It's only half-time for Newcastle United in their last four Carabao Cup shootout - but Eddie Howe's side have one foot in a Wembley final.
They are a mere clean sheet away from their first appearance in a final in 24 years. But while they are halfway to a first appearance in a final showpiece beneath the famous Wembley arch, Howe knows there is plenty of room for improvement.
For more than an hour, it looked like Newcastle players had fluffed their lines as they wasted chance after chance. Yet this side is bursting with characters and a group of players who are always determined to get it right and after Joelinton's four-yard miss, he went on to redeem himself and leave the field a hero.
A full house awaits Newcastle next week and they are now 90 minutes away from the first major final of the season and 180 potential minutes away from Europe. These are heady heights for a team that fought against relegation only last season - but here we are.
The Magpies had the perfect chance to open the scoring with just two minutes on the clock as Joe Willock was slipped in by Miguel Almiron but the former Arsenal man blazed it high over the bar. There was an injury scare after five minutes as Fabian Schar went down clutching his knee.
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But the Switzerland international, after lengthy treatment and with Jamaal Lascelles warming up, managed to run it off. With 12 minutes gone Sean Longstaff went down in the box after a trip from Mohammed Salisu but after a VAR check there was no spot-kick awarded.
Newcastle won a corner on 17 minutes and sent up Sven Botman and Schar. It was played short between Almiron and Kieran Trippier but Gavin Bazunu was alert to the danger and punched the ball clear.
Bazunu then needed treatment after suffering a bloody nose following a collision with Almiron.
As the game reached the mid-way point - in front of a host of watching club legends including Alan Shearer and Bob Moncur - Southampton barely threatened and Newcastle had taken 59% possession. A free-kick was awarded on 28 minutes after Duje Caleta-Car upended Almiron wide on the right-hand side and was yellow carded for his trouble, and it would cost him dearly later in the night.
It offered Trippier the chance to whip the ball in but the dogged Southampton backline cleared their lines and it remained goal-less. Trippier crossed from the right on 34 minutes to find an unmarked Willock but for the second time in the first half he sent his shot high into the stands.
A second Southampton player went into the book for a foul when Carlos Alcaraz was cautioned for pulling back Bruno. The Magpies had the ball in the net when Willock crossed from left with his effort saved by Bazunu.
The ball then bounced up for Callum Wilson then Joelinton but after the Brazilian fired into the net he was adjudged to have handballed near the line with VAR choosing not to alter Stuart Attwell's original decision. The Saints used it as a rallying call and when Alcaraz unleashed one from distance Nick Pope was tested for the first time but managed to pushed it over the bar.
Before the half was over there was controversy when Southampton protested furiously after Pope charged out and crashed into Moussa Djenepo to clear with a header. The Saints player was taken off and replaced by former Newcastle striker Adam Armstrong.
The two sides went in level at the break with Newcastle players still furious about Joelinton's disallowed effort. Newcastle had a chance at the start of the second half when Almiron pulled the ball back for Longstaff but he lashed over with a right-footed shot.
With 50 minutes gone an audacious effort from former PSG kid Sekou Mara flew over the bar as he tried an overhead kick but Pope appeared to have it covered. United could not have asked for a better chance on 53 minutes when Trippier and Almiron combined with the playmaker picking out Joelinton at the back post.
As goalkeeper Bazunu rolled to his right he must have been anticipating getting back on his feet to retrieve the ball from the net but the Brazilian's left-footed effort screamed wildly over the crossbar from four yards. A minute later, United found their way through again with Almiron finding Sven Botman but he steered the ball into the side netting.
Southampton made two more changes before the hour mark as Samuel Edozie and Che Adams went on for Mislav Orsic and Mara. We reached the hour without a goal which was no surprise given the awful finishing on display from both sides.
Pope made another superb stop when sub Adams powered forward and got a clean strike at goal but the inspired Toon stopper kept it out with his foot with 25 minutes left. Two minutes later Adams spun in the box and arrowed a shot towards the bottom corner but again Pope got down well and saved the day.
Howe made his first changes of the evening when he brought on Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin to try to freshen up the attack. The £83million duo replaced Willock and Wilson with neither side enjoying their best night for United.
But any anxiety over missed chances evaporated into the cool South Coast air with 73 minutes gone and full credit to Howe it came thanks to his changes. Schar helped the ball on down the right before Isak's run and cross found Joelinton who applied the finish from close range.
That sent the away end into raptures with the Wembley chants belting out at St Mary's - but only for a couple of minutes. After Joelinton lost the ball on the left, James Ward-Prowse crossed for Adams before Toon Academy product bundled the ball home.
For Newcastle they'd gone from ecstasy to stunned silence but there would be a reprieve as VAR intervened. With Andre Marriner overlooking VAR the decision was to chalk off Armstrong's goal for a handball.
That sent the 3,200 travelling fans into Dreamland again as they celebrated it like a second goal for their own team. Almiron came off for Jacob Murphy as Howe made another tweak to his attack. Saint-Maximin burst forward with five minutes left before Caleta-Car lost his head and steamed in to upend him.
That led to Attwell producing the red card with Toon winger Murphy waving off the Saints man as Newcastle prepared to take the free-kick. Trippier's free-kick went over but United were counting the seconds down to a first leg victory.
Murphy fired into the side netting in five minutes of added time as Newcastle looked to add another layer of comfort in the dying stages. Isak skipped through moments later but again he could only find the side netting.
After more than a dozen misses on the night, each and every one of those will be forgotten next week. Newcastle are so close they can almost reach out and touch it.
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