IT’S ADVANTAGE Saints on the road to Wembley – but perhaps not the decisive advantage it might have been.

If you are playing a two-legged match, and particularly if the first tie is away from home, taking any lead into the second game is a huge plus.

It makes you clear favourites to go through and by the time you reach the late stage of major competitions you should be good enough to get through the majority of times.

So Saints would have bitten your hand off before last night for a lead to take into the St Mary’s leg of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy southern area final against MK Dons.

They got it but actually came away probably ruing the fact things are not a lot more comfortable for them when the teams meet again on February 9.

With quite a few injuries to contend with it made the result even more impressive, and possibly more valuable in many ways.

But so much in control were Saints for the majority of the match at stadium:mk that they could have virtually put the tie to bed and allowed themselves full focus on the league in the build-up to the return game.

MK Dons are up there challenging for the play-offs so you could have been forgiven for thinking that the league meeting between the two teams at St Mary’s, which Saints won at a canter despite falling behind just before half-time in October, was a blip.

Surely Saints would not get on top of them to the extent they did that day?

Well they did, and then some.

Saints were better, more dominant, in every area of the pitch.

As a forward unit they looked lively and created chances, with the biggest criticism being that they really should have converted more of them.

In midfield they were combative out of possession, happy to sit deep and make themselves hard to break down, allowing MK Dons occasional periods with the ball in areas that didn’t hurt them.

But they were also looking to break forward at every opportunity to support Rickie Lambert playing as the lone striker.

At the back Jose Fonte and Chris Perry looked very comfortable together.

Saints were no doubt thankful that MK Dons played so much in front of them rather than really trying at any point to consistently get in behind them.

But credit Saints, that was partly due to their good play as well as MK Dons’ failures.

With two meetings between Saints and MK Dons this season having both been Saints wins with a degree of ease you might be tempted to think the second leg, with that trip to Wembley at the end of it, will almost certainly go the way of Alan Pardew’s team.

Football, though, has a funny way of throwing up the most unexpected of shocks.

And that is why you just hope Saints don’t rue not getting themselves even further ahead after the first leg.

Saints were so far in control in the first half they threatened to run away with it.

As early as the second minute Fonte impressively controlled and half volleyed agonisingly wide.

Morgan Schneiderlin and Michail Antonio both threatened with half chances while Luke Chadwick sliced an attempted clearance from inside the six-yard box which looped up and hit the top of his own crossbar.

Adam Lallana had more than a half chance on 24 minutes when he found himself with time and space in the area after a low ball form the left and a slip from Danny Woodards who was marking him.

He took his shot first time but scuffed it and Willy Gueret was able to get a hand to it.

There was nothing Gueret could do on 26 minutes, though, when Saints did get the lead.

Joseph Mills clipped a high free kick toward the edge of the area from inside his own half.

Lambert rose highest to win a flick on and Antonio cleverly backed into Chadwick before spinning him and firing a half volley off the inside of the far post and into the net.

The only time MK Dons even got so much of a sniff of the Saints goal in the first half was when Jason Puncheon’s 20-yard free kick fizzed wide of the target.

That really was about it.

Saints started the second period just as they had finished the first – in total control.

They were given a reminder when Kelvin Davis had to make his first save of the night with his legs from Jermaine Easter.

But normal service was quickly resumed with Antonio seeing one shot blocked and a follow up deflected just wide on 61 minutes.

The balance of the game turned somewhat on 79 minutes when Schneiderlin was red carded after raising his hands in a flare-up with Stephen Gleeson.

That led to the first real spell of Dons pressure as they, for the first time, seemed to sense the chance to rescue a draw out of a game they probably were beginning to settle for losing by just one.

Puncheon tried his luck from 20 yards out but again Davis was up to the challenge.

The Saints keeper was beaten moments later by Aaron Wilbraham’s near post deflection from Jude Stirling’s fierce cross but luckily the inside of the post came to the rescue.

Lloyd James did almost grab Saints the two-goal cushion they deserved in injury time when he cut in from the right and unleashed a curling effort that Gueret had to stretch to get fingertips to and turn wide.

Make no mistake, in the context of a two-legged tie this was a very good result for Saints from the first outing.

You might argue even more so after they went down to ten men.

But you just have to hope those missed chances don’t come back to haunt them, and that they make the second leg look as easy as they did the first leg for much of the game.