Mauricio Pochettino watched on as Saints under-21s won 4-1 in a dominant performance against Sholing at the Silverlake Arena tonight.

A brace from Jake Sinclair and goals from Omar Rowe and Lloyd Isgrove secured victory, writes Peter Howard.

Sholing did scare the Premier League side as James Thompson scored with 15 minutes to go but late goals from Rowe and Sinclair ended the home team’s revival.

It took just quarter of an hour for Saints to take the lead after a decisive pass by fullback Matt Young found Sinclair who shot low across Matt Brown to make it 1-0.

Rowe caused havoc in the Sholing back line but failed to finish several opportunities.

Sholing defender Kevin Brewster hit a free kick in a central position which was the home side’s only chance in the first half.

Ashley Jarvis, on his debut for the Boatmen, was foiled by impressive defensive displays from Jordan Turnbull and Jack Stephens.

Isgrove was then played in by midfielder Harrison Reed, who slotted the ball into the net just before the interval.

The teams made wholesale changes at half-time – both making six changes.

The Boatmen survived heavy attacks by Saints, Isgrove and Rowe increasingly causing problems for the home team.

But it was the tall figure of Sholing striker Thompson who slotted past Will Britt in the Saints goal to make it 2-1 and set up an exciting final 15 minutes.

Rowe then struck a powerful shot from the right of the box past substitute goalkeeper Matt Renauf to all but seal victory for Saints.

Sinclair got his second when he broke forward and underlined Saints’ superiority with a neat finish into the corner.

Sholing boss Dave Diaper was impressed by Saints’ young side: “They looked very competent, they worked hard for each other and their movement off the ball was good.

“Everybody had a job to do and they knew the role they had to play, so I was very impressed,” he said.

Diaper, though, was still pleased with his side: “It was a big test of character and ability.

“We’re not used to going behind in games and it’s important to see how they reacted, so I was relatively pleased with the performance and the attitude in the way we applied ourselves.”