Wotte gets lucky as Saints hold Canaries

Mark Wotte's reign in charge of Saints got off to an encouraging start tonight, as his side held Norwich at Carrow Road. It was anything but a classic performance from post-Poortvliet Saints, but results, not performances, are crucial now and if Mark Wotte can continue to get points from games in which they are not deserved, his reign will not necessarily be an unhappy one.

Norwich 2 - Saints 2

Those intrepid fans who made the 200 mile midweek trip to Norfolk must have been regretting the decision at half time, as a Saints side devoid of spark and imagination went in two goals down at the break. As usual, soft goals and a lack of attacking potency had cost Saints dear and it seemed as if little had changed from the reign of the new head coach's compatriot, Jan Poortvliet. It terms of performance, even at full time that verdict need not be reassessed- Saints hardly set the world on fire. However, goals from Cormac McClaggon and Marek Saganowski - who was crucially brought on to lead the line at half time - managed to see Saints to a vital away point.

However, aside from the result - Saints are not accustomed to getting undeserved points from games this season - there were no immediately obvious improvements in the team's performance and with all the sides around us apart from Derby winning tonight, we are now further entrenched in the relegation zone. Wotte must concentrate on cutting out the soft goals that have wrecked our season so far if we are to escape from trouble and turnaround Saints' home form, starting on Saturday.