Holmes and Lallana see Saints through

A round later than usual, but time for the annual rant about the Carling Cup: the players don't like it (they get tired so easily these days), the coaches don't like it (neither Southampton nor Birmingham fielded full strength teams for their second round tie) and the fans don't like it either (OK, over 11,00 for the Birmingham game is reasonable, but early purchasers were charged a bargain £8 for a seat - less than at a Ryman League game).

It would be an exaggeration to suggest that the no-shows missed something unforgettable, but it wasn't bad and there was certainly a memorable moment when Southampton's slick passing took them from a tricky defensive situation near the corner flag to the edge of the Blues' penalty area in an awesome move.

We also turned round a goal in front, courtesy of Holmes's 16th minute strike, while Lallana, who had struck the underside of the crossbar at Derby, repeated his feat. He also managed to hit the bar again before the ball was cleared, and for the second time this season we looked comfortable at the break against the Championship leaders.

Saints had found enough squad players to rest Davies, Perry, Svensson and recent debutant White, as Bialkowski, Thomas, Cork and Wotton came in. Even the half time introduction of Phillips to his usual welcome didn't cause too many problems for the makeshift defence who were joined by Joseph Mills off the bench for the last half hour. This allowed Surman to move into a midfield who had struggled in the second period, and he was instrumental in setting up a neat goal converted by Lallana with 5 minutes remaining. It was noticeable that some of our youngsters were tiring towards the end, so let's hope they get an early night before the lunchtime kick off against Blackpool.

LSSC Man of the Match: Adam Lallana, voted in at an impromptu convention at the station.

Saints 2 (Holmes 17, Lallana 86)
Birmingham 0