Crouch rises to occasion for the Saints

SOUTHAMPTON assistant boss Jim Smith was delighted at the way his side climbed out of the bottom three with a deserved victory against Middlesbrough.

The Saints gave their Premiership survival hopes a boost after two goals from Peter Crouch and an Andreas Jakobsson strike helped them on their way to a 3-1 win at the Riverside.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had cancelled out Jakobsson's opener but Crouch's superbly-taken goals handed the Saints their first away league win of the season and condemned Boro to another poor post-European performance.