The 29-year-old won the match with a ferocious strike from outside the box in the 33rd minute and the Lilywhites held out, in front of a euphoric home crowd, for a vital three points.

It was a deserved victory for the Championship’s bottom club, who looked like they simply wanted the win more than their opponents.

Southampton were unbeaten in six but they started slowly, with Andrew Moran rattling off two goal-bound shots that needed blocking in the early stages.

And they were dealt a major blow in the 11th minute when Keven Schlotterbeck was carried off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly, with Zach Abbott coming on in his place.

Preston were pressing the Saints well in their own defensive third and that tenacity gave them a clear opening after 29 minutes as Alfie Devine stole the ball off Jack Stephens and broke clear on goal, only to be denied by the leg of Daniel Peretz, before Moran fizzed the loose ball narrowly over from the edge of the box.

North End were confident in trying their luck from range, with Thierry Small and Thompson arrowing long-range efforts narrowly over and, just moments later, the goal came from that line of thinking as Thompson connected brilliantly on the volley with James Ward-Prowse’s headed clearance.

There was a real lethargy in Southampton’s play, with their first attempt on goal taking 35 minutes to come from Finn Azaz, who tried to out-do Thompson with a curling 30-yard effort that sailed harmlessly wide.

Lee Nicholls was making his league debut for Preston in goal, replacing an out-of-form Daniel Ivesen, and he had little to do in the first half aside from two routine saves late on to deny Leo Scienza.

Eckert would have undoubtedly given a stern chat at the interval but his team nearly went two behind within 60 seconds of the restart as Liam Lindsay nodded the ball down for Small, who lacked composure and fired wide with just Peretz to beat.

That miss roused the Saints and Scienza continued to test Nicholls, with the Preston keeper doing well to beat away his fierce 55th-minute angled strike at his near post before getting down low to get his body behind a tamer effort shortly after.

It got more taxing for Nicholls, though, with the former Huddersfield man diving full length to tip Welinton’s 25-yard thunderbolt over the bar just after the hour.

And he later reacted quickly to block Azaz’s deflected strike from inside the box, securing Preston’s victory.