Blues were absolutely rampant during the first half, and stormed into a 2-0 lead at the break. However, they eased off in the second half as Harry Redknapp's men bounced back, and had to live a little dangerously at times to earn their victory.
With new faces at the club, and one or two others back from injuries and suspension, Steve Bruce finally had a few options in his team selection. Kenny Cunningham returned at the heart of the defence to replace Martin Taylor. Damien Johnson came in for Darren Carter in the heart of midfield, to partner Stephen Clemence, whilst new boy Jermaine Pennant replaced Darren Anderton on the right. Up front, Walter Pandiani also made a debut alongside Robbie Blake - who only started after Emile Heskey withdrew from the starting XI during the pre-match warm up.
Blues started well, and kept it up for the entire first half. Julian Gray and Pennant both looked threats down the flanks, whilst Cunningham and Matthew Upson started well against the in-form Peter Crouch. It took just a few minutes for the debutants to link up, when Pennant nodded a Gray cross back across goal, and Pandiani volleyed just wide.
After 12 minutes the two debutants combined again, and this time to even better effect. Blake did superbly well to play in Pennant down the right. The on-loan winger delivered a telling cross and 'El Rifle' Pandiani was on hand to rise well and head superbly past Antti Niemi to put Blues 1-0 up and mark his debut with a bang.
Blues continued to create chances as the Saints struggled to get a kick. Pennant and Pandiani both looked as if they'd been at the club for years, let alone hours, whilst the apparently lightweight and makeshift central midfield pairing of Clemence and Johnson controlled proceedings. Pandiani had a drive deflected wide, before a stunning Jamie Clapham strike was superbly tipped over the bar by Niemi.
As the half wore on it looked increasingly likely that Blues would increase their lead. Mario Melchiot had one penalty appeal turned down, but was more successful just 4 minutes before the break. Pennant and Blake combined again and played Melchiot in to the penatly area. As the Dutch full-back cut back inside, Jamie Redknapp fouled him, and referee Peter Walton has no hesitation in pointing to the spot. In fairness, Redknapp's hands went straight to his head as he knew he'd committed a foul. Blake - who had been playing with plenty of confidence after his good display at Stamford Bridge - clearly fancied himself from the spot. He grabbed the ball, placed it, and thumped it past Niemi to make it 2-0, and to start a chorus of 'There's only one Robbie!' from the Blues fans.
So, that was it at half-time, and Blues fans were able to enjoy their tea and pies reflecting on what was, quite simply, a superb first half display. Of course though, those fans probably forgot that this was Blues they were watching, so the second half was bound to be very different... and it was.
Southampton brought on Henri Camara for the disappointing Kenwyn Jones at the break. Camara had torn Blues apart at St Andrews with Wolves last season, and there's no doubt that he's just about the quickest player around. He began to make an impact alongside Crouch almost immediately.
After 55 minutes, Camara's impact became even greater. Crouch won a flick on, and Camara outpaced Upson, took one touch, and then belted a great right-foot drive into the roof of the net past Maik Taylor. Blues were seriously struggling with Camara's pace, and as they focussed solely on his threat, mistakes began to occur and they were gradually letting Southampton into the game.
The visitors kept pressing in their much improved second half display, with Camara and Crouch the threats. Blues tried to hit Saints on the break when possible, but with little real success - Gray did fire wide on one occasion. Pennant tired to the point that he was making mistakes, and so was replaced by Carter as Blues strived to hold on.
Late on in the game, Pandiani who had also understandably tired was replaced by Olivier Tebily. Sometimes Bruce makes strange substitutions, but this one was an excellent one. Whilst it left Blake alone up front, Tebily simply went and man-to-man marked Camara. He paid no attention to a formation (when does he, I hear you ask!) and he simply sat on Camara for the last 15 minutes. Whilst he never actually did much, this role that Tebily played took Camara out of the game, and meant that Southampton became stifled for the final minutes, and so Blues got home in the end perhaps a little easier than they may have thought.
There's little doubt that the new boys gave everyone at St Andrews a lift. The fans were more up for it, the players seemed more up for it, and the first half performance showed this. Blake made a good impact too. He played a similar role to that which David Dunn sometimes plays, and plays in a similar way - he's confident with the ball, and not afraid to lose it a few times in trying to take people on.
The weaker second half display may well have been down to Pennant and Pandiani - so influential in the first half - tiring as you'd expect. This though was a huge plus of a result and a performance, and hopefully Blues can kick on from here - maybe after the trip to Arsenal's conquerors, Manchester United!