Southampton climbed to fourth place in the Premiership today after beating local rivals Portsmouth 3-0 at St Mary's.
The Saints beat their fierce south coast rivals for the second time this month thanks to strikes from Jason Dodd, Marian Pahars and James Beattie.
The first, in the 34th minute, was one of the most bizarre strikes of the season.
Dodd's inswinging corner arced over keeper Harald Wapenaar and when Sebastien Schemmel - standing on the far post - headed the ball against the underside of his crossbar, it rebounded back against his head and into the net.
But if the opener represented the ridiculous, there was no doubting the sublime skill of Marian Pahars who wrapped up victory with a beautiful goal after 67 minutes.
The Latvian sent a 20-yard curler into the bottom corner for his first goal since recovering from 12 months of injury woe.
James Beattie completed the rout in injury time when he met Dodd's cross with a thumping diving header for his 11th goal of the season.
Gordon Strachan's side were good value for this win, which hoists them to the lofty heights of fourth place and means they will visit Fratton Park in March bidding to complete a three-match clean sweep against Portsmouth.
Portsmouth have not won in Southampton for 15 years and Harry Redknapp's men will spend the festive season anchored in the bottom three ahead of a New Year relegation battle.