Long: Reed has star quality

Southampton 3 Everton 0

Reed, a 19-year-old midfielder, looked like he was a first-team veteran as he stepped in and helped his club draw a line under a five-game losing streak that had threatened to derail their season.

The youngster’s performance raised eyebrows simply because every time another teenager comes off the Saints’ production line, questions are asked about whether this will be the next one to follow in the line of his now famous predecessors.

Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw left last summer, netting the club almost £55 million in the process, and players like Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have gone before them.

Whether Reed will continue that trend remains to be seen, but there was plenty to admire about his first start to suggest he has a chance. As far as Long was concerned, though, the youngster showed why he has earned the nickname “Ray Donovan”.

Donovan is a TV character, a Hollywood fixer who solves his clients’ problems, and on Saturday, as Southampton put their recent concerns behind them, the moniker couldn’t have been more apt.

Southampton striker Long said: “I call him Ray Donovan because he just cleans up in midfield.

“I was delighted for him because he trains hard and I was really impressed since the first day I came in.

“He was waiting for his chance. It is hard to get a game with the quality we have in midfield, but two suspensions and Jack Cork injured as well, it has given him a chance to shine and he took it.

“I thought he was immense today and did really, really well stopping the ball getting to the attack and breaking up play. It was a good to watch.”

Reed will undoubtedly get a second chance, and the day will also probably come for the five youngsters included on the bench without a Premier League start to their name.

Ronald Koeman insisted he had no concerns about turning to youth. “We need the academy because we can’t spend the money different teams can spend on big players,” said the Southampton manager. “We need young players. I wasn’t nervous about that. I was nervous about needing the win, not the young players we had to play or put on the bench today.”

And while confidence may have been affected by recent results, Long — outstanding throughout the game — insisted talk of a crisis had been overblown.

Victory maintained Southampton’s standing in fifth place and the striker said: “I think if you’d came to watch us and seen the games, you would be happy with the performances.

“You’d be disappointed with the results, like we were, but we knew that if we kept doing the right things that things would turn our way and we’d get that rub of the green and take our chances when they come.”

Southampton dominated possession and profited from Everton’s defensive slips that began with Romelu Lukaku putting through his own goal in the 38th minute.

Second-half efforts from Graziano Pelle and Maya Yoshida completed the win that left Everton deflated after they had ended a winless streak with victory of Queens Park Rangers last Monday.

The Merseysiders have struggled for consistency all season, leaving them in mid-table, 10 points adrift from the top four.

Roberto Martinez, though, is confident his side can pick up the pace in the second half of the season and force their way back into contention for a Champions League spot.

The manager said: “The league is more open than it was the last campaign.

“Southampton and West Ham have been the best teams for me this season when you look at how they have performed and there are a lot of teams who are going to get a lot of points from each other.

“So if you can find a good run of results and form, you can always sneak in. that’s what we are trying to do. Win as many points as we can and we’ll see where that can take us.”

SOUTHAMPTON (3-5-2): Forster 7; Fonte 7, Alderweireld 8, Yoshida 7; Clyne 7, S Davis 8, Reed 7, Ward-Prowse 7 (Targett 80 60); Long 9 (Gape 89), Pelle 8.

EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard 6; Coleman 5, Jagielka 7, Distin 6, Baines 5; Besic 6, Barry 5, Naismith 6, Barkley 7; Eto’o 5, Lukaku 5.

Referee: J Moss (West Yorkshire).