Southampton 1-1 Ipswich Town: Terry Hunt on the Blues

Last season, at a white hot Portman Road, Jeremy Sarmiento’s delicious toe poke while on one knee saw him score a 98th minute winner in front of an ecstatic Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

Then, on Saturday, our skipper Sam Morsy stepped up to score a rare goal in the 95th minute to carry on our mini unbeaten run and keep us out of the dreaded bottom three.

Ok, it wasn’t the first Premier League win which many were anticipating against the struggling Saints, but it was the Town fans who were celebrating at the final whistle. In the circumstances, it felt like a win, and a real kick in the guts for the home fans.

It was also a welcome reminder of one of the outstanding qualities which we demonstrated time and again last season, on our way to bring promoted from the Championship.

That is our ability to keep going. We might not be playing brilliantly, the opposition might be on top, but if your team is only a single goal ahead of Ipswich, then watch out!

Kieran McKenna's Town have made a habit of scoring late goals (Image: Ross Halls) It’s very pleasing to see we retain that precious quality, even with a much-changed group of players. It speaks volumes for the type of characters Kieran McKenna wants to work with, and also for the ethos the manager instils into his team.

We know the difference between survival and relegation could be a case of fine margins come the final reckoning, so every single point is hugely important. There’s another safely tucked away.

There are two distinctly contrasting ways to look at the way we’ve started our first Premier League season for 22 years.

The doom-mongers - which includes some national pundits - would point out that we haven’t won any of our first five games, have scored only three times, and are hovering perilously close to the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, the glass half full brigade - which includes me - would point out the toughest possible start, two away points, the fact that we are competitive in games, look pretty solid at the back, and are unbeaten in three.

Nationally, there seems to be a bit of an obsession with pointing out that the newly promoted trio haven’t got a win between then, after playing a total of 15 games, and using that as evidence of the yawning chasm in quality between the Championship and the land of milk and honey.

Excuse my Del Boy French here, but quelle surprise! Everyone knows the step up is massive, and getting bigger each season.

Leif Davis came close to a goal at Southampton (Image: Ross Halls) I would also like to point out that there are six teams without a win so far, so it’s not just the new boys who are struggling. I’m sure Town fans are delighted by that - the more the merrier in the scrap at the bottom!

Of course, one of those winless teams is Everton, and I’ve mentioned in the past that there seems to a law against them being relegated. But this year they do look particularly terrible. We’ll see them at Portman Road soon. That will be a huge game.

Last week, I was one of a number of pundits gushing over the performances of Axel Tuanzebe. Kieran McKenna joined in with the plaudits.

We should have kept our mouths shut, because the dreaded commentator’s curse well and truly struck, with a mistake from the defender leading to the Southampton goal, albeit with a sublime through ball from Adam Lallana involved too. It was a harsh reminder of what invariably happens if you make mistakes at this exalted level.

As I said earlier, I’m pretty happy with our defence. Dara O’Shea has slotted in comfortably alongside the impressive Jacob Greaves, and Leif Davis is acclimatising to this level. There I go again - I really must stop praising our defenders!

It’s at the other end of the pitch where my main concerns lie. Of course no-one expects us to score goals for fun like we did in League One and the Championship. But only three in our first five matches is a poor return.

Skipper Sam Morsy scored his first Premier League goal at 33 (Image: Ross Halls) We’re not creating as many chances and it feels like we have to make every one count. One player I’m looking forward to seeing perform in the Premier League is Nathan Broadhead.

Yes, I know he is injury prone and can disappear from games, but I think he has that precious talent, if slightly mercurial, to unlock defences. I’m sure we’ll see him coming off the bench very soon.

Finally, a word of praise for our remarkable skipper. As I’ve said before, Sam Morsy’s story is inspirational. He has now scored his first Premier League goal at the age of 33. He is truly inspirational and exemplifies the “never give up” attitude which drives this team on. Well played, Sam.

Next Sunday we welcome high-flying Aston Villa to Portman Road. Another easy one!