There was a strange scene at the end of this competition when 30 or so sea lions suddenly swarmed at St Mary's stage, as if he had to pick the leftovers from Southampton here.
Bournemouth did not leave them much, Spirit, one afternoon when the various clues of these two South Coast clubs were made painfully clear.
While one turns around the drain of the championship, the other takes a position that will in all probability be sufficient for Champions League football at the end of the season.
Bournemouth is fifth, sandwiched between Manchester City and Chelsea. It is not a coincidence, they are there. It is because of design, with Andoni Iraola perhaps the biggest reason, which is why the traveling supporters sang that they want to tie him up for the next 10 years.
Just like Chelsea, they also had an injury crisis, but you will not hear them complain and this was a comfortable victory, even if Southampton was threatened after they finally remembered that they could also attack.
Bournemouth took 14 minutes to open the score when Ryan Christie was given the time to cross from the left. It was a wonderful ball that Dango Ouattara found between Jan Bednarek and Nathan Wood and, while the defenders of Southampton blamed each other for the amateurish marker, the visitors celebrated to fourth place in the Live Premier League table.
They would not occupy that position for too long – Manchester City took care of it by taking the lead elsewhere – but Bournemouth fans were still happy that they will soon start a European tour. Iraola will remind them that there is more work to do.
In the last third part, no one in the Premier League had won more than Bournemouth on the way to this collision – a total of 146 times – and it was a turnover that led them to doubled their lead in the 16th minute.
Southampton put little pressure on their opposing players, give the ball away while Justin Kluisert rolled it to Christie, who scored from 25 meters.
“You are F ***** S ***,” the supporters of Bournemouth sang. “We are F ***** S ***,” replied Southampton's. Sometimes Gallows humor is the only option when in what seems to be a hopeless situation.
There was the strange counterattack of Southampton, but the defenders of Bournemouth-in their short sleeves and gloves always to erase the final cross.
Only Aaron Ramsdale stopped Bournemouth to take a third before the break when Antoine Semenyo rolled his husband and flew forward. Ouattara made sure he stayed aside to receive the pass, but he shot the ball straight to the goalkeeper of Southampton.
In the 54th minute danced and danced Semenyo. He recorded it, then two, then three. It was a snake-hug slalom that brought him to the six-year box and would have been a wonderful solo goal if Ramsdale had not tipped his attempt at the end of it.
From the next corner Christie thought that his header had entered, but Gillett's watch refused to Buzz. Reporations showed a beautiful Save with one hand from Ramsdale.
After an hour, Southampton finally started to attack and manage their first shot at the goal of the game. In the 72nd minute they made it 2-1, Paul Onuachu hit the ball in Kamaldeen Sulemana, who turned around and shot in the bottom corner.
Ramsdale was again needed when Kyle Walker-Peters tried to dampen a header back to his goalkeeper, just to get too much on it and almost lobe him. An acrobatic jump saw it knocked over.
Walker-Peters was partly in default when Bournemouth made 3-1 in the 83rd minute, because he was the one who played Semenyo aside as he remained behind.
The ball found its way to Marcus Tavernier, who put his foot through to score from 18 Yards and confirm the victory.
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