Southampton hero Benali explains why Dibling is 'rare breed'

The 18 year old gave Southampton the lead against Ipswich Town with what looked set to be the winner before Sam Morsy's deflected equaliser in injury time.

It's a moment he will have been dreaming of for a very long time. He made the finish look easy but I can assure you, what he did is not easy.

He showed real quality to beat his man with a brilliant first touch and composure to leave the goalkeeper with little chance to save his shot.

Forward players always want to get off the mark quickly. We've seen it from academy players before. Credit to Adam Lallana for setting him up too.

Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick against Arsenal on his debut and Matt Le Tisser was straight into the goals. These are the best of the best.

It's only natural for supporters to get excited about Dibling. He's one of a rare breed of players that gets you off your seat.

Saints celebrate with Tyler Dibling after his first goal for the club (Image: Richard Crease) His early performances are sure to bring another level of expectation. I can't speak for Dibling's mindset, but some players thrive when the pressure is on.

I'm sure manager Russell Martin and his coaching staff will be conscious of protecting him both physically and mentally.

Dibling has already shown a real knack for drawing fouls. I'm sure that will lead to teams doubling up on him in the coming games.

Alongside his distinctive dribbling, Dibling stands out because of his low socks. He's virtually not wearing any. I'm not sure I've ever seen socks lower than that.

The game has moved on since I was playing, but, had I seen a player with small shinpads coming up against me, I'd soon let them know.

Dibling's shin pads have reminded me of Jimmy Case, who used to tuck a spongy piece of felt down his socks and pass them off as protection.

I remember a few players spotting that and thinking they could get at Case because of it. That wasn’t the most wise thought process.

While Dibling has been getting all the praise, I also wanted to draw some attention to Yukinari Sugawara, who I think has been excellent so far this season.

The Japanese international has settled in really quickly at the club and he's even drawn up a good relationship with Dibling already.

What strikes me most about Sugawara is his selflessness. I've spotted him make countless overlap runs designed to draw the attention of defenders.

Yukinari Sugawara signed from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar this summer (Image: Stuart Martin)

He's made those runs even though he knows he isn't going to receive the ball. It takes a certain type of person who is willing to do that for the team.

His willingness to do the hard yards reminds me of Paul Telfer. He used to overlap Fabrice Fernandes all the time and not receive the ball.

When watching that, I used to joke that I'd expect to receive the ball much more often if it was me making those runs.

Sugawara, signed from the Dutch Eredivisie, has really established himself at right-back and done so in such a short period.

What makes it even more impressive is that he's done so with Kyle Walker-Peters still at the club. The relationship he has developed with Dibling has surely helped.

They are both adjusting to a new level. This is Sugawara's first time in English football and Dibling has played just a handful of senior games.

Sometimes players just click and I'm sure a lot more work has been done on the training pitch to further their understanding of each other's game.

Have a good weekend,

Franny Benali.