The 20-year-old academy product netted his first goal for the club in yesterday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Southampton supporters are no strangers to seeing their club’s youth products shine in the first-team, and last night saw yet another potential young star emerge.
As Claude Puel’s side eased into the fourth round of the EFL Cup with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, it was homegrown prospect Jake Hesketh who stood out and got Saints fans talking on social media.
The match was not the thriller that some, including Charlie Nicholas, had predicted. The visitors lost influential defender Scott Dann to a hamstring injury early on, and conceded a penalty just after the half hour mark when Shane Long was tripped in the box. Charlie Austin stepped up to score his fourth goal in three games to cap a productive week for the former QPR striker.
Long nearly added a goal of his own but saw his effort cleared off the line by Damien Delaney. The hosts made the game safe on 63 minutes when Hesketh turned in the rebound after Long’s shot had been well saved by Wayne Hennessey.
The win means that Southampton have now won three games in a row in all competitions, with Puel’s men rapidly growing in confidence after a slow start to the season. Saints were rewarded for last night’s win with a home tie in the next round, and they will welcome Sunderland to St Mary’s to battle for a place in the quarter-finals.
Saints fans were understandably pleased on Twitter during and after the game, with praise for youngster Hesketh dominating the reaction.
The recent upturn in fortunes on the south coast also saw praise for Puel and his team, as well as a real sense of optimism about what might lie in store for the rest of the campaign.
Southampton’s busy schedule shows no sign of slowing down; they travel to West Ham’s new stadium on Sunday looking to pile more misery on the stuttering Hammers before a long trip to Israel to face Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Europa League next Thursday.
This week has shown that Saints have the strength in depth to cope with such a schedule, however, and supporters are justified in being excited at what may be still to come from their youngsters.
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