At 2pm some Saints fans were not happy with Ralph Hasenhuttl's team selection, by 5pm they were celebrating a solid win that has capped a nice little unbeaten run in the Premier League that has seen 7 points from the last 3 games.
After a battling performance at Stamford Bridge in midweek that saw exceptional performances from several fringe members of the squad some Saints fans hoped for a reshuffle in the side for the trip to Watford, but what they found when the team was announced was that Ralph Hassenhuttl stuck with those he felt were tried and trusted.
That meant the return of James Ward Prowse and dropping back to the bench for Ibrahima Diallo who has put in some solid displays in the Captain's absence through suspension.
Watford were of course buoyant after their 5 goal blitz of Everton and were fancying their chances of making it two wins in a row.
But they found a Saints side who although much changed from the draw at Chelsea had retained the fighting spirit of that night, they worked as a team and kept things tight at the back.
The only goal of the game came on 20 minutes when almost out of nowhere Che Adams with little backlift almost chipped a curling shot into the far corner from 18 yards out.
Adams has a knack of scoring the difficult ones but shortly after he continued a Saints tradition this season of missing easy chances from close range, his diving header went into the ground and bounced over the bar when it seemed easier to score.
There was one scare in the first half when Alex McCarthy allowed a shot to squirm past him at the near post, but Kyle Walker Peters blocked it on the line and it was cleared.
The only other time Watford looked like scoring was in the final minutes when McCarthy had to make a very good save to keep a clean sheet.
This was a very pleasing win for several reasons, firstly as mentioned there was a spirit and discipline in the side that will auger well for the rest of the season, secondly we made the right substitutions at the right time, something we have failed to do on several occasions this season.
On 70 minutes on came Stuart Armstrong for Elyounoussi to add some fresh legs, 10 minutes later Ibrahima Diallo came on for James Ward Prowse to hassle and close down to ensure that the Hornets couldn't get on top in the closing stages and finally Lyanco came on for the 4 minutes of injury time to add some steel.
But although there were many plus points to take from this game, there were also some areas were we need to improve.
We dominated this game but we failed to take our chances, the only other shot on target other than the goal that Foster needed to make was a botched clearance in the opening minutes from his own defender.
We really need to start putting away chances, Adams as mentioned should have netted and so should have Adam Armstrong, who headed over from close range in the first half when he really should have got it on target and who also had a plethora of other chances, not easy ones, but where he should have perhaps come a little closer to hitting the target, the good news is that he is getting into the positions and creating the chances for himself, he is not afraid to take the shot on, he just needs one to go in.
We really should have had the game put to bed in the first half and not left ourselves having to keep it tight in the second half, but hopefully the strikers will start to hit the target with a bit more regularity soon.
So a pleasing afternoon in Watford for 2,500 Saints supporters who were noisy and behind their team and played their part in keeping them going.
Picking a man of the match was not easy, Che Adams & Adam Armstrong could have truly grabbed that mantle had they taken their chances, Kyle Walker Peters was very good at left back and Mohammed Salisu again improves with every game and is now an important cog in the defence.
But perhaps the best player on the day was Tino Livramento who once again surged forward and caused havoc on the Watford left side and also defended well when we were on the back foot.
But it was not just about who were on the pitch, if we are to get through a tough winter those who didn't start the game are going to be just as vital.
The three subs who did get on the pitch Stuart Armstrong, Ibrahima Diallo & Lyanco could all easily be first choices and indeed Armstrong is but for his injury, but we were also missing the injured Armando Broja, and then those on the bench or indeed could not get on the bench, Theo Walcott, Romain Perraud, Djenepo, Nathan Tella, Jan Valery even Shane Long.
Long aside who is at the tail end of his career and although some would not be as generous to give him that recognition he has been a great servant to the club, all of those mentioned either have been or have the potential to be first choice in the team.
The key for Ralph now is to use the squad to its potential, it's not just about individuals, its about their collective use to the team, perhaps Theo Walcott, Djenepo and Nathan Tella are not going to play 30 odd games each and hit 7 goals, a good return for a wide midfielder, but between them they are capable of getting more than 7 goals and that will be the trick, using 3 players for one position as such, juggling them to get the best out of them.
Likewise up front, last season we had only two Danny Ings and Che Adams got 21 Premier League goals between them, now we have three strikers and we need them to beat that total, if each of them can hit 8 goals each then we have replaced Danny Ings and hopefully should prosper.
This performance has capped a very solid start to the season with a quarter of the games gone, we have endured a tough start and come through it well, now we are starting to play teams we can beat and we have done that, the last three games have yielded 7 points, that is a good total, now we have more points than games played we have to build on that and keep moving forward.
Friday sees the return of Danny Ings, hopefully a packed and loud St Mary's will show him their appreciation, but also show him that he could truly have been a legend at his home town club, but he preferred to move for money and perhaps on Friday night he will regret that.