Saints made it five wins in a row in all competitions with a solid display against Tranmere Rovers at St. Mary's.

Two more goals from top scorer Rickie Lambert added to Dan Harding's early second half opener which much ended the visitors' resilence.

All three strikes were of the highest quality as Alan Pardew's side never looked back after taking the upper hand.

It was a pure contrast to the first half which offered little of note as both sides cancelled each other out.

Saints: Bialkowski, James, Perry, Jaidi, Harding, Hammond, Schneiderlin (Wotton 65), Lallana, Antonio, Lambert (Mellis 83), Connolly (Papa Waigo 74). Subs (not used): Forecast, Thomas, Trotman, Mills.

Tranmere: Daniels, Logan, Broomes, Goodison, Bakayogo, Edds (Shuker 67), Taylor, Welsh (McLaren 77), Curran, Gornell (Ricketts 67), Thomas-Moore. Subs (not used): Collister, Creswell, Fraughan, Barnett.

Referee: Mr. D. McDermid (London)

Attendance: 19,800 (including 305 away)

Saints were without Graeme Murty and Kelvin Davis through injury, so Lloyd James reverted back into the right side of defence whilst Michail Antonio made his sixth start in red and white.

Tranmere in a changed strip of light and dark blue kicked off defending the Northam End on a cool, bright day inside St. Mary's.

A sluggish start to the game was notable for two long throw ins from Michail Antonio for Saints which forced a corner and a smart sace from 'keeper Luke Daniels under pressure from Rickie Lambert.

A slip by Ian Goodison in the ninth minute was pounced upon by Connolly but the forward couldn't squeeze a clean strike at goal as attempts remained few and far between early on.

Ian Thomas-Moore had Rovers' first attempt at goal in the twelfth minute as he volleyed over from the right hand side with a sweetly struck effort.

Connolly tried to spark the match into life just past the quarter hour mark as he linked up with Lallana and Lambert on the left hand side, but defender Shaleum Logan abruptly ended the Irishman's charge towards goal as he nicked the ball away from the striker's path.

Rovers forward Terry Gornell took a tumble by the dugouts as he lost his footing which led to the unusual sight of a manager entering the field of play. Caretaker boss/physio Les Parry attended to the front man who landed awkwardly on his knee, and the man with a dual role deemed his player fit enough to carry on.

Liverpool trainee John Welsh's free-kick was the closest the visitors came to a shot on target but the set piece flew past Bartosz Bialkowski's left hand post.

After a series of questionable decisions from the match official, Lambert and Rovers defender Goodsion perhaps correctly went into Mr McDermid's notebook as tempers briefly flared.

Spurred on by the talking to, Lambert almost broke the deadlock from a long range shot that Daniels had to push away low down to his right as his shot swerved towards the bottom corner.

Bialkowski's long kick down field as play entered three minutes of stoppage time, was beautifully controlled by Lallana who released Harding on the left. The full back's cross was met by Lambert but the forward couldn't force his header on target.

Welsh fired a warning shot wide as the half came to a close.

Half Time: Saints 0-0 Tranmere Rovers

Saints made a brighter start to the new half with Lambert picking out Connolly but as the Irishman bore down on goal the ball stuck in his feet.

Morgan Schneiderlin picked up the second booking for Alan Pardew's side a minute later which led to Gareth Edds striking a free-kick narrowly over the frame of the goal.

The hosts broke the deadlock after 51 minutes from an unlikely source as the forward line continued to press for an opening.

Connolly spread the ball out to the left hand side where Harding was waiting. The defender cut inside, before hitting a high curling shot with the outside of his boot which nestled into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0.

On the hour mark, Antoinio's industrious run on the right led to a deflected cross that Daniels was forced to tip over his crossbar as it dipped towards the centre of his goal.

Saints maintained the pressure and in the 63rd minute they were awarded a penalty for Marlon Broomes' handball on the end of James' in-swinging corner from the right.

Lambert stepped up and made no mistake from the spot as he sent Daniels the wrong way as he maintained his rich vein of goal scoring form.

The Club's leading marksman went one better on 69 minutes with a set-piece of the highest quality. A central free-kick from 30 yards out was dispatched into the top corner by the Liverpudlian with a shot that was struck with tremendous venom.

Papa Waigo replaced Connolly for the last fifteen minutes or so as Lambert went in search of a hat-trick.

The number seven almost achieved that feat as Daniels dropped James' corner just behind the front man. Lambert tried to adjust his body to squirm a shot in, but the 'keeper pushed another hand out before Hammond's shot cannoned off two Rovers' defenders as the ball went out for a corner.

The double goal scorer was replaced by Chelsea loanee Jacob Mellis for the last seven minutes or so as cheers of appreciation went around the ground for owner Markus Liebherr, who was in attendance for the game.

The chorus of approval continued long up to the final whistle as Saints earned another fine win at St. Mary's.

Full Time: Saints 3-0 Tranmere Rovers