Saints came from behind in a game to win for the first time in nearly two years with another composed performance from Ronald Koeman's side.

This was a vital win for Saints in the respect that we needed to get a win under our belts to silence some of the doubters amongst our own supporters. That was certainly done as again Saints looked comfortable but they also look to have added a killer edge to their game that was lacking last week against West Brom.

But perhaps the most pleasing aspect was that they did it in a way that they haven't managed in nearly two years and something they never did under Mauricio Pochettino, they came from behind to win a game.

That shows that there is a spirit in the team and even Morgan Schneiderlin who as well documented wanted to leave for supposedly bigger things proved that no one can level any accusations that he is not committed to the cause by capping a fine display with a couple of fine goals.

First shock of the day though was that Wanyama was on the bench, Ronald Koeman showed that he is not afraid to make tough decisions and that he has an eye for tactics as he played a side with the focus on attack with Shane Long making his first league start.

The first half though was tough, West Ham were there usual Sam Allardyce selves although in truth they rarely looked like scoring and when they did Fraser Forster was up to it, but on 27 minutes they took the lead, a shot from distance took a deflection off of Yoshida and this was enough to take the ball past Forster.

For the next ten minutes or so the Hammers blustered, getting the ball forward quickly and looking to get the ball high in the box from set pieces and throw ins, but Saints didn't buckle and made sure that the home side didn't get a lead they would be difficult to claw back.

On the stroke of half time Saints got their reward when Morgan Schneiderlin curled in a shot after seeing the first effort blocked.

After the break Saints took control and the longer the game went on the more Saints got a grip of it and started to play the way that Koeman is clearly training them to do, the scond goal came with just over 20 minutes left and was testament to the spirit in the side, whilst West Ham argued about the fact they thought it should be a goal kick, Saints took it quickly before the home side had a chance to properly re group and JWP picked out Schneiderlin at the near post to sweep the ball home.

If Saints fans though this would rile the home side and that a torrid last quarter would ensue they were wrong, the goal spurred Saints ad time after time they easily broke up West Ham attacks and burst forward with speed, with the home sections already starting to empty Pelle showed he had an eye for goal when he banged in a loose ball for the goal he really needed ie his first Premier goal.

For the final minutes Saints took the sting out of the game and passed the ball around to make sure that there would be no fight back, West Ham though were finished, their fans knew it and the home stands were virtually empty by the time the board went up to signal injury time.

The stats show that Saints have taken last season's domination and are building on it, 63% possession and 18 shots on goal compared to the Hammers 4, all in all a good day at the office for Saints and the most pleasing thing was the manner in which it was earned, many predicted doom and gloom for Saints and claimed we were in free fall, that was certainly not the impression from this game, the team spirit was there, the tactics and formation was there and now the goal scoring was there, perhaps this season might just be as good if not better than last.

Photo: Action Images

rjh added 11:02 - Aug 31 Let's not get too carried away, Yes a good win but against a poor side who were missing several key players. Yoshida needs replacing, an absolute pathetic attempt to close the ball down for their first goal. Tadic was excellent again and is clearly our main man.
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ThereIn76 added 11:04 - Aug 31 Hopefully Pelle's two goals in a week will silence the cretins who were slagging him off last Saturday.
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Fordy added 11:10 - Aug 31 Was a strange decision to leave Wanyama out because if you thought any game was made for him it was West Ham away. It probably caused the first goall as well because normally Jack or Vic would be covering that space between Mrogna and the back four that Morgan left by going out wide. I honestly couldn't see Noble having so much room to run into if Wanyama was playing. Having said that, it clealy worked with Koeman's thinking that West Ham are going to bypass midfield anyway so we just need to get the ball and then have players who can keep it. Thought Match of The Day was awful. It was a very dubious offside for the goal that wasn't given because Pelle was onside it was just a couple of others that jumped the gun. They also made such a big thing of the corner when in the grand scheme of things it probably didn't make much difference because we absolutely battered them in the second half. Even Big Sam said we taught them a lesson but they cut that bit out of the interview and concentrated on the corner. Morgan seemed to do a lot of interviews and ranged from mildly convincing to totally unconvincing about his future. If we can just keep him for one more year amid all the changes it would be great. Hopefully, we'll get past Monday and he can forget about moving at least till Jan and he can start playing with a smile on his face again. Finally, well done to Pelle. He played very well and the finish for his goal was excellent and showed brilliant technique. It's easy to send those into Row Z as Morgan proved earlier in the match.

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slynch added 11:44 - Aug 31 Schneiderlin did say that if he didn't get his transfer he would go on strike!
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BaselSaint added 11:46 - Aug 31 It`s much more squad orientated - this will build team cohesion. I like it. Wanyama`s role is more defensive and I agree he was not needed yesterday. Shane Long, well I don't know why we bought him. Panic I guess.
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SonicBoom added 12:42 - Aug 31 West Ham boards are saying that JWP ran the show. Good lad.
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EasternSaint added 13:06 - Aug 31 Can't blame Yoshida for their goal, was basically the last man standing. Does he tackle or hold off? Either way he'll get damed if they score, took an unlucky deflection and he gets damed. Only two goals let in in four games, not too bad for our central defence.
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ExiledSupporter added 13:56 - Aug 31 PLeased to have visited WHAM and gone home having won for a change, surrounded by grumbling (and cursing) Eastenders. Agree with most that Fordy says, particularly about the consequences of dropping Wanyama, especially given Schneiderlein's more roaming role ( without doubt the best player on the pitch). While he may be an unhappy bunny, his performance on the pitch was beyond criticism...good character, remains so important to us. There were many excellent performances, particularly from Tadic who is going to be a real favourite for us, both full backs, Fonte and (yes) Yoshida! Having said that WH were weakened by injuries and became increasingly inept, we were completely in charge throughout the second half and the MoTD excerpts did us scant justice Pleased to report signs of Pelle adjusting to the speed and physicality of the EPL, he got better as the game went on, but still has some way to go; on the other hand Long was fairly innocuous and spent too much time on the wing leaving Pelle as the loan striker. Glad to see Ramires return to the side, he slips into the box quite stealthily and deserves a good run in the team and i believe will make us a better team when played as an attacking 10. Pleased that RoKo is going to use him much more. W

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GeordieSaint added 19:37 - Aug 31 Sky sports reckoned that it was 137 premier league games since we conceded the first goal and won. 1994 with Le Tiss in the team. Great to see gaston looking influential on the extended highlights when he came on.
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SanMarco added 21:31 - Aug 31 Don't understand that GeordieSaint - For a start we've played well over 400 Prem games since 1994 and we beat Aston Villa 4-1 after going 0-1 two yrs ago.
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OldRed added 08:54 - Sep 1 SanMArco - it's 137 premier league games since we went behind first, while playing AWAY and have then come back to win.
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