Jake Thomson revealed that he had been looking to score a goal from the halfway line from his days in the youth set up at Saints.

His David Beckham-esque finish against Farnborough on Monday evening was born from a tradition that he and team-mate Oliver Lancashire used to look out for.

"Ever since the youth team days, myself and Olly Lancashire always used to try and see if the 'keeper would be off his line, so I always have a little look," he said. "When I picked the ball up this time the 'keeper did seem quite far off his line, I was a bit tired anyway and there was no-one to pass it to, we were 2-0 down at the time so I thought, 'I'll have a go.'

"The boys on the bench were saying that it was in all the way and you always think it's got a chance when you see the goalkeeper backpedalling but it was still quite surprising to see it go in. I knew that I'd hit it well but it's always lovely when you see it hit the back of the net.

"It's just sad about the situation I would have preferred it to have been a winner than one where we lost."

Scoring a goal of such quality may well have impressed Alan Pardew who was watching on from the stands, but Thomson knows that it will take more than one goal to force his way into the manager's thoughts.

"It's always nice to score a goal like that but I don't think he'll take it too much into account, I think he's more worried about how the team played. You're lucky to score a goal like that once in your lifetime but I was fortunate enough to do it whilst the manager was watching.

"He knows what he wants and I know what I've got to do, but if I prove what I can do then I know I've got half a chance. It is a long season, you can't put it all into one game and you can't put too much pressure on yourself to go out an impress every time.

"I want to play every game, I want to play football. If it means that I have to prove myself in the reserves again then so be it and I'll do that, but if the manager gives me an opportunity then I will take it with both hands."

At 20 years of age Thomson found himself as being one of the more experienced heads in the side, a responsibility he didn't shy away from in his approach to the game last night.

"We did alright in the first half without ever really having to exert ourselves," he said. "They had a couple of chances but I felt that we were comfortable. We wanted to build on the result from Saturday, even though it was predominantly a youth team we still want to keep the winning streak for Southampton going because it's good.

"I think we do need to clear our lines better and do things a bit quicker, but it is disappointing when you come back to the dressing room and see the faces, the manager was here tonight and everyone wants to make a good impression, but we just need to pick ourselves up and go again."

Thomson has enjoyed a solid pre-season so far but with the arrival of a new manager has not changed his focus.

"A new manager always has his own ideas, but it is a clean slate and there are chances now to progress. This is where it starts for a lot of players now.

"I started pre-season well and I feel fit and ready to go for the new season. We've built up from a long time and the sooner we start the sooner we can start to clear the ten points the sooner we can look up and not downwards.

"Right now I think I'm settled on the right side of midfield but I have got the ability to play in other positions, so I'm focussing on that position at the moment until somebody else tells me otherwise."