Report: Saints 2-0 Crystal Palace

Saints were set on their way to a third straight home victory and a place into the Fourth Round when Charlie Austin dispatched a penalty beyond the reach of Wayne Hennessey for his fourth goal in three games.

And when Shane Long saw his effort parried away by Hennessey just after the hour mark, Hesketh was alive to the rebound and delivered the killer blow.

Victory ensured that the Saints fine record against Palace continues, having previously won seven of their last ten matches across all competitions against the Eagles.

Claude Puel made eight changes to the side that started the Premier League victory over Swansea City on Sunday.

Alex McCarthy replaced Fraser Forster in goal for his debut against his former club, with Austin’s rich vein of goalscoring form rewarded with a start.

Youngsters Harrison Reed and Hesketh were also brought into the starting eleven, with Maya Yoshida partnering José Fonte at centre-back.

Former Saints boss Alan Pardew also saw fit to freshen up his side as he too made eight changes to the team that recorded a 4-1 victory over Stoke City at the weekend.

Saints looked to establish control of the early proceedings with patient possession football, but the first chance of note fell to the visitors when Connor Wickham met Chung Yong Lee’s corner delivery before seeing his header deflect wide.

The response was almost emphatic when Cuco Martina’s low cross from the right found Charlie Austin, who was adjudged to be in an offside position before stabbing the ball wide.

On 19 minutes, Palace were forced into an early change when influential captain Scott Dann was replaced by Martin Kelly.

Just after the half hour mark, Kelly misjudged a Martina cross before bringing down the onrushing Long for the award of a penalty.

Austin stepped up and coolly sent Hennessey the wrong way to break the deadlock.

The momentum continued to build as Saints showed their attacking intent. Long’s persistence down the right saw him win the ball from Zeki Fryers before picking out Austin in the box who fired over.

Austin nearly had his second of the evening when he met a clever reverse pass from Jake Hesketh, only to be thwarted by a save from Hennessey at his near post.

In stoppage time of the first-half, Long was released by another Hesketh through ball, rounding Hennessey but Damien Delaney got back well to clear his effort off the line.

Palace continued to probe for an equaliser after the interval without really testing McCarthy.

After 57 minutes of the contest, Puel made his first change of the night when he introduced Nathan Redmond in place of goalscorer Austin, who received a standing ovation.

Saints looked comfortable and doubled their lead when Hesketh showed composure to fire home after Hennessey had done well to get down to Long’s initial effort.

Immediately after that second goal, Christian Benteke, who has scored twice in his last three appearances against Southampton, replaced Bakary Sako in a bid to revive the visitors’ cup hopes.

He joined Connor Wickham in a front two and it was Wickham who went closest to a consolation when he seized upon a loose header from Fonte, before being denied by McCarthy from point-blank range.

Substitute Redmond almost added gloss to the scoreline when he produced another smart save from Hennessey in stoppage time with a low curling shot.

But the two goals were enough to seal Saints' place in the fourth round of the competition.

Head to Head Stats

• Possession (%)
  45

  55
• Shots
  15

  9
• Shots on target
  9

  2
• Corners
  7

  4
• Passes Complete
  340

  416