RALPH Hasenhuttl believes the key moment of last night's contest at the Amex Stadium was a "clear penalty", adding: "That's why we have VAR."

With the game locked at 1-1 with 10 minutes to play between Saints and Brighton, referee David Coote awarded a free-kick to the visitors just outside the box after Kyle Walker-Peters went down under a challenge from Solly March.

However, after a lengthy consultation with VAR Peter Bankes, it was decided the foul occurred just inside the box, much to the frustration of the hosts.

That allowed Danny Ings to step up and score on his return from injury to earn Saints a 2-1 win to lift them up to fifth in the Premier League.

"I think the penalty was inside (the box)," boss Hasenhuttl told Sky Sports.

"It was a penalty. I think the line is in (the box) and he was a little bit inside I think.

"It was clear that the contact was inside the box, so it was a clear penalty and that’s why we have VAR."