FORWARD Dom Ballard marked his return from injury with a goal as a youthful Saints XI beat AFC Totton 3-2 in a friendly on Saturday.

Ballard restored Southampton's lead in the first half in his first game back after suffering a serious knee injury while on loan at Reading last season.

Derrick Abu had opened the scoring with a sensational free-kick before Marcus Daws drew the Stags level.

A trialist added a third following the break as Saints fielded a completely new side before Daws grabbed his and Totton's second of the afternoon.

New under-21s head coach Simon Rusk took charge of a Saints lineup comprised of under-21 and under-18 starlets.

Tyler Dibling and Sam Amo-Ameyaw played no part due to being with the senior squad, while Cam Bragg was left out ahead of a loan away from the club.

Senior boss Russell Martin and his assistant Matt Gill were in attendance at Snows Stadium to observe the next crop of Southampton players.

A number of the players involved have trained with the senior team during pre-season and were looking to further impress the boss.

Southampton's under-21s are set for further pre-season friendlies against Swindon Town, Gillingham, Chippenham Town and Bournemouth under-21s.

Full Southampton squad:

Adli Mohamed, Barnaby Williams, Brandon Charles, Brook Myers, Derrick Abu, Dom Ballard, Jay Robinson, Jayden Meghoma, Jayden Moore, Jem Hewlett, Joe O'Brien Whitmarsh, Josh McNamara, Lewis Payne, Nat Boot, Nick Oyekunle, Princewill Ehibhatiomhan, Thierry Rohart Bronw, Will Armitage, Will Merry, Trialist A, Trialist B, Trialist C.