A SECOND half goal from Eddie Oshodi was enough to win this FA Youth Cup tie against Southampton on a chilly evening at St Mary's.

The defender was brave enough to jump with goalkeeper Andrej Pernecky and he was rewarded for his efforts when the ball trickled over the line for what was the only goal in a tight cup encounter between the youngsters. 

The Golden Boys started with a familiar line-up for this FA Youth Cup fourth round encounter on the south coast.

The Hornets wore yellow shirts, red shorts and yellow socks - captain for the evening was centre-half Rob Kiernan.

An early Watford free-kick saw wide man Billy Gibson float in a lovely ball to the far post, but sadly for the visitors no one was on the same wavelength as Gibson as the chance went begging.

On the large St Mary's pitch it made for an entertaining encounter as both teams tested the water and showed their commitment to attacking their opponent.

Southampton felt they were hard done by when the assistant referee raised his flag against them for a marginal offside decision.

A defence splitting pass broke the 'Orns but Daryl McLean was in an illegal position according to the assistant.

With 10 minutes on the clock, the Hornets attacked the Saints and got a shot in on goal and it came from the unlikely figure of midfielder Kurtney Brooks, his effort curled and sailed just over the bar.

The move had started with Gibson and involved striker Marvin Sordell and Matthew Whichelow.

The home captain Kayne McLaggon looked a threat to the Hornets - he operated down the left flank and he kept Lee Hodson on his toes for large spells of the cup clash. 

Watford continued to show some promising signs in attack as Whichelow blasted over the bar and Piero Mingoia saw his shot deflected for a corner kick.

On 20 minutes Sordell created space for himself and whipped in a great ball to the far post that Ben Reeves had to deal with as he had Gibson lurking.

The Saints reacted with an attack of their own as McLaggon broke quickly and forced a save from North.

The Golden Boys were let off the hook when a Southampton forward miss-hit a shot in the penalty area as the 'Orns switched off for a split second and left him unmarked in the 23rd minute.

Whichelow was playing just off Sordell in attack and he was creating plenty of chances for himself - just before the half hour mark he again hit a shot that went just wide of Pernecky's post.

England defender Oshodi was more than comfortable to drive forward with the ball from centre-half and his shot deflected for a corner as the Hornets started to commit more men forward.

Eddie Oshodi proves to be the Hornets' hero with his goal

There was a scare for the Golden Boys in the 34th minute as Hodson's backpass fell short and North was required to race from his goal - fortunately the ball rebounded off McLaggon for a Watford goal kick.

As the half drew to a close, Brooks saw his shot saved after Gibson couldn't get the ball out from under his feet in the penalty box.

The final chance saw Pernecky produce an excellent save after Whichelow went on a dazzling run and Gibson planted a shot at goal but the stopper was equal to it.

After the break it was the men from Hertfordshire who made the early running and impressed. Sordell hit a superb shot that struck the woodwork from 25 yards and then efforts flew in from Whichelow from a similar distance.

The Hornets came close to carving out an opportunity when Gibson ran at the home defence and squared the ball to Mingoia but his goal-bound effort struck a home defender.

Watford's youngsters appealed for a spot-kick but the protests were waved away by the referee. 

On 65 minutes Pernecky came scampering out of his goal after a neat ball through from Whichelow, the ball rolled out towards the by-line and he closed down Sordell.

He put the ball back across goal but fortunately for the stopper his defenders were on hand to put the ball behind for a corner.

From the resulting kick the Hornets eventually forced the first and decisive goal of the evening.

Mingoia floated a cross in towards the goalkeeper and first year scholar Oshodi was brave enough to jump for the ball to bundle it over the line.

His celebration was a treat too, running towards the Watford bench and sliding on his knees in front of the St Mary's crowd.

The 'Orns were on top and after closing down a defender Sordell tackled a centre half and the ball fell to Whichelow, his deflected effort was then well saved by the 'keeper. 

In the 70th minute the home side nearly scored an identical goal as a Saint jumped up with 'keeper North near the goal line, but fortunately for the Welshman he grabbed hold of the bouncing ball.

With five minutes remaining there was a scare for the 'Orns with the best chance of the game yet for the Saints. A powerful header was struck towards goal but gladly for the visitors it eventually went over the bar after a deflection.

The Hornets brought on schoolboy Gavin Massey late on to replace Gibson on the right hand side of midfield.

The single strike proved to be enough as the 'Orns held on for a great win on the south coast.

Watford will now face either Crystal Palace or Ipswich Town in the next round.

SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): Pernecky; Stiklakis, Racine (Harper 82), Tafazolli, Reeves; McLean (Scott 68), McNish, Gobern (Preen 82), McLaggon (c); Doble, Dunford. Subs not used: Hogan (gk), Keegan.

WATFORD (4-4-1-1): North; Hodson, Kiernan (c), Oshodi, Lavers; Gibson (Massey 83), Brooks, Penny, Mingoia; Sordell; Whichelow. Subs not used: Yiadom, Antal (gk), Otshudi, Archer.

BOOKINGS: SOUTHAMPTON; Gobern (ungentlemanly conduct, 26), Racine (professional foul, 32). WATFORD; Penny (professional foul, 45+2).

SENDINGS-OFF: SOUTHAMPTON; none. WATFORD: none.

GOALS: SOUTHAMPTON; none. WATFORD; Oshodi (66).

REFEREE: Mr J Rowbury.