FORWARD Che Adams scored twice as Saints cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston North End to further enhance their Championship promotion hopes.
He produced two excellent finishes before Stuart Armstrong added the finishing touches to the result with a clever strike from the edge of the box.
The win means Saints are just five points behind leaders Ipswich Town, while they are four points off Leicester City, who occupy second.
Here are some of the biggest talking points from the match...
Bazunu injured in the warm-up - McCarthy starts over Lumley
Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was initially named in the Saints starting 11 but he had to withdraw after pulling up in the warm-up.
Alex McCarthy, who had not been named in the squad, replaced Bazunu in the team with Joe Lumley remaining on the bench.
It was McCarthy's first league start under Martin and his appearance since Southampton's 3-1 EFL Cup defeat to Gillingham back in August.
The stopper hardly put a foot wrong throughout the match, although he did not have a lot to do as Saints dominated the game.
READ MORE: Martin explains decision to start McCarthy as Bazunu is expected to miss season end
Stephens is not undroppable
Captain Jack Stephens' role in the Saints side has been long debated by supporters this season and he was replaced by Jan Bednarek in the starting line-up.
The 30 year old has played the last eight Championship games for Martin's side across a variety of positions.
Martin has a selection headache at centre-back heading into the last four games of the season with Stephens, Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis all staking a stong claim for a starting berth.
A fitting moment in the 28th minute
With all four sides of St Mary's paying tribute to Saints fan Joe Godden, Adams helped the hosts provide a fitting moment.
A wonderful team move resulted in the Scotland international scoring his second goal of the game which led to jubilant celebrations amongst the crowd.
The goal effectively ended the game as a contest and S Armstrong added a third only five minutes later.
Adams' wait for a hattrick rumbles on
Adams has hit form at just the right time in the season - scoring five goals in his last five games.
His first against Preston was a clever finish from Adam Armstrong's cutback, while his second finished a flowing team move to double the Saints lead.
The 27 year old almost capped off a superb night midway through the second half when he brought the ball down in the box before being denied by Freddie Woodman.
His failure to grab a third goal means he is still waiting for his first hattrick in a Saints shirt, his last treble coming for Birmingham in 2019.
Saints back to their best?
The visitors could not live with Saints during the first half, who, in the eyes of many, looked back at their best at St Mary's.
Their performance in the first 45 minutes drew parallels to their brilliant first half against Leeds United months ago.
Manning and A Armstrong caused Ryan Lowe's men all kinds of problems on the left-hand side, while Adams and S Armstrong also posed a constant threat.
If Martin's side can continue to operate at this level in the next four games there will be very few teams capable of stopping their promotion charge.
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