RALPH Hasenhuttl expressed his delight at Nathan Tella breaking his Saints duck, describing his first Premier League goal as a "special moment".

The joy was clear to see for the 21-year-old, when he swept home a Kyle Walker-Peters cross against Fulham at St Mary's, just two minutes after coming off the bench as a substitute.

Tella went on to provide an assist for Theo Walcott, who added to Che Adams's early goal to secure a 3-1 victory for Saints.

Reflecting on former Arsenal youngster Tella's strike, Hasenhuttl said: "It is time that he scores his first goal. I think he had a few good opportunities so far, but the way he was working for the team today, he deserves a goal.

"I am very happy for him and for his assist for Theo."

He added: "I had never the feeling that he was under pressure because he had not scored a goal. I think when you see him working for the team, this is normal that he sometimes comes in this situation.

"I must say that how we created this goal was something we were working on all the time and the ball behind the last line, Stuey (Armstrong)'s ball to Kyle and then Kyle in behind the last line was what we were talking about. It was exactly the game plan we had and I am very happy that Nathan scored the goal."

Asked if this will be a moment Tella will never forget, having battled back from a serious knee injury during his time in Saints' academy, Hasenhuttl added: "Definitely not. I think he’s now on the scorers list in the Premier League, it’s a special moment for him as a striker.

"The smile on his face is always there. This is what I really like from him because he enjoys working for the team, he enjoys training with us and he enjoys every day when he is allowed to play football.

"Maybe this ACL injury can link to understand how special it is to be part of a Premier League team.

"He is a very big talent from our academy and a signal for all the other players that are coming up that there is always a chance."