Goals from David Connolly, Dean Hammond and Rickie Lambert saw Saints record an impressive 3-1 win at Walsall to go 10 away games unbeaten.

Saints welcomed back David Connolly to the side after injury, the striker coming into the side in place of Papa Waigo, while Chris Perry kept his place in defence ahead of Neal Trotman.

My impeded view of the game.

Walsall boasted a good home record going into the match – only Leeds United coming away with maximum points from the Banks’ stadium this season. And the Saddlers set about opening the scoring early on and could have done so twice. After Mark Bradley had shot after for the hosts, Troy Deeney latched onto a weak headed back pass by Chris Perry. He was forced wide though and saw his effort hit the side netting.

Ex-Burnley man Steve Jones has been in good form this season and it was his free kick which allowed Darren Byfield a free header, but the much travelled striker’s effort looped just wide to the relief of Saints stand in keeper Bialkowski; who mightn’t had it covered had it been on target.

The game was a tight affair and clear cut chances for the opening thirty minutes were few and far between. Connolly curled over from distance from a Lambert lay off and Schneiderlin sliced wide after Lallana had headed James’ cross from the right wing into his path.

While Saints appeared to try and build up play slowly and pressurise, the Saddlers seemed content in bypassing midfield play and loft balls over the top and in behind the defence in order to play to the strengths of Deeney and Byfield – their speed. This wasn’t working though as both Perry and Jaidi were reading the game well at the heart of the Southampton defence.

It was a scrappy game that needed sparking into life and it was Saints who took the initiative and got a good passing game going, creating much more space to attack. Morgan Schneiderlin was the key catalyst in Saints’ attacks with some lovely cross field passes, but it was a great ball from Lloyd James which culminated in the opening goal.

CONNOLLY played the ball into James, who returned an inch perfect through ball for the striker to race onto and drive the ball into the bottom left hand corner from just inside the box.

Saints upped the pressure and immediately went for a second goal, which they were unlucky not to get, when a cross from the left fell to the feet of Hammond in the box and the midfielder prodded the ball just wide.

A second goal was added to the tally before the break though for the away side, who continued to spray the ball around with impressive accuracy. Schneiderlin bent a ball down the right flank for Connolly, who cut in and saw his effort deflected into the path of HAMMOND, who made no mistake from close range – slotting the ball under the body of Walsall keeper Clayton Ince.

Half Time: Walsall 0-2 Southampton

The hosts were still struggling to create clear cut chances in the second period, with Dan Harding doing a great job of keeping Jones quiet down the right hand side. And while Walsall still persisted in trying to get in behind Jaidi and Perry, they were never likely to score – though they did have a decent chance when Smith headed Richards’ corner from the left straight at Bialkowski.

Saints all but killed the game off when the best three players on the pitch combined in setting up Rickie Lambert for a three goal lead. Schneiderlin picked out James with a chipped pass, who headed onto Connolly. He took a touch and fed LAMBERT who despite stumbling; still had time to settle himself and drill the ball past Ince into the bottom right corner of the net.

The home side did hit back immediately and were better off from trying a different approach. Deeney ran straight at the Saints defence and turned Jaidi inside out, before squaring for BYFIELD to slot home.

Saints brought on Antonio for the tiring Connolly, while Walsall brought on Parkin for a three man attack, but it was still the away side that looked more likely to score. Lallana had worked tirelessly down the left, tracking back when needed and almost had a goal for his efforts when he curled the ball inches wide from the edge of the box.

There was a brief scare for Saints when Jones crossed from the right and Bialkowski fumbled close to the goal line, but from the clearance a fourth goal was almost added when Antonio broke away with pace and cut in, only to see his low shot saved well by the legs of Ince.

Jaidi steered a header wide of the post from a Lambert cross late on and Wotton was brought on in place of Schneiderlin to tighten things up, as the Saints restricted their opponents to mainly shots from distance as they competently closed out the game for a comfortable victory.

Full Time: Walsall 1-3 Southampton

Goals from Adam Lallana and David Connolly weren’t enough to claim all three points in an entertaining draw with Norwich in difficult weather conditions.

Full report to follow…

Saints booked their place in the second round of the FA Cup thanks to three goals in the space of seven second-half minutes to banish memories of the 2008 cup exit on the same ground.

Alan Pardew made three changes from the side that started the 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient. Neal Trotman was ineligible as Preston North End refused permission for him to play with Wayne Thomas deputising in the centre of defence, while Paul Wotton and Papa Waigo dropped to the bench allowing Michail Antonio and David Connolly to start in a 4-4-2 formation.

The home side started the brighter with Chris Lines, Dominic Blizzard and Andy Williams all using their superior pace to get space behind the Saints central midfield pairing of Dean Hammond and Morgan Schneiderlin, while the pressure that created often forced the Saints defence to resort to long balls up to Rickie Lambert and Connolly which the Rovers defence dealt with fairly comfortably.

