Premier League: Southampton 0 Wigan 2

Franco Di Santo and Arouna Kone handed Wigan their first three points of the season with a 2-0 away win over promoted Southampton.

Adam Lallana was a bright spark in an otherwise drab first half at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, the 24-year-old going close to opening the scores with a stunning long-range effort that was tipped onto the bar.

After the break, Southampton were delivered a blow from which they never recovered as Di Santo found the back of the net with a sublime finish, with Kone adding a late second, leaving the hosts without a point after two games.

There was plenty of anticipation from the home crowd down on the south coast after a seven-year wait to see their team compete in the Premier League, but in truth the game took a little while to get going, with both sides struggling to penetrate the other’s area in the opening exchanges.

Saints had the better of the possession early on, and nearly got a breakthrough just before 15 minutes had elapsed. Lallana created a yard for himself with a neat turn before smashing a shot towards goal, and was only denied by a brilliant save from Ali Al-Habsi.

The home side continued to press after going close as Jose Fonte picked out Rickie Lambert with a long ball, the big striker getting a header on target but it proving comfortable for the Latics keeper.

Lallana continued to be the danger man in the first half as he created several opportunities.

Wigan had their first chance of the game just after the half-hour mark as Maynor Figueroa blasted a first-time volley at goal after Emerson Boyce’s cross.

As the game approached half-time, and the rainfall thickened, chances became few and far between. Di Santo wasted a rare good position as Wigan counter-attacked, before Lallana saw his attempted chip collected by Al-Habsi at the other end.

Wigan came out firing after the break and got the opening goal within five minutes. Shaun Maloney threaded a neat ball past the hosts’ back-four as he turned sharply on the edge of the area. Di Santo was then clear of the back-line and smashed a strike past Kelvin Davis.

Southampton looked to hit back instantly as Danny Fox tried a volley from the edge of the box, but Al-Habsi was equal to it. As the half went on, again both sides failed to show any cutting edge on the attack, Di Santo tried an ambitious long-range strike while his confidence was high but got it all wrong as the score stayed level at the hour mark.

Minutes later, though, Lambert nearly grabbed an equaliser. The big striker turned before unleashing an effort from range but Al-Habsi stretched to get a fingertip on it and push it wide.

With under 10 minutes left, Lallana tried to salvage a point for his side, hitting a low strike at goal after a decent run, but Al-Habsi made the save though couldn’t collect the ball at the first attempt.

As Saints pushed forward in search of a late point, Wigan punished them on the counter-attack as Kone got in behind the back-four and after stealing the ball from Fonte, he then proceeded to smash the ball past Davis with ease, giving Roberto Martinez’s men their first victory of the season.