Eight years and one day ago, Southampton fans witnessed a minor miracle when watching their team face Leeds at Elland Road.
Saints were well on their way to a second consecutive promotion to get back to the Premier League but had to show their true character to get through this game unscathed.
The video released by Saints yesterday to mark eight years to the day exactly features interviews with both Rickie Lambert and Richard Chaplow – key players in the promotion side for different reasons.
Lambert was the goalscoring machine and put Saints ahead in this game with his superbly-taken 24th goal of the season, whilst Chaplow provided energy and enthusiasm in the centre of midfield.
However, they were soon helpless to stop the waves of Leeds attacks coming towards their box and heading straight for Kelvin Davis in between the sticks.
🙌 SUPER KELVIN DAVIS 🙌Remembering a standout performance from Southampton FC's former stopper, on this day in 2012…
Posted by Southampton FC on Tuesday, March 3, 2020
With Saints’ backs truly up against the wall, Davis remarkably seemed inspired to stop the hosts getting back into the match in any way possible – and that’s just what he did.
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A few of the club legend’s saves are included in the video above and show him making enough world class stops to fill out an entire season, let alone just one evening in Yorkshire.
In the dying stages of the match, incredible scenes were seen as all 11 Saints players crowded their own box to stop Leeds scoring from a corner.
Shots kept flying at the away goal, but a mixture of Davis, the crossbar and blocks from outfield players meant the visitors held on to a crucial three points.
From listening to the thoughts of Lambert and Chaplow in this video, you can tell that Nigel Adkins’ group of players had a strong bond and were willing to fight for each other.
Both played their part as mentioned before but they are equally aware of just how important Davis’ performance on that night proved to be come the end of the campaign.
Davis confirmed his status as a club legend with great consistency throughout his 10 years as a player on the South Coast. His service also sees him in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s coaching staff these days.
In all, he made 298 appearances in red and white. But his display at Leeds is the one game that Saints fans will always remember when they refer to ‘Super Kelv’.