Southampton 3 Charlton 2: Sven-Goran Eriksson may have wondered on his way to Southampton yesterday whether there were better ways of spending his Sunday afternoon.

This game had ended goalless last season and few had expected much yesterday. In the event, the England coach was treated to an engrossing encounter illuminated by Scott Parker but ultimately won by Brett Ormerod.

When Ormerod fired in Southampton's late winner it was hard not to feel sorry for Parker. The midfielder had scored two wonderful goals to pull Charlton back from a 2-0 half-time deficit and produced the sort of second-half display which will make it hard for Eriksson to leave him out of his England squad for Euro 2004.

Eriksson could be seen grinning and rubbing his hands when Parker curled in the second of his sumptuous strikes.

It was Ormerod, though, who will have worn the biggest smile last night. Having failed to find the net in the Premiership all season, he more than justified his inclusion ahead of Kevin Phillips.

Charlton will wonder how they did not finish with the point they merited. A distant second for the opening quarter to a typically high-energy Southampton, they were gradually finding their range when they went 2-0 behind just before the interval to Ormerod. Much improved in the second-half, they dominated and were denied by woodwork and a couple of Antti Niemi saves.

With Parker outstanding, Claus Jensen and Graham Stuart to the fore and Paolo di Canio far livelier than he had been in the opening 45 minutes, Charlton were passing fluently and forcing their opponents back. Southampton, so impressive to begin with, seemed likely to end up holding on for a point.

But then this was a match which failed to follow the script from start to finish. Having gone just over 360 minutes without a Premiership goal, Southampton found the net three times.

Michael Svensson put Southampton ahead, diverting in a David Prutton shot from a Jason Dodd corner. Then, after Dean Kiely had made a couple of saves and Marian Pahars had been denied what looked a penalty on his first Premiership start for more than 14 months, Ormerod steered in James Beattie's cross at the end of a move started by Prutton.

Charlton had wasted three chances set up by Euell, with Di Canio twice guilty, but Parker pulled them back into contention within a minute of the restart, shooting in from Jensen's pass.

For the next half-hour it was almost all Charlton. Stuart hit the bar, and Niemi saved well from the same player. But they had received a warning at 2-1 when Ormerod forced a fine save from Kiely, and after Parker had restored parity with a wonderful, 25-yard strike, former Blackpool player Ormerod delivered the decisive strike to cap an afternoon on which running and instinct made him a menace.

After Stuart half-cleared, Beattie and Svensson sent the ball towards goal and Ormerod lashed in from close range. He then wasted a clear chance but the damage had been done.

"It can be a cruel game," said Alan Curbishley. No one will agree more than Parker.