SAINTS unveiled almost £5 million worth of new talent - but it was a home-grown star who stole the show as Stuart Gray's side kicked off their pre-season with a 3-1 victory at Farnborough.

In his 20 minutes as a substitute, young hot-shot Mark Peters scored one, helped make another, hit a post and was denied by a superb save to eclipse new signings Anders Svensson and Rory Delap.

Both did well enough in their first appearances in a Southampton shirt but it was the finishing power of Peters which had the crowd buzzing.

It was a triumphant "homecoming" for the 17-year-old, who grew up just a few miles away from the north Hampshire town, and who remains something of a local hero.

The prolific youth team marksman replaced Mark Draper, who limped off with a slight foot injury with the score at 1-1.

The Conference side had taken the lead just five minutes earlier with a mysterious penalty.

Garry Monk appeared to win the ball cleanly but the referee said afterwards that the linesman had spotted a shirt tug and a trip.

Gary Crawshaw sent Neil Moss the wrong way with a spot-kick in off the post.

The controversy seemed to fire Saints and within four minutes they were level as Matthew Le Tissier planted a pinpoint cross on to the head of Tahar El Khalej who nodded home.

Enter Peters! Within a minute he had instinctively diverted a Stuart Ripley shot.

However there was an equally intuitive save from the goalkeeper who sounds like the end product of a Girls Night Out - Chuck Martini!

He was going the wrong way, but the Farnborough keeper blocked the shot with his legs.

However he could do nothing about another excellent piece of opportunism four minutes later.

Peters darted on to Delap's chip forward to steer a low shot just inside the right-hand post.

Within a minute, Peters had guided a cushioned header into the path of the impressive Kevin Gibbens.

He squared the ball for Le Tissier to break through the inside left channel and clip a precise 18-yard shot just inside the far post.

Peters stormed into a similar position two minutes later but smacked the base of the left-hand post from 20 yards.

Peters' goalscoring instincts are so strong that when he found space on the left edge of the area with five minutes left, he went for a spectacular curler into the far top corner.

The ball drifted wide, to the obvious frustration of James Beattie who was unmarked and screaming for a square pass.

But that is precisely why Peters was thrown into the fray, to gain that kind of experience.

And the youngster will learn from that, although the club will not want to inhibit his inate ability to shoot on sight.

That final quarter was by far the best section of an otherwise ordinary game which Saints used primarily for fitness.

It was a good work-out, with Farnborough getting stuck in strongly, especially during the opening 20 minutes.

Svensson showed some nice touches and neat passing, as well as a willingness to shoot from distance.

While Delap slotted in seamlessly despite being behind the rest of the squad in pre-season training.

He looked strong going forward and read the game well, as did the Swede who had a 25-yard drive wellsaved.

So too did Wayne Bridge, while Le Tissier turned sharply to whip a shot just wide in the driving rain.

Saints took an hour to feel their way into the game and to shake off the summer rust but they finished by far the stronger as their hard work in training paid dividends.