A brace from Danny Ings and a third from Jake Vokins gave Southampton a pre-season win at Deepdale, despite a goal on his Deepdale comeback by Billy Bodin.

The Welshman scored on his first outing in PR1 for a year with a quality finish, cutting in from the right, to, at the time, level things up, after Ings' opener, but the Premier League side eventually ran out winners.

The visitors started brightly and after an early corner, which Connor Ripley made an excellent punch to clear, the keeper was required to make a smart stop to deny Irish international striker Shane Long after a swift and powerful run from Michael Obafemi, who then reversed a pass to the frontman, only to be denied by the PNE stopper.

They also had the ball in the net before the ten minute mark, Long firing home from close range from Ryan Bertrand’s ball in from the left, but the assistant’s flag was straight up to rule out the goal.

But it was the home side who went closest to the first legal goal shortly after as Maguire flicked a Storey long ball on and Barkhuizen read a back-header got behind Angus Gunn, but couldn’t quite push the ball in from a very narrow angle.

Within seconds of this though, Ings grabbed a goal. A pass back to Ripley was cleared, but the former Burnley man made himself big and deflected the ball big back over the head of the goalkeeper and into the empty net for the first goal PNE had conceded in pre-season.

But it didn’t take long to draw level as on 18 minutes Bodin collected the ball on the right from a Tom Clarke throw in, cut inside onto his left foot and curled a vicious effort into the top left corner of Angus Gunn’s goal; the Welshman’s third goal in pre-season.

Ripley made another positive contribution to deny Obafemi on the half hour mark after Ings had found the right midfielder in space in the right side of the penalty area, the No.25 spreading himself well and saving with his legs.

However, the Saints were back in front just before the interval, as a cross from the left by Bertrand to the edge of the six yard box was met powerfully by Ings, who directed his header into the bottom left hand corner for his second of the game.

The second half took a while to get a tempo, but just after the mid-way point an excellent break by the Lilywhites saw Maguire wend Pearson down the right, he in-turn found Johnson, who found Barkhuizen on the left, who cut inside and shot, Gunn making a fine stop to prevent the equaliser.

Andrew Hughes was also denied an equaliser with a quarter of an hour left, as Bodin’s corner was headed down by Jordan Storey, but an effort from the left back was blocked in the six yard box.

But rather than an equaliser a third goal arrived for Southampton and Jake Vokins, on late in the game was the man to get it, poking home in the six yard box after a ball from the left by another substitute Nathan Redmond.

The home side went close to pulling one back with five minutes to go, when Louis Moult - on for Barkhuizen - got away down the left and pulled the ball to the edge of the six yard box, only for Gunn to come swiftly off his line to claim at the feet of Maguire, but the game remained 3-1.

PNE line-up: Ripley, Clarke (c) (Rafferty, 79), Hughes, Pearson, Storey, Davies, Barkhuizen (Moult, 72), Johnson, Maguire, Browne, Bodin (Burke, 79). Subs not used: Rudd, Earl, Harrop, Gallagher, Ginnelly, Ledson, Stockley, Bauer, Huntington, Potts.

Southampton line-up: Gunn, Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Long (Armstrong, 60), Ings (Reed, 60), Bednarek (Vokins, 72), Smallbone, Obafemi (Redmond, 60), Bertrand (Klarer, 72), Hojbjerg (c) (Sims, 60). Subs not used: Lewis, O’Connor, Johnson.

Attendance: 4,767 (385 Southampton fans)

Referee: Mr P Bankes