BELLIS TOLLS FOR FULHAM

Stand-in captain Taylor leads Saints to last eight

- BY PATRICK AUSTEN-HARDY

TONDA ECKERT believes Taylor Harwood-Bellis is on a path to brilliance after he helped fire Saints into the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Ross Stewart converted a stoppage-time penalty at Craven Cottage to move the Championship side within one match of Wembley.

It is 50 years since Southampton won the old competition.

In a nod to the glory boys of 1976, Saints wore their yellow and blue away strip without featuring any players' names on the backs.

Just like that 1-0 upset win over Manchester United, the Saints outfought their topflight opponents.

Stewart's late spot-kick won the tie, but last season's Premier League whipping boys should have wrapped up the game even earlier.

In front of goal the Saints' finishing let them down, with both Leo Scienza and Cyle Larin missing the target when played through one-on-one.

Eckert's defenders' brilliance at the back made up for shoddy finishing at the front.