Poortvliet's Plymouth verdict

On the back of the emphatic 2-1 win at the Madejski stadium, the Saints went into the Plymouth game high full of confidence.

Yet the curse of St. Mary's once again denied Southampton their second win at home.

The match was very much a tale of two halves, with the home side dominating the first 45 minutes: 'First half we did okay,' the Dutchman said 'and with a bit more activity I felt like we had to score, but we didn't give anything away either.'

'In the second half we started well and we played on, but then we made some mistakes and it was a different game.'

Poortvliet declared how his side were tired following the 2-1 victory over Reading: 'The boys gave a lot on Saturday and you saw a bit tonight that they looked a little bit tired.'

The Saints now look forward to a 'six pointer' against Charlton Athletic at the Valley: 'There is nothing wrong with 0-0, but we hoped before that we would win this game but OK, now we have to do it on Saturday."

Charlton remain in the relegation zone following a 2-1 defeat away to QPR; and the Saints will be looking to continue their fine away form and inflict more pain on the Addicks.

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