SHANE Long found the back of the net in the Premier League for the first time in 728 days at the weekend, with his header against Everton his 37th strike in red and white.
By scoring with his first touch after coming off the bench, Long assured Saints saw of struggling Everton 2-0, after Stuart Armstrong opened the scores in the second-half.
Whilst hardly the most prolific goalscorer to have played for the club, it appears Saints fans clearly have a soft spot for the 35-year-old.
We’ve flicked through his 235 appearances across eight years at Saints to pick-out the standout moments.
We’re off to a quick-start as we take a look at Long’s record breaking goal against Watford.
Demonstrating that attributes that has kept Long in the Premier League for the best part of 10 seasons, the Irishman quickly closed down defender Craig Cathcart, before burning past him to go through on goal with Ben Foster.
A calm lob over Foster went over the line just 7.69 seconds after the game had kicked-off, shaving 2.13 seconds of Ledley King’s strike for Tottenham against Bradford City.
However, early joy turned into late disappointment, as Andre Gray equalised in the final minute for the hosts.
Ever the team player, Long said after the game: “I don’t know what the record was before, but records like that are nice to have I suppose
“I was just disappointed that it wasn’t the goal to get us three points.”
Whilst Long wasn’t part of the side that reached Wembley last season, the former Reading and Hull striker previously fired Saints to the home of English football back in 2017.
Saints trekked up to Merseyside for the second leg of the semi-finals, taking with them a 1-0 lead over Liverpool.
An end-to-end affair throughout, Long made sure of his side’s place in the final with another calm finish inside the box, firing across Loris Karius to make it 2-0 on aggregate.
In the final against Manchester United, Long came off the bench for the final seven minutes, but was unable to conjure up another late strike.
Instead, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck late to break Saints’ hearts.
Out of the four goals from Saints’ Boxing Day pasting of Arsenal back in 2016, Cuco Martina’s curving effort from range will likely be the most remembered effort of the bunch.
But Long found himself on the scoresheet twice that afternoon, rounding off two counter-attacks to dent Arsenal’s title hopes.
Long was awarded Man of the Match by the BBC, and the Irishman could have had a hat-trick, sending a third chance onto the post.
Long’s first Premier League goals for Saints also came as a brace – with the 35-year-old coming off the bench to sink newly promoted Leicester City.
His first effort was a disguised curler with his left foot, ensuring that Foxes’ keeper Kasper Schmeichel had no chance of stopping the ball as it nestled in the bottom corner.
The second was another trademark Long goal, with the attacker keeping his cool on the counter to round off a 2-0 win.
Whilst a few of the above goals were finely finished moves, this final goal was mainly memorable for its impact on the final scoreline.
With the scores locked at 0-0, The Irishman managed to bundle home a 90th minute winner in the FA Cup third tie with Norwich.
Saints had been held at Carrow Road the weekend before, setting up a replay in which Saints bombared the Canaries’ goal, especially in the closing stages.
After seeing his initial header saved, Long managed to get something on the ball to divert it past Michael McGovern and send Saints into the fourth round.
