On the Cross verdict: Saints 3 Sheff Weds 0

George Burley had virtually a full strength squad to choose from with the return of cup-tied Surman, Chaplow and Rasiak and the injured Higginbotham to the first 11.

Contrast this with the unfortunate Sheffield Wednesday who had a Saints-like 11 players injured, plus on loan Saints Folly and Best unavailable to play against us.

Plus, Saints were at home – it really was all set up for us. If we couldn’t win this one, then we really would be looking over our shoulders.

At the back, George Burley kept with the settled line-up that has looked so solid in recent games and kept another clean sheet, with the addition of a nervous-looking Paul Smith making a return to the side for the injured Bialkowski. Wednesday made a bright start and created some decent openings, but in truth never looked like scoring.

Midfield threw up a few surprises. Belmadi and Kosowski were not considered match fit enough for the squad, with Marian Pahars left out after his ineffective performance against Newcastle. Oakley was moved to his problem position of right midfield, but had one of his better games there. Chaplow and Wright did well enough, but the real star of the show was local lad Drew Surman who was involved in two of the goals and showed his commitment to the red and white all afternoon.

Up front Jones and Rasiak combined well and both found the back of the net and how many times can we say that about our strikeforce this season? Rasiak is getting sharper and fitter with every game and adds real physical presence to our attack, getting the goal he has deserved on recent performances.

A Saints win, and how! The sense of relief going around the decent crowd of 26,236 was palpable who witnessed the first league goals at home in nearly 400 minutes. It is a tribute to this club’s support that even after relegation, so long without a goal and a sinking feeling that won’t go away that we were still able to get one of the top attendances in the Championship.

Many in the stands had to pinch themselves in the second half as the goals rained in. We shouldn’t of course get too carried away as Wednesday were poor, shorn of so many players. However, as the cliché goes, you can only beat what is in front of you, something Saints have failed to do all too often this season.

George Burley has got the side fitter, organised and most importantly playing for the shirt, none more so than Drew Surman, who is looking a real find and will make it hard for Kamil Kosowski to force his way back into the side.

There is competition for places, a threat up front and a solid defence, the only thing missing is goals from midfield, a key priority for Burley in the summer.

Saints need to follow up this performance with a win in next Saturday’s home game against Coventry which should prove a sterner test for our improving side. Another week’s training for the new arrivals, the confidence of a 3-0 win and another decent home crowd, should provide the lift we need to show that this was not another false dawn.

Man of the match: Fans love to see a local player coming through the ranks and Drew Surman is just that. Good on the ball, an eye for goal and still a youngster, he is getting better all the time.

Cameo of the day: ‘Jesus, Jesus, give us a wave’ and new cult hero Ostlund obliged with a fist-pump to the crowd. Committed, skilful and not Rory Delap, he’s going to be some player for us.

Lemon of the day: Thanks to the picky ref, Raziak got himself booked for pumping the ball into row Z celebrating Danny Higginbotham’s goal. If our strikers were booked for that, we'd have been down to 9 men every game earlier in the season.