Saints’ best moments of the first half came when Antonio and Adam Lallana managed to get on the ball in wide positions. Both produced decent crosses which caused the Rovers defence problems, and Hammond may feel he should have done better with a header from an Antonio cross which ended up going harmlessly over the bar.

Lallana and Connolly both had shots from the edge of the area that flashed just wide of the post, but Rovers created the best chance of the first half in the last minute when a corner caused chaos in the six-yard box and Dan Harding had to head off the line.

Half-Time: Bristol Rovers 0-0 Saints

Saints looked much brighter in the second half, having clearly been told to gain a bit more composure and keep the ball on the deck. Lallana and Antonio were still the main focal points of the attack, but Lloyd James and Dan Harding were getting forward to support a lot more.

It was a good overlapping run by James which led to his whipped cross being headed to safety by Byron Anthony under pressure from Rickie Lambert, and Harding produced a cross from the opposite flank which Steve Elliott sliced over his own crossbar.

Saints then won a free-kick 25 yards from goal after Lambert was fouled by a combination of Elliott and Lines. Lambert took it himself and bent it round the wall, but the ball clipped the outside of the right-hand post and went behind for a goal kick.

Lallana won another free-kick in a similar position five minutes later, James took it quickly finding Lallana in a bit of space on the corner of the area. He worked himself a position six yards from the goal line and squared it to Connolly to flick it past Rhys Evans in the Rovers goal for 1-0.

Three minutes later, Rovers made a double substitution, making a like-for-like substitution in midfield with Ben Swallow replacing Mark Wright and then an attack-minded change with striker Darryl Duffy coming on for Dominic Blizzard. The home side won a free-kick in a wide position and threw bodies forward in an attempt to get back into the game at the earliest opportunity, but the move broke down allowing Saints to launch a counter-attack. Lambert released Antonio to run 60 yards unchallenged. He then fed Connolly on the left in a bit of space and he fired the ball across the keeper into the far corner.

Another two minutes later and it was a feeling of déja vu as a Rovers free-kick was cleared by Rahdi Jaidi to Lambert and he sent the ball over the top of Elliott for Antonio to run onto and he used his pace to get away from the defender, turned Anthony inside out and then fired the ball inside Evans’ near post to make it three in seven minutes.

Oscar Gobern came on to replace Dan Harding at left back shortly after the third goal as Harding had already been booked and the pace of Williams was still causing him problems. However, Gobern soon found himself walking the yellow card tightrope after a late challenge on Lines saw him go into the book as well.

The home side gave themselves a glimmer of hope as the rain began to pour down when Jo Kuffour managed to get in behind the Saints defence and squared it for Duffy to tap in at the far post, and just two minutes later Davis made a good save from Swallow and Duffy somehow managed to shin the rebound over the bar with the goal gaping.

This gave Rovers a bit more momentum and they continued pressing. Davis was called into action again shortly after as he palmed Duffy’s shot onto the post, but Saints then looked to have weathered the storm - conveniently so as the deluge from the sky had eased as well - as the game moved into three minutes of injury time.

In the second of those three minutes, Kuffour backed into Gobern in the area and the youngster made a slightly naive challenge on the former Bournemouth striker who tumbled to the ground and the referee blew for a penalty. Jeff Hughes stepped up to take it and send Davis the wrong way to make the last minute a very tense affair.

Lloyd James showed maturity beyond his years to hold the ball in the corner when he had the opportunity to put the ball in the box, and won a free-kick for his persistence. Lallana took the kick short to Lambert and he held off two challenges before scooping the ball up over the defenders for Lallana whose shot was then saved by Evans, and the referee then blew for full-time.

Full Time: Bristol Rovers 2-3 Saints

In the end, a one-goal win was probably a fair reflection on the game. If we’d held onto the three-goal lead we had at one stage, it would have probably flattered us a bit, but Alan Pardew will be slightly concerned that we failed to maintain the intensity for the last 20 minutes which let Rovers back into the game.

Cup games are all about the end result though, and he’ll be pleased that we buried the hoodoo of the injury-time defeat in the corresponding league game at St Mary’s, since when both sides’ form couldn’t have been more contrasting. Rovers have now lost six in a row since that game, while Saints have won 5 out of 6. Winning breeds confidence, and we go into another tough-looking cup tie on Wednesday against Charlton in good form and spirits.

Second half goals from Dean Hammond, Rickie Lambert and David Connolly saw Saints come from behind to secure a deserved fourth consecutive league win after Jason Puncheon’s free kick had given the visitors the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Alan Pardew named an unchanged lineup for the third game in a row, taking the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” view, which meant that David Connolly would have to wait for his home debut despite coming off the bench to score at Oldham last week.

Full report to follow…

Saints moved off the bottom of the table with a third successive win after three defensive gifts allowed Dean Hammond, Rickie Lambert and David Connolly to give the visitors a comfortable 3-1 win at Boundary Park.

In a game of notable errors, it was the home side who almost took the lead early on, when Keigan Parker shrugged Trotman off the ball and raced through on goal in a one on one situation. The Former Blackpool striker took too long getting his shot away though and Harding covered to tackle expertly.

With away boss Alan Pardew adding some tall players to his squad since his arrival as manager, the side have started to look threatening aerially all over the pitch, not least at set pieces and the Saints duly took the lead in the 14th minute, when James aimed a corner at the back post and DEAN HAMMOND rose unmarked to thump home a header for his first goal for the club.

Effective set pieces continued to play a part in Saints’ success, with RICKIE LAMBERT doubling Saints’ lead. The striker bending a low 25 Yard effort goal wards and finding the net. But there was more than a hint of fortune in the goal, with a helping hand from Oldham keeper Dean Brill, who let the ball squirm in.

Lambert continued to cause problems against the hosts and after firing over a volley from a Lallana pass, he had the vision to spot Brill off his line and tried an effort from fully 45 yards, which had the Athletic number one back peddling, only for the ball to unluckily clip the bar.

Oldham were previously unbeaten in 5 games, conceding one goal. And in midfield there was no lack of effort, particularly in the centre with Dean Furman and Alex Marrow running their socks off, as they tried to feed the front pairing of Abbott and Parker. While the big pole, Pawel Abbott was kept at bay by Trotman, his partner Parker offered a different attacking outlet, as he often tried to nip in behind the defence with pace. It almost worked when he beat Jaidi for speed and was through on goal, only for his goal bound effort to be saved well by Davis who parried the ball away for a corner.

Despite the two goal margin, Saints continued to push for a third goal, with Adam Lallana heavily involved in the action. First the winger broke well down the left and cut in, but saw his low cross, come shot saved by the legs of Brill. Before he missed the target marginally with a close range header, after James’ deep cross was headed back across goal by the lively Lambert.

As the half drew to a close, Abbott tested Davis with a chip from outside the box, which was saved comfortably - summing up the hosts’ need to add fluency and width in their build up play.

Half Time: Oldham Athletic 0-2 Southampton

Oldham came out for the second half with the intention of getting the ball down and playing it with quick movement, but they were so nearly punished for over complicating their play when they opted to pass the ball casually across their backline - Lallana and Schneiderlin teamed up for Saints to close the ball down and almost reaped the benefits of their hard work, when the latter won the ball and had space and time to place his shot, but shot woefully wide with the goal at his mercy.

Athletic seemed to struggle down the wings, as full back Dan Harding stifled any attacking play from the ineffective Colbeck, who was replaced on the hour mark by Nick Blackman. And the pacy striker almost made an immediate impact, when he broke the offside trap and rounded Davis, who himself did well to close the angle, forcing the Blackburn Rovers loanee to pass to Danny Whitaker, who saw his effort saved.

The hosts got their reward for upping the pressure though, when Papa Waigo gave the ball away and allowed Marrow to break free down the left who saw his shot come off the post for PAWEL ABBOTT to net from close range and reduce the deficit.

But instead of sitting back and holding onto a nervy one goal lead, Saints tried to make the game safe with another goal. In Rickie Lambert Southampton boast a serious threat from Free-Kicks and he was unlucky not to add to his tally, when he saw his 25 yard set piece rattle the crossbar.

Pardew introduced Michail Antonio to the game and the young winger on loan from Reading was unlucky not to see anything come from his lively and direct running. Instead, it was another substitute DAVID CONNOLLY, who made the game safe when he seized on a poor first touch from Marrow and raced away clean through on goal, before shaping to bend the ball far post and slamming the ball clinically past Brill at his near post for a debut goal.

Oldham Athletic 1-3 Southampton

Saints have signed former Sunderland and Wigan striker David Connolly on a free transfer.

The 32-year-old has struggled with a groin injury in the last 18 months while at the Stadium of Light but appears to have finally got over that to sign a contract until the end of the season at St Mary’s, which includes an automatic renewal if he plays a predetermined number of games.

Connolly started his career at Watford and became one of the first British players to take advantage of the Bosman ruling when, as an 18-year-old, he left Vicarage Road to join Dutch giants Feyenoord, but his career in the Eredivisie never really took off and he spent time on loan back in England with Wolves and moved back to this country with Wimbledon when his contract expired at the De Kuip.

He was transferred in three consecutive summers when, in 2003, 2004 and 2005, he signed for West Ham, Leicester and Wigan in progressively more expensive deals, with Wigan paying £2m for his services.

He has won 41 caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring 9 goals.

Connolly goes straight into the squad for tonight’s game at Southend United, although he isn’t expected to start the game. Alan Pardew will be hoping he can revert to 10 of the 11 who started last week’s win against Gillingham, with Jacob Mellis away on international duty with the England under-20s. That vacancy will provide a chance for Morgan Schneiderlin to return if fit, or Joseph Mills might be preferred as an option providing additional width.