Saints sent out a statement of intent with a 5-0 thrashing of playoff contenders Huddersfield Town to suggest that a late bid for the top 6 may not be out of the question. Goals from Rickie Lambert, Lee Barnard, Jason Puncheon, Dean Hammond and Papa Waigo did the damage, and it could have been more.

Full report to follow…

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

Saints booked their place in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup with an unconvincing yet fairly comfortable victory at Northampton. Goals from Papa Waigo, Adam Lallana and Dean Hammond gave the visitors an unassailable 3-0 lead before a Hammond own goal and a last-gasp Ryan Gilligan penalty narrowed the deficit.

Alan Pardew was forced into two changes from the side that won at Hartlepool on Tuesday. Kelvin Davis is likely to be out until the New Year with a groin injury so Bartosz Bialkowski gets a chance in goal. David Connolly also reported a knee injury after Tuesday’s game, so Papa Waigo came in for him. Chris Perry also earned a recall at the expense of Neal Trotman and Lloyd James was given a well-earned rest with Paul Wotton taking up the holding role in midfield. With Connolly out, Saints reverted to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation.

The home side started the brighter with Guinan striking the foot of the post in the second minute after a free-kick hit the wall, and they forced a number of corners that were comfortably dealt with by the experienced defensive pairing of Perry and Rahdi Jaidi.

Saints were enjoying lots of possession in the first half without really creating much, but Chris Bunn had to be alert to tip over a dipping shot from Adam Lallana. Overall, Northampton were doing well to frustrate the likes of Lallana and Papa Waigo, both of whom were doing their best to stretch the play and unlock the defence.

The home side enjoyed a good spell of possession themselves later in the half, but were then hit by a double blow. Rickie Lambert worked himself some space on the bye-line and crossed to the far post where Papa Waigo met it with a diving header to make it 1-0. Two minutes later, Papa Waigo was the man in a wide position, crossing for Adam Lallana to head into the same corner for 2-0.

The scoreline certainly wasn’t a reflection on the overall play - Saints had had the majority of the possession and territory, but created very little with it - but it’s all about taking your chances and Papa Waigo and Lallana had certainly done that.

Half-Time: Northampton 0-2 Saints

There was a marked difference between the start of the second half and the start of the first half as Saints looked much brighter, with Lallana being aided by Dan Harding on the left and Graeme Murty overlapping to good effect on the right.

Lambert had had very little support for most of the afternoon, so decided to take matters into his own hands and try to make something happen himself, and he beat the offside trap to collect the ball in the corner. He laid the ball back for Lallana and his cross was met by Dean Hammond whose header was fumbled by the keeper and - according to the assistant referee - over the line. Just as well it was given, as Hammond’s attempt from the rebound came back off the post when it seemed easier to score!

At 3-0 up, Saints then took their foot off the pedal, looking to conserve energy and particularly to keep a clean sheet, something not achieved since the 2-0 win against Yeovil in September. However, that attempt didn’t last too long as Northampton were gifted a way back into the game. Akinfenwa’s header back across goal was going wide but in an attempt to make sure the ball went away from goal, Hammond only succeeded in toe-poking it into his own net off the post.

The remaining twenty minutes offered very little entertainment at either end of the pitch until Hammond’s indifferent game took another twist in the 4th minute of injury time when a long throw missed everyone, surprising him and hitting his arm, with the referee pointing for a penalty. Ryan Gilligan stepped up to send Bialkowski the wrong way to make it 3-2 and give an air of respectability to the scoreline, and it would be hard to argue that a one-goal margin was probably a fair result in the end.

Full-Time: Northampton 2-3 Saints

It certainly wasn’t a classic performance, but as the saying goes, it’s a results business, particularly in cup football, and we did enough to ensure we’re in the hat for the draw for the Third Round.

Hammond scores against MK Dons last month

Dean Hammond has been named as Saints’ new first-team captain.

The 26-year-old only joined the club from Colchester United in August, but has already displayed leadership qualities in the centre of midfield, and Alan Pardew has been keen to give the captain’s armband to a player who can be in constant communication with team-mates and officials, something which is particularly difficult for Kelvin Davis as a goalkeeper. Davis will, however, retain the club captaincy.

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 made another move in the transfer market this morning by confirming the signing of Colchester United’s captain Dean Hammond on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be worth somewhere in the region of £450,000.

The 26-year-old will add some much-needed bite and enthusiasm to a midfield that has been torn to bits in away games at Huddersfield and Swindon in the past week. He is the latest in a mini-exodus from the Essex club - currently top of League One with a 100% record - as fellow midfielder Johnnie Jackson was sold to League Two moneybags Notts County and manager Paul Lambert upped sticks to Norwich City on Monday, taking his entire backroom staff with him.

Talking to the Saints Official Site, Hammond said that he was excited by the move:

“This is a massive club with a Premiership set up and it represented an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. Southampton has got a massive ambition to get back to the top. We’re in League One at the moment so obviously promotion is the aim, and I want to be a part of that.”

He began his career at Brighton, where he worked with Saints assistant manager Dean Wilkins, making more than 150 appearances over nearly eight years. Colchester paid £250,000 for him in January 2008 and he has been a mainstay of their team ever since, with another 63 appearances chalked up in his time at the U’s.

Those who were at Huddersfield and Swindon this week will be hoping his signing doesn’t signal the end of Alan Pardew’s transfer business this summer.