Southampton - Redemption after defeating Reds

Crucification - St Mary's (2005)

Saints fans cut a desolate figure after relegation in 2005 (getty images)

As the St Mary's galleries descended into a pall of gloom, after referee S Bennett blew the final whistle, each of the 32,066 fans present that day had to face the harsh reality that Southampton were about to be relegated from top-flight football for the first time in 27 years.

With Manchester United's Rudd Van Nistelrooy nodding home a killer goal in the 63rd minute, raucous fans were silenced in a matter of few seconds, as hordes of them made a bee-line to the nearest exit.

Though eager fans fervently hoped for a miracle after Nistelrooy's goal, it never was to be as Southampton tapered off without a fight and were just about to be condemned to the relegation dustbins of football history.

At full-time, Southampton had suffered their latest collapse, with their shamed players resembling ostriches searching for a place to bury their heads in the hallowed St Mary's turf.

Final score - Southampton - 1 Manchester United -2 

Dark shadows descended over empty seats, and as the whole of South Coast mourned over their footballing crucification, fans realised that  'unfashionable' Championship football was to be their upcoming destiny.

38 games...six wins...eighteen losses later...Southampton geared up for life in the Championship!

Redemption - Old Trafford (2014)

Dusan Tadic celebrates his winner at Old Trafford (getty images)

Southampton are involved in a heated tussle with Manchester United, with both sides unable to make a breakthrough even after an hour of engaging football.

Mind you, Southampton, who were touted to be relegation-fodder, have done a football Renaissance of sorts and have steadily climbed to the top-half of the Premier League table. 

As both teams look to knock each other out with some pressing football, Saints boss Ronald Koeman summons in Dusan Tadic, in a desperate bid to do the unthinkable of winning a game at Old Trafford in...ironically 27 years!

With Serbia's Tadic sprinting on field in place of Eljero Elia, little did the boisterous Old Trafford crowd know about what was about to transpire next.

Southampton are looking red-hot, and as another long ball gets punted into the United box...the Saint's are just about to redeem themselves from years and years of misery!

69th minute

Southampton are swarming into the United box, giving them plenty of problems. As the ball falls towards the ever alert Graziano Pelle, his shot comes off keeper David de Gea's near-post, and rolls into the crowd of players at the edge of the box. 

Though United's defenders make a desperate attempt to clear it to safety, Tadic who prowls nearby keeps his calm and shoots...

GOAL!

Tadic's shot rolls into the net past keeper David de Gea, and as the Serb celebrates wildly in front of hysterical travelling Saints fans... Southampton have delivered the killer blow and are on the cusp of creating history.

Old Trafford reverberates with chants of 'The Saints are going up!', and Tadic has proved to be an unlikely hero for his side, thus sending the sprinkling of Southampton fans into ecstasy.

And the game goes as per script as Southampton manage to hold on to their slender lead and ward off United till the final whistle.

With referee Phil Dowd blowing the final whistle, the final score reads - Southampton -1 Manchester United - 0.

As a 'shirtless' Tadic and the rest of the Saints team resemble 'Warriors of Light', who have just burst through dark clouds...Southampton have just resurrected themselves from the dead!

The Saints are going up!

That 1-0 win at Old Trafford showcased that Southampton are not a club who can be taken lightly anymore.

For a club which till recent years plied their wares in the lower echelons of English football, beating Manchester United in their own den was an achievement of colossal proportions.

If getting relegated to the Championship was a disaster, then falling further into League One in 2009 and going into administration was an even bigger blow to the St Mary's faithful.

The bankrupt club went into a complete overhaul post 2009, with Swiss business magnate Markus Liebherr taking over in a bid to turn things around.

Unnecessary players were sold off and talented youngsters like Rickie Lambert were roped in, keeping the future in mind.

Rickie Lambert proved to be a revelation at Southampton (getty images)

Results started flowing in as the club beat Carlisle United to win the Football League trophy at Wembley in 2010. A year later they had secured promotion to the Championship, thanks to some stellar football by their young brigade, signs which bode well for the future.

Come the 2011-12 season, and every league game at St Mary's resembled a carnival as upbeat fans egged on the club to further success. 

Lambert, Adam Lallana and Jose Fonte were in the forefront of things and as goals and wins started flowing in, the club had just secured promotion to Premier League football, a fact which was all  but considered unthinkable a few years back. 

The biggest find for the club was Lambert, who finished 2011-12 with 27 goals and in the process also won the 'Championship Player of the Year' award.

As Lambert and Lallana fired on all cylinders, St Mary's was to see Premier League action once again after years and years of wait and despair.

So as the 2012 season was ushered in, chants of 'When the Saints Go Marching In!' was the favoured theme for every Southampton fan!

More glory awaits?

Under Ronald Koeman, Southampton have gone from strength to strength in 2014 (getty images)

With the club currently poised at a magnificent third place, Saints fans have every reason to be optimistic about Champions League football the upcoming season.

Under Koeman, the club has registered giant-killing acts of the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, and going by current form look set to replicate a few more of them in the remainder of the season.

Despite losing high-calibre players like Lambert and Lallana to cash-rich opponents recently, the club has done well to buy fresh talents like Tadic and Pelle, who have been exceptional to say the least.

The rock-solid Fraser Forster provides an ever-reliable option in goal, and the likes of Jay Rodriguez, Ryan Bertrand, Florin Gardos, Shane Long and Sadio Mane give the much needed stability to the side.

Though it is still premature to predict whether the club would carry on with their purple patch and do pull off some more monumental efforts in the remainder of the season, in Koeman they have found a canny manager who can help them reach their potential despite absence of big stars.

With Newcastle United awaiting them next at St James Park, do expect more fireworks from the Saints, who are going from strength to strength as the season trickles by.

And it won't be a surprise if Koeman's side ride their current success wave and dispatch off the Magpies with unerring precision at St James Park!