Saints' biggest home crowd for more than 19 years stood open-mouthed in wonder at the magnificence of their new stadium. Unfortunately the players joined them!

It was the club's biggest home gate since the 3-2 defeat by Liverpool at The Dell on April 24, 1982, watched by 24,704.

But Saints struggled to get their bearings in their new surroundings. For the first half at least, they were distracted by the celebrations to mark the historic occasion as the Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium was officially opened.

It was only after an interval ear-bashing and three substituitons that they suddenly got their game together and salvaged some pride.

By half-time they were 4-0 down and it was looking as though the new ground might be christened with a new record home defeat as Saints were repeatedly ripped apart.

But two goals from Uwe rosler and one from Kevin Davies gave the scoreline some respectability and presented manager Stuart Gray with a major headache.

First and foremost he has to cut through all the distractions of the day to clinically assess his team's performance - not an easy task.

This was always going to be more of an occasion than a match with so much going on away from the pitch.

It was also a day for ironing out last-minute glitches with the stadium operation but Gray has to decide whether the team had similar minor teething troubles or whether reconstruction is needed.

Recent evidence points to the former conclusion. For the past year the defence has largely been rock solid, certainly never as open as it was in the first half.

The raging speculation over Dean Richards can surely not have helped and it certainly seemed to have got to him as he lacked his usual authority.

It is to be hoped that all Gray's pre-season planning is not undone at the last minute by the loss of the cornerstone of his back line - especially to Spurs of all clubs!

It was not a good day at the office for any of the back line, although in fairness they received little protection through midfield.

Espanyol finished mid-table in the Primera Liga and have just lost starman Sergio but they were still a class apart.

They were a yard sharper in the head and a further yard in front in their play which was crisp and ultra-precise even at speed.

They rarely wasted a ball as they sliced through almost at will to score four exquisitely-worked goals, all warmly applauded by an appreciative crowd.

It might have been different if Matthew Le Tissier had not uncharacteristically fluffed his kick unmarked in front of goal early on when the whole ground expected him to score the first goal at the new stadium.

Instead that honour went to Martin Posse who proved an irresistible handful with his touch and timing of runs, one of which brought the opener as he arrived unchecked to hook home an acrobatic volley on eight minutes.

The visitors' pace and penetration undid Saints again four minutes later as Oscar Garcia's reverse sweep found Roger Garcia who squared for David Aganzo to stab home on the run.

On 32 minutes Oscar Garcia knocked a glorious diagonal ball wide right for Enrique de Lucas to cut in and drive home.

And three minutes before the break Roger Garcia's left-wing corner was vollied in first-time at the near post by Antonio Soldevilla.

Saints were booed off by fans dismayed not so much by the gulf in class but by the lack of fire in their side who looked like rabbits frozen in headlights.

The second half was a different story, though Gray has to decide how much of that was down to Espanyol easing off.

His first three substitutions paid instant dividends on 55 minutes as Stuart Ripley fed Rosler who pulled back for Davies to prod home once Soldevilla had missed his kick.

Then Rosler was left unmarked to glance home a flying header from Rory Delap's precise 61st-minute cross.

Rosler bravely nodded the third despite a thumping challenge from the keeper with 16 minutes to go.

The clinical nature of his goals and the overall sharpness of his play and pre-season preparations must present Gray with a dilemma for the first fixture.

But at least the players and fans will go to Leeds in better spirits - a big defeat on their new ground would have shattered morale.

But it was vital to get this first game and all the accompanying distractions out of the way; next time it's for real!

FINAL VERDICT:

It was more like a family fun day than a football match and it showed. Saints can take heart from their second-half display but will need to be at it from the start at Leeds.

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