Saints progressed into the second round of the Carling Cup thanks to second half goals from Adam Lallana and Alex Chamberlain.

A keenly contested south coast battle where the hosts needed to show their mettle against a fired up Bournemouth side backed by a vociferous support, saw patience as a virtue with Saints eventually running out comfortable winners.

The first goal was well worth the wait however, as Lallana marked his return to the side with a brilliantly taken curling shot which went into the top corner to light up St. Mary's on 64 minutes.

The second was equally rewarding for youngster Chamberlain who celebrated his first professional goal by keeping his cool to round 'keeper Shwan Jalal to finish late on.

Saints: Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Seaborne, Dickson (Harding 46), Lallana (Holmes 74), Wotton, Hammond, Chamberlain, Puncheon, Barnard (Lambert 84). Subs (not used): Bialkowski, A. Martin, Mills, Garrod.

Bournemouth: Jalal, Purches, Pearce, Garry (Bradbury 78), Wiggins, Cooper (Hollands 58), Bartley (Symes 65), Pugh, Robinson, Feeney, Pitman. Subs (not used): Thomas, Cummings, Arter, McQuoid.

Referee: Mr. P. Crossley (Kent)

Attendance: 17,135 (including 4,068 away)

Lallana returned to the starting line up after his 30 minute run out against Plymouth on Saturday whilst Rickie Lambert took a place on the bench where he was joined by Saints Academy graduate 18 year-old centre forward Tony Garrod for the first time.

The Cherries got things underway defending the end housing the 4,000 strong travelling support from Bournemouth who added to the lively atmosphere inside St. Mary's prior to kick off.

A full blooded south coast affair got off to an intense start and Saints matched the high tempo beginning that they made to Saturday's game against Plymouth with plenty of forays forward early on.

Lallana was in the thick of the action and was perhaps unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty on four minutes when he was bundled over inside the area, but his reaction alone suggested that the challenge didn't merit a spot kick.

A succession of corners from Lallana and Jason Puncheon maintained the pressure on Eddie Howe's side who had barely ventured into the hosts' half with ten minutes on the clock.

Puncheon forced Cherries 'keeper Jalal into his first save on 12. The winger created the space for himself on the right before cutting in to hit a low near post strike which the shot stopper dived down to his left to block.

In the 18th minute Liam Feeney had the visitors' first sight of goal as he let fly from the edge of the area following a cleared corner, but his daisy cutter went wide of Kelvin Davis' left hand post.

As the game started to open out, Feeney headed over from Pitman's cross from the right moments later, with Bournemouth still yet to trouble Davis at the Chapel End.

At the other end Saints continued to be bright, this time Puncheon working a shot from distance which was blocked and fell invitingly for Alex Chamberlain inside the box, but the youngster couldn't force his effort on target after quickly getting the ball out of his feet.

Dean Hammond was the first Saint to go into the book this season after his foul on fellow skipper Jason Pearce inside the Cherries' half which broke up a scrappy interchange of play.

Ten minutes before the break Bournemouth were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position to the left of the edge of the area and striker Brett Pitman's firmly struck set piece took a deflection as it hit the frame supporting the goal on its way out of play.

Pitman went close again moments later with a low shot across goal, but his effort was never heading for the target.

In the closing stages of the half, Lallana injected some more life into the final third, teeing up Chamberlain for a strike from distance, which took a deflection on its way out for a corner as the winger peeled away almost expecting to see the ball end up in the back of the net.

Right at the end of the first 45 Marc Pugh forced Davis to backpedal as he took advantage of some uncertainty at the back before cheekily trying to loft the ball over the Saints stopper, but the whistle blew shortly afterwards to bring an action packed, but goalless first half to an end.

Half Time: Saints 0-0 AFC Bournemouth

At the start of the second period Dan Harding replaced Ryan Dickson, and slotted into his familiar left back role.

A slightly slower start to the new half soon came to life as Saints went close with Paul Wotton's goalbound header which was cleared off the line before Lee Barnard was then unfortunate to see his close range chip over Jalal clear the crossbar.

Past the hour mark Bournemouth forced their first corner of the half and substitute Danny Hollands was denied inside the six yard box as he tried to hook the ball in.

Saints went straight up the other end and issued the perfect response by taking the lead in the 64th minute with a goal of sheer quality from former Cherries man LALLANA. The attacker was put through on goal by Puncheon, and whilst the winger still had a lot to do, he shaped an audacious curling shot into the top right hand corner of Jalal's net to bring the St. Mary's crowd to its feet.

The visitors immediately responded with another substitution as Michael Symes replaced Marvin Bartley in midfield.
The hosts and Lallana quickly sent another warning shot though as the goal scorer hit a 70th minute piledriver from just inside the area, narrowly wide.

The Cherries made their final change with just over quarter of an hour left to play as Lee Bradbury came on for Ryan Garry, with the former striker slotting into his converted right back role.

Barnard drew a smart save from Jalal on 78 and then the hosts made their second change as Lallana went off to a standing ovation with Lee Holmes taking his place on the left of midfield.

The visiting support were almost on their feet soon after as Hollands and Pitman both went close with efforts on goal before the home crowd rose as one to welcome Rickie Lambert on to the pitch as he replaced Barnard for the last six minutes or so.

And within a minute of his introduction he forced Jalal into another low save as he cut in form the right and struck a shot towards the far corner.

But Saints didn't have to wait long for the second goal to kill the game off. The strike was a reward for the persistence of the youngest player on the pitch, as Alex CHAMBERLAIN charged down a loose ball that Jalal had rushed out for, and the midfielder kept his composure to slot home from inside the area into the unguarded net.

Three additional minutes were added on for stoppages during which time the hosts saw the game out to advance into the second round.

Full Time: Saints 2-0 AFC Bournemouth