Line-up
Burley reshuffled the pack against Barnsley, with the main talking point the omission of top scorer Rasiak for new signing Saganowski. Despite some good movement Saga failed to make the most of his chance, missing a free header and a close range tap thanks to a good save from the keeper.
When Rasiak did eventually come on, he displayed some unnecessary petulance trying to get the ball off Drew Surman for the second penalty who, with the game won at 4-2 and on a hat-trick, rightly wanted his moment of glory. Expect an apology on Monday.
With the huge turnover of players at St. Mary's in the last two years, it was one of the great moments to see a local boy come good, opening his account for the season in some style, with two clean first time hits and a confident penalty. These are the kind of moments that get kids hooked on Saints and you could see what it meant to him and the crowd.
Up front Kenwyne Jones continued his stellar improvement this season with two more goals, making it six in four and 14 for the season. No wonder Rasiak wanted to take the penalty, as he is now looking over his shoulder with Jones on a charge to be top scorer.
In midfield, despite the eye-catching scoreline, we actually struggled to get our passing game going, particularly in the first half with Viafara great in defence but culpable on the ball. Thankfully Wright kept us ticking over with one of his most effective performances this season.
At the back it was the usual story of solid individual performances, the stuttering Ostlund apart, but two collective lapses in concentration as Barnsley took their chances with two well worked goals.
On the Cross verdict
After two games where we played well against high-flying opposition and got only a single point, how typical of our season that we failed to come out of the blocks and scored five.
In truth, up to 73 minutes, it looked like being one of those days, but some of our previous bad luck was evened out, as we were awarded a debatable penalty for a handball that had much to do with a push from behind.
There was no doubt about the fourth and best goal of the day as Drew Surman despatched into the corner with some style. The fifth along with the return from injury of Algerian wizard Djamel Belmadi proved the icing on the cake, even if Rasiak tried to blow out the candles with his display of petulance!
This was a vital win given the results of those around us and moved us up a place to fourth on goal difference. However, the table has never looked tighter, indicated by the fact that had lost we would now be 8th. Four sides are level with us on 56 points, with Saints superior goal difference worth what might be a vital extra point come the end of the season.
Given the league standings, we simply have to start going on a run as those around us are now doing. More stuttering performances and we will not just be completely out of the automatic promotion hunt, but also put our play-off position at risk.
We face a tough test on Tuesday night against a Coventry side coming off the back of a hiding, but buoyed by the new manager effect, with ex-Saint Iain Dowie taking over the reigns.
For now, let's just enjoy one of those days when we were treated to an entertaining game and witnessed what may be a great talking point in years to come - Drew Surman's first hat-trick for Saints.
Man of the match: Sorry Kenwyne, but this was Drew Surman's big day. Composed on the ball, clinical finishing and some great celebrations, let's hope he pushes on from here to provide the goals from midfield we have been lacking of late. Theo who?
Cameo of the day: Djamel Belmadi's unexpected appearance from the bench got a huge cheer from the crowd and if he can stay fit may prove far better than any loan signing. Nice to see him hamming it up with a couple of neat tricks.
Thorn in the side: Shame he spoilt it with a handball for the second penalty, but ex-Saint trainee Brian Howard showed why Barnsley fans rate him so highly with a perfect assist for their opener.
Lemon of the day: Starting in the place of Rasiak, Saganowski had two great chances to open his account and failed to take them. Impressive movement, but really needed to score to prevent the inevitable return of our top scorer with a point to prove on Tuesday night.
Burley reshuffled the pack against Barnsley, with the main talking point the omission of top scorer Rasiak for new signing Saganowski. Despite some good movement Saga failed to make the most of his chance, missing a free header and a close range tap thanks to a good save from the keeper.
When Rasiak did eventually come on, he displayed some unnecessary petulance trying to get the ball off Drew Surman for the second penalty who, with the game won at 4-2 and on a hat-trick, rightly wanted his moment of glory. Expect an apology on Monday.
With the huge turnover of players at St. Mary's in the last two years, it was one of the great moments to see a local boy come good, opening his account for the season in some style, with two clean first time hits and a confident penalty. These are the kind of moments that get kids hooked on Saints and you could see what it meant to him and the crowd.
Up front Kenwyne Jones continued his stellar improvement this season with two more goals, making it six in four and 14 for the season. No wonder Rasiak wanted to take the penalty, as he is now looking over his shoulder with Jones on a charge to be top scorer.
In midfield, despite the eye-catching scoreline, we actually struggled to get our passing game going, particularly in the first half with Viafara great in defence but culpable on the ball. Thankfully Wright kept us ticking over with one of his most effective performances this season.
At the back it was the usual story of solid individual performances, the stuttering Ostlund apart, but two collective lapses in concentration as Barnsley took their chances with two well worked goals.
On the Cross verdict
After two games where we played well against high-flying opposition and got only a single point, how typical of our season that we failed to come out of the blocks and scored five.
In truth, up to 73 minutes, it looked like being one of those days, but some of our previous bad luck was evened out, as we were awarded a debatable penalty for a handball that had much to do with a push from behind.
There was no doubt about the fourth and best goal of the day as Drew Surman despatched into the corner with some style. The fifth along with the return from injury of Algerian wizard Djamel Belmadi proved the icing on the cake, even if Rasiak tried to blow out the candles with his display of petulance!
This was a vital win given the results of those around us and moved us up a place to fourth on goal difference. However, the table has never looked tighter, indicated by the fact that had lost we would now be 8th. Four sides are level with us on 56 points, with Saints superior goal difference worth what might be a vital extra point come the end of the season.
Given the league standings, we simply have to start going on a run as those around us are now doing. More stuttering performances and we will not just be completely out of the automatic promotion hunt, but also put our play-off position at risk.
We face a tough test on Tuesday night against a Coventry side coming off the back of a hiding, but buoyed by the new manager effect, with ex-Saint Iain Dowie taking over the reigns.
For now, let's just enjoy one of those days when we were treated to an entertaining game and witnessed what may be a great talking point in years to come - Drew Surman's first hat-trick for Saints.
Man of the match: Sorry Kenwyne, but this was Drew Surman's big day. Composed on the ball, clinical finishing and some great celebrations, let's hope he pushes on from here to provide the goals from midfield we have been lacking of late. Theo who?
Cameo of the day: Djamel Belmadi's unexpected appearance from the bench got a huge cheer from the crowd and if he can stay fit may prove far better than any loan signing. Nice to see him hamming it up with a couple of neat tricks.
Thorn in the side: Shame he spoilt it with a handball for the second penalty, but ex-Saint trainee Brian Howard showed why Barnsley fans rate him so highly with a perfect assist for their opener.
Lemon of the day: Starting in the place of Rasiak, Saganowski had two great chances to open his account and failed to take them. Impressive movement, but really needed to score to prevent the inevitable return of our top scorer with a point to prove on Tuesday night.