BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl insisted he was "proud" of his Saints side, despite their 3-1 defeat to Wolves.

A first-half Raul Jimenez penalty gave the hosts the lead, before Conor Coady doubled the tally just before the hour mark.

James Ward-Prowse sent up a grandstand finish with a stunning free-kick, and Saints could have nicked a point at the death, Romain Perraud heading against the crossbar.

And that miss was quickly punished as substitute Adama Traore raced through to clinch the contest, deep into the six minutes of added time.

Wolves, who have the second-best defensive record in the Premier League, came into the game on the back of four straight clean sheets.

But Saints carved out some big opportunities on the afternoon, with Mohammed Salisu also going close in the first half.

"We know it is tough here to score," said Hasenhuttl.

"We conceded a second one, which was a tight offside. Maybe Fras (Forster) doesn’t have to come out and then we never stopped working.

"We made a few changes, got some fresh legs on the pitch.

"We had all the chances to come back. The big, big equaliser chance from Romain.

"He knows that he has to score in this moment. But it shouldn’t happen and finally then the third goal.

"But I must say I am proud of this team today for what we have done, against this team, to come back after two down and have a chance to equalise is not so easy, because we stressed them.

"I think we did it much better than the first game, but not good enough and we have to learn."

He added: "We tried to stress them and I was convinced that we could do it, also against this team.

"The way we played in the second half, we had some moments. Che (Adams) had a few good moments in the box.

"I have not seen a lot of teams creating these chances against this side. They are a good side."