, including high up both flanks. A particularly surprising stat is that Ricardo Vaz Te was actually the joint high tackler in the side.

A slightly more unpleasant feature of the game was an inability to hit Andy Carroll from crosses. West Ham tried a decent number of crosses throughout the game, with far too few hitting their target. Particularly disappointingly, Matt Jarvis only attempted one cross during the game, which failed to reach the mark.

The image below shows the attempted crosses by West Ham (Green = Successful). Even more disappointing is the absence of yellow lines on the image, indicating crosses that led to shots being taken.

A final note on the game is about our captain. It's fair to say that Kevin Nolan has been off form in recent weeks (months?). I commented a few weeks back about the changing nature of his role in the West Ham side. Previously, the skipper played as almost a second striker, but in recent times he's been playing a far deeper role. 

The heat map below shows where Nolan took his touches against Saints. Rather than high up the pitch, near the striker, the majority of his touches came right in the middle of the pitch.

So, another away point, and another point closer to the magic 40. I've believed us to be safe for a couple of weeks now, but, as they say, every little helps.

A midweek win against Manchester United would sew it all up!

General Play

4-2-3-1 Starting Formation 4-2-3-1

- Starting XI Ave. Age -

Gaston Ramirez Best Performance Andy Carroll

70.12 CI Rating 68.59

Artur Boruc Worst Performance Emanuel Pogatetez

57.16 CI Rating 48.48

60% Possession 40%

(averaged from whoscored, bbcsport & skysports)

80% Passing Accuracy 69%

70% in Opp. Half 60%

Jack Cork 98% Best Accuracy 88% Mohamed Diamé

470 Passes Attempted 296

Jack Cork 52 Most Passes Attempted 45 Gary O'Neil

44 Long Balls 63

Jos Hooiveld 7 Most Long Balls (excl. GK) 8 Gary O'Neil

Offensive Play

19 Attempts on Goal 8

5 On Target 3

3 Off Target 2

11 Blocked 3

7 From Outside Box 5

Gaston Ramirez 7 Most Attempts on Goal 3 Andy Carroll

7 Corners 4

3 Offsides 4

29 Crosses 15

4 Successful Crosses 4

Gaston Ramirez 8 Most Crosses Attempted 5 Gary O'Neil

61% Aerial Success 39%

Jos Hooiveld 5 Most Duels Won 4 James Tomkins

Defensive Play

23 Tackles Attempted 13

16 Successful 7

Steven Davis 6 Most Tackles 2 Ricardo Vâz Te

39 Clearances 42

Jos Hooiveld 10 Most Clearances 13 James Tomkins

21 Interceptions 12

Gaston Ramirez 5 Most Interceptions 3 Gary O'Neil

3 Shots Blocked 11

Danny Fox 1 Most Shots Blocked 2 James Tomkins

Discipline  

12 Fouls 17

Gaston Ramirez 3 Most Fouls 4 Kevin Nolan

2 Yellow Cards 3

Southampton:  Danny Fox, Morgan Schneiderlin    

West Ham United:  Ricardo Vâz Te, Kevin Nolan, Emanuel Pogatetz   

  

0 Red Cards 0

Southampton:  -     

West Ham United:  -     

Head to Heads

Artur Boruc vs Jussi Jääskeläinen

1 Goals Conceded 1

2 Saves 4

0 Crosses Claimed 0

  

55% Passing Accuracy 52%

20 Total Passes 21

13 Long Balls 19

65% % Long Ball 05%

Jos Hooiveld vs James Tomkins

63% Aerial Dules Won 00%

1 Tackles 1

1 Blocks 2

4 Interceptions 0

10 Clearances 13

1 Fouls Committed 0

70% Passing Accuracy 74%

37 Total Passes 9

7 Long Balls 4

89% % Long Ball 44%

Gaston Ramirez vs Kevin Nolan

71% Passing Accuracy 83%

28 Total Passes 24

2 Long Balls 1

14% % Long Ball 67%

8 Crosses 1

1 Successul Crosses 1

1 Chances Created 1

0 Assists 0

2 Tackles 2

0 Blocks 0

5 Interceptions 2

4 Clearances 2

3 Fouls Committed 4

7 Attempts on Goal 2

2 On Target 1

1 Goals 0

Rickie Lambert vs Andy Carroll

0 Goals Scored 1

4 Attempts on Goal 3

1 On Target 2

25% Aerial Duels Won 44%

71% Passing Accuracy 61%

38 Total Passes 21

4 Chances Created 0

0 Assists 0