SHANE Long scored his second goal in three games to help give Saints a 2-0 win over Aston Villa and send them 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

The Republic of Ireland international continued to show why he deserves a new deal after turning the ball home at the near post in the opening exchanges.

Stuart Armstrong was then on hand to seal the win with the last kick of the game after a quick Saints counter.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl made three changes to the side that were beaten at home to Burnley.

Kyle Walker-Peters was injured for the game, with Sofiane Boufal and Jannik Vestergaard being dropped down to the bench.

Will Smallbone came in to make his Premier League debut which meant James Ward-Prowse slotted in at right back.

Saints came flying out of the blocks and continued to pepper the Villa box with several crosses which were dealt with by Tyrone Mings.

Premier League debutant Smallbone then saw his drilled shot from outside the area take a deflection off Mings, prompting it to ricochet off the post and out for a corner.

However, the away side’s defence could only hold on for so long and, when Djenepo caught Erzi Konsa napping in the eighth minute, he whipped in a cross to the front post.

Long arrived just in time to bundle the ball home past former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Hasenhuttl’s side continued to dominate proceedings and should have doubled their advantage moments later.

Ryan Bertrand was slotted in by Djenepo but couldn’t direct his shot on target from an angle that was only getting narrower.

But it was in the 19th minute when Saints should have extended their slim lead.

Danny Ings went one-v-one against Reina, but the striker took one touch too many which afforded the shot-stopper enough time to smother the ex-Anfield man’s effort.

The ball then arrived in the box seconds later and fell to Djenepo who was no more than 12 yards out, only for him to blaze his attempt over the crossbar before missing another opportunity shortly after.

Aston Villa were forced to make a 28th-minute change when Anwar El Ghazi was unable to continue after colliding with Bednarek.

El Ghazi prompted the St Mary’s crowd into a chorus of boos when he decided to roll himself onto the pitch which brought play to a grinding halt.

But after being seen to by the Villa’s medical staff, Trezeguet stripped off and replaced the Dutch midfielder.

Djenepo, seemingly involved in every passage of play, then went down after he was caught, accidentally, by Marvelous Nakamba’s trailing elbow.

The 21-year-old suffered a nasty cut just above the eye which meant he has to be treated off the pitch before returning with a bandage wrapped around his head.

Villa, who up until this point had failed to trouble Alex McCarthy, sent Saints a warning.

Jack Grealish played in Mbwana Samatta, with their new signing then finding the back of the net with his shot in the 38th minute.

However, the linesman’s flag immediately went up to signal for an offside.

Saints ended the first half on top and let another great chance go to waste before the referee signalled for the break as Long fluffed his lines from inside the area.

A successful marriage proposal then took place at half time, proving that Long and Ings weren’t the only duo to be enjoying a partnership at St Mary’s.

The second half started slowly but sprung into life from Saints’ perspective in the 59th minute when Jack Stephens flicked Bertrand’s free-kick just over the crossbar.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was the next St Mary’s player to test Reina, with his volley forcing the Spaniard into making a fine save.

Samatta tried to spring Villa into life with just over 20 minutes to go but failed to find a way through the cluster of Saints defenders who were able to deflect his shot out for a corner.

With the match now starting to open up, Reina gambled by coming off his line to close down Long after he was set free by Hojbjerg’s long pass over the top.

The Irishman pipped the goalkeeper to the ball and was then brought down which resulted in the Villa man being shown a yellow card.

Clearly seeing the match was starting to become stretched, Hasenhuttl brought on Michael Obafemi and Che Adams in place of Long and Ings.

Adams almost made an immediate impact, only for his shot from outside the area to drift just wide of Reina’s post.

Saints started to sit a little bit deeper as Villa went in search of a late equaliser, but they managed to hold on and then added their second with the last kick of the game.

Villa sent Reina forward for a corner, Saints won the ball back and broke free, with the move ending in Armstrong guiding the ball into an empty net.