Lallana insists Southampton will take confidence from win over Everton

Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was the penalty shootout hero when he saved Ashley Young's effort to see Saints win 6-5, having drawn 1-1 in regular time.

Lallana praised his teammates for holding their nerve to score all six penalties in an intense Goodison Park atmosphere. 

The veteran midfielder believes Southampton can take a number of positives from the result but confessed he would have preferred to win the game inside 90 minutes.

"Any way you progress is good," Lallana told the Daily Echo. "It would be nice to win it in normal time. 

"But the lads showed great nerve to take the penalty and Al came up trumps at the end with a big save.

Adam Lallana joins his Saints teammates in a huddle ahead of kick-off at Everton (Image: Southampton FC/Matt Watson) "I think we will take any bit of confidence, belief. It's never been easy to come here to Goodison Park for me.

"I thought we controlled the game in the first half, they had probably a couple of big chances on the break.

"There are lots of positives to take and more importantly (we got) the win going into a big game at the weekend.

"It's not easy when you make 10 changes and lads are coming in. We've got a big squad, a lot of players.

"I thought we played well enough considering the changes and we'll dust ourselves down now and get ready for the weekend."

Lallana has mainly been used from the bench this season, his start at Everton was his first since rejoining the club on a one-year deal.

Martin opted to withdraw the 36 year old at half-time in order to manage his minutes after Lallana missed most of pre-season with a knock.

"It was nice to start the game," Lallana explained. "It was always a plan to just play the first half. I felt really good out there actually.

"It was important that I didn't want to get carried away. I want to recover well and be available for the weekend.

"Whether that's off the bench again and just be available to help the boys. It's amazing having a manager that can communicate that with me and ask me how I'm feeling."

Russell Martin (left) and Adam Lallana (right) (Image: PA) Saints boss Russell Martin added: "The plan was always to get him 45 minutes and I think on Saturday he showed what he's going to bring.

"I just love watching him play football. He is an amazing footballer. He's so graceful, elegant but aggressive.

"He has an amazing mentality. He's going to be massive for us. He is off the pitch already and on the pitch he's going to have a big, big say."

Martin has repeatedly praised Lallana for adding voice to the Saints dressing room, which has helped the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes grow as leaders.

Harwood-Bellis donned the armband for the first time in a competitive game on Tuesday evening.

The England under-21s captain got the nod from Martin even though Alex McCarthy and Adam Armstrong both started - two more players who have previously been skipper.

Lallana praised the 22 year old for his maturity and how he dealt with coming back into the team after dropping to the bench against Manchester United.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored for Saints in regular time (Image: PA) He concluded: "He found himself out of the team at the weekend and I thought he responded really well tonight coming back in.

"He's got that level of maturity to definitely make steps forward in his career. He's still got plenty to learn and we speak a lot. I'm pretty close with Taylor.

"It's just important he gets his head down and keeps looking to improve. I'm convinced in time he'll be ready to make those strides forward.

"I thought he was excellent. He played with a lot of maturity and led the boys really well out there."