Southampton FC fire cheeky dig at Norwich City fan after St Mary's win | OneFootball

Saints moved into the Championship's top six with a crucial win over the Canaries

Southampton recorded what could be a crucial win in the overall context of their season on Wednesday night, as they defeated fellow in-form side Norwich City at St Mary's.

The respective resurgences made by Saints and the Canaries under the management of Tonda Eckert and Philippe Clement have been well-documented, with the two clubs in completely contrasting positions to the ones which they found themselves in at the time of the reverse fixture on December 13th.

Eckert's side had gone 12 matches unbeaten in the Championship and FA Cup ahead of the critical showdown between two sides hoping to make a late surge into the play-off places, and the South Coast side certainly went on to make it a 'lucky' 13th match without defeat on the spin - a run which stretches back to January 21st in their 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.

The 1-0 success, courtesy of £12m summer signing Finn Azaz's 10th league strike of an extremely productive individual season, was enough to move Southampton into sixth place ahead of Wrexham on goal difference, with the Red Dragons succumbing to a 3-1 defeat against Watford at Vicarage Road 24 hours beforehand.

Saints will now have Hull City - the side who inflicted their last defeat - well and truly in their sights, as they are now just three points behind the fifth-placed Tigers with eight matches to play.

Yet, whilst there was certainly plenty of room for all associated with the club to enjoy their 16th win of the league campaign, that also didn't stop Southampton's X 'admin' from firing a cheeky dig at a Canaries supporter, who perhaps wasn't in the best of moods at the full-time whistle.

Southampton FC fire cheeky dig back at Norwich City supporter after narrow St Mary's success

It was certainly a hard-fought victory for Eckert's side, who came into the matchup with Norwich off the back of a statement 2-1 win against league leaders, Coventry City, over the weekend.

With this particular fixture also rescheduled from Saturday, March 7th as a result of both teams' involvement in the FA Cup, it was a prime chance for Saints to further capitalise on Wrexham and Hull's recent mishaps on the road.

Although Azaz's 24th-minute strike ultimately proved decisive, the final statistics only further showcased that Southampton were made to work for the three points, with Norwich dominating the overall shot and shots on target count despite a depleted squad as a result of a major injury crisis.

As such, one Canaries supporter took the time to comment under Southampton's full-time graphic on X with the words of "Well done, your £200M parachute payment mega team beat an injured squad 1-0!"

Whilst Saints are one of a handful of sides in the division currently benefiting from 'parachute payments' after being relegated from the Premier League, they weren't holding back in their response of: "1-1. Parachute payments 90+9'."

Unsurprisingly, such a comment, which follows one of several football-related social media trends at present, has garnered mixed reactions, with supporters of Norwich and rival clubs brandishing it as 'embarrassing', whilst those of a Saints persuasion loved the cheeky dig.

Southampton are now in a position many expected them to be in

Due to their recent stints in the top-flight, Saints were expected to mount an immediate bid for promotion at the start of the season, but it has taken them 38 matches to finally be in a position which many expected them to be in.

That, of course, is largely down to two spells of poor form - firstly the run of two wins in 13 under Eckert's predecessor, Will Still, and another sticky patch which followed the German's permanent appointment in December.

However, with many players now starting to put their best foot forward, Southampton could be a force to be reckoned with if they are to solidify a place in the play-offs, especially with the top-level quality they boast across several departments.