Southampton 2-0 Huddersfield Town, FA Cup third round

Goals from teenagers Will Smallbone and Jake Vokins saw Southampton beat Championship side Huddersfield in the FA Cup third round.

Debutant Smallbone broke the deadlock early in the second half, firing Shane Long's knock-down into the bottom corner.

Vokins, making his first Saints start, sealed the win with a powerful drive.

Long thought he had put the hosts ahead shortly before half-time but VAR ruled the Irishman's effort out for offside.

The teams came into the game after contrasting league results on New Year's Day, with Southampton beating Jose Mourinho's Tottenham 1-0 and Huddersfield losing 5-2 to Stoke City.

Ralph Hasenhuttl made 10 changes to the Saints team that overcame Spurs and his side struggled to fashion clear-cut openings against the resolute Terriers, despite enjoying nearly two-thirds of possession.

James Ward-Prowse - the sole survivor from Wednesday's narrow victory - nearly set up Che Adams for the opener after 27 minutes, but the former Birmingham man fired straight at Huddersfield goalkeeper Joel Coleman from deep inside the penalty area.

Fraizer Campbell sliced over the crossbar in a rare foray forward for the visitors, before Long's neat finish from Smallbone's flick was ruled out for offside following a review by the video assistant referee.

Southampton finally made their territorial dominance count two minutes into the second half, Long heading down Kevin Danso's deep cross for the onrushing Smallbone to thump past Coleman.

Huddersfield improved marginally in the second half but failed to properly test Angus Gunn in the Saints goal, Jon Stankovic going closest to an equaliser with a speculative effort from the edge of the box.

With Town committing bodies forward in the closing stages, Vokins - who made his first-team debut against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup in October - broke clear down the left before unleashing an unstoppable shot which took deflections off Danny Simpson and the crossbar on its way in.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl: "I'm happy for [the youngsters] to help bring us into the next round. The most important thing today was to have a serious performance, because it's a very important competition for us.

"It wasn't always perfect and you couldn't expect that, but all the players are playing fantastically and I think they did a good job today.

"Finally after a busy Christmas period it's a nice finish."

Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone: "It was a special moment for me to make my debut and to mark it with a goal made it even better.

"I've worked so hard to come through the academy, so to be finally given the opportunity and to do it alongside Jake [Vokins] was special.

"All I wanted was to celebrate in front of the fans. My mum was here, so it was special for her to see."

Southampton left-back Jake Vokins: "It felt unbelievable to score in front of the fans on my first start for the club.

"I wanted to show what I could do tonight, and I think I took the opportunity well with that goal. I think I stood up to the plate and showcased what I've got."

Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley: "Away at a Premier League side, you have to take your chances when they come. Fair play to Southampton, they have real athleticism at the top end of the pitch, but we'll take confidence from today,

"I'm proud of the players' endeavours, particularly after five games in 14 days. We knew we had to protect the space behind our defence, so we defended deeper but with intensity.

"The only difference between today and the win at Brentford, in terms of performance, was that we didn't find the goal."