EVERYBODY needs good neighbours. Having experienced a mixed bag in their first two friendlies, a morale-boosting victory on their return to Dean Court was just what the doctor would have ordered for Cherries.

However, after ex-Cherries youngster Matt Paterson had fired the visitors into a 51st-minute lead, the Saints looked destined to go marching back along the Wessex Way boasting their first win of the warm-up campaign.

But Eddie Howe’s mix of men and boys dug deep to restore parity thanks to a well-crafted goal from livewire Liam Feeney just five minutes later.

And the pièce de résistance came soon after when Saints goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski proved a more than friendly neighbour in this eagerly-contested south coast face-off.

It was as if Sammy Igoe had nipped next door to borrow a bowl of sugar as the Polish stopper’s glaring error gifted Cherries the lead.

Bialkowski, on as a half-time replacement for Kelvin Davis, shanked his clearance straight to Igoe, probably the worst possible benefactor in the eyes of Saints fans. The former Ports-mouth man still had plenty to do but, with Bialkowski hopelessly off his line, Igoe steered the ball neatly into an unguarded net from just outside the 18-yard box.

“It was easy really!” joked Igoe whose impressive display earned him the sponsors’ man-of-the-match champagne. “He scuffed it, the ball fell to me and I just chipped it in.”

Saints probably just about shaded possession during an entertaining opening period, although chances were shared.

Brett Pitman twice went close early on, while Feeney and ex-Cherries loan star Jake Thomson almost troubled the scorers with sharp chances.

“It was a good game,” added Igoe. “No disrespect to the two other teams we’ve played, but it was a different kettle of fish playing a team from a higher league.

“I thought we coped well considering we’ve only been back a week and they’ve been back a bit longer. We know we’re not totally match fit yet but we’re getting there.

“I know they’ve lost players but they are a good side. They kept the ball really well in the first half and made it hard for us. As the game went on, we came into it a bit more and created chances. I felt we coped with them really well.”

As the first half drew to a close, referee Graham Scott took centre stage, his display of common sense earning him the acclaim of the Cherries dugout and probably the wrath of his assessor.

The official chose only to award Saints a free kick after Cherries goalkeeper Shwan Jalal had clearly and deliberately handled the ball outside his area.

Jason Pearce felt the full force of the resultant dead-ball situation with Lloyd James’s thunderous drive striking the Cherries defender on the head. Pearce will probably claim he charged it down.

After a flurry of goal activity, Bialkowski partly atoned when he denied Feeney with a top-drawer save before Jalal was forced to beat away a fierce effort from Ryan Doble.

Jalal also pushed another James piledriver over the crossbar before Cherries trialist Davide Grassi saw his free kick fizz past the upright at the opposite end.

“I was really pleased,” said Cherries boss Howe. “I thought we improved again from the previous two games and the lads showed a great attitude and good fitness levels.

“These games get more important the closer you get to the start of the season. We haven’t done a lot tactically and it has been mostly fitness work and I thought the lads looked pretty sharp.

“I’ve said I want to win every game we play and this was no different.

“So to beat a side from a higher league with exceptionally good players was satisfying.”

Cherries: Jalal, Robinson (Webb, 67), Pearce (Broadhurst, h-t), Garry (Cummings, h-t), Grassi, