SAINTS have won five matches on St Valentine's Day over the years.

Their February 14th matchwinners include three of the their most beloved players - Matt Le Tissier, Ted Bates and Charlie Wayman.

These are the club's five wins on this day.

SAINTS 4 LIVERPOOL 2 (1994)
IT is 25 years since Matt Le Tissier scored a memorable hat-trick in Alan Ball’s first home game in charge, on a bitterly cold, snowy night at The Dell, against a Liverpool side that arrived unbeaten in ten matches.

The Daily Echo’s Graham Hiley wrote: “This was the stuff dreams are made of as the good times came rolling back to The Dell with a sensational St Valentine’s Day massacre of Liverpool.”

Le Tissier gave Saints the lead after just 28 seconds in front of the Sky Sports cameras, smashing another goal-of-the-season contender past Bruce Grobbelaar from the edge of the area.

An unmarked Craig Maskell headed the second eight minutes into his second ‘debut’ for the club, after returning from Swindon Town, when Iain Dowie headed a Le Tissier cross back across goal.

Maskell shot wide when Le Tissier’s finely-weighted pass put him clear.

But Le Tissier made it 3-0 with the first of two debatable penalties after Julian Dicks was penalised in the 43rd minute.

“If the home fans thought they were dreaming so did the players as they got a standing ovation at half-time,” wrote Hiley.

Le Tissier completed his hat-trick to make it 4-0 from the spot just four minutes into the second half and was only denied a fourth by a brilliant fingertip save from Grobbelaar.

Under the Echo headline 'King of Hearts', Ball waxed lyrical about Le Tissier's performance, saying: “There is no limit to what he can achieve and by that I mean he can go all the way and represent his country.”

Dicks pulled one back with a 68th-minute penalty and Ian Rush netted an 86th-minute consolation with the orange ball.

“But that could not spoil a great night at The Dell as the sound of When The Saints Go Marching In rang loud and long into the snowy sky."

The result lifted Saints three places to 17th, their highest position of the season.

As well as Maskell, Jim Magilton made his debut after being signed by Ball from Oxford United.

SAINTS: Beasant, Kenna, Charlton, Benali, Wood, Monkou, Le Tissier, Magilton, Dowie, Maddison, Maskell.

WREXHAM 1 SAINTS 3 (1959)
Charlie Livesey bagged a hat-trick in this away win.

He opened the scoring from a second-minute through ball and tapped in the second after 14 minutes following good work from John Hoskins.

He completed the second Saints hat-trick on the hour after evading two tackles.

Livesey would only score one more goal for the club before joining ex-Saint Ted Drake at Chelsea in a move that saw Cliff Huxford arrive at The Dell in part-exchange.

SAINTS: Godfrey, Davies, Page, Mulgrew, Parker, Stevens, Paine, Reeves, Livesey, Clifton, Hoskins

Daily Echo:

Charlie Livesey after his move to Chelsea in 1959

SAINTS 5 MILLWALL 1 (1948)
Ted Bates put Saints 2-0 up with a brace of headers in this division-two fixture at The Dell.

He headed in the first from an Alf Ramsey free-kick and scored the second in the 36th minute.

Eric Day made it 3-0 from close range at the beginning of the second half, then Charlie Wayman thumped a loose ball into the roof of the net.

Wilf Grant made it 5-0 from Wayman’s pass in the 81st minute before Millwall netted a last-minute consolation.

Saints finished third, while Millwall were relegated after ending the season at the foot of the table.

SAINTS: Black, Ramsey, Rochford, Smith, Webber, Ballard, Day, Curtis, Wayman, Bates, Grant.

Daily Echo:

Eric Day

STOKE CITY 1 SAINTS 3 (1931)
Saints came from behind to complete their first win at the Victoria Ground, thanks to two goals from former Pompey star Willie Haines.

Walter Bussey headed Stoke ahead midway through the first half but inside-right Jerry Mackie banged the equaliser into the roof of the net’ within four minutes.

Saints took a 51st -minute lead with a goal that would never be allowed today. 'Inside-left Peter Dougall shot hard and high and though Norman Lewis leaped and held the ball, Haines charged the goalkeeper when he was off his feet, bundling him and the ball into the net," reported The Football Echo.

Saints clinched the win in the 71st minute. 'Centre-forward Haines got the ball out to Arnold. The left-winger centred low. By that time Haines was in a position again and slotted through a number of players when Lewis must have been unsighted'.

SAINTS: Scriven, Keeping, Bradford, Luckett, McIlwane, Adams, Arnold, Jepson, Dougal, Haines, Mackie.

SAINTS 2 STOCKPORT 1 (1925)
"Bill Rawlings must be congratulated upon two of the cleverest goals seen at The Dell," wrote The Football Echo correspondent.

Tom Allen saved a penalty he conceded before Rawlings gave Saints the lead with the first of his two goals. 'His shot hit the post, cannoned across to the other post and thence into the net,' reported The Football Echo.

Another Allen save maintained the lead before Rawlings doubled it in the 75th minute.

He ‘very cleverly deceived Bill Bocking, made himself an open goal and rounded off a very clever movement by slipping the ball into the net.'

SAINTS: Allen, Parker, Hough, Shelley, Campbell, Bradford, Henderson, Cribb, Dominy, Rawlings, Harkus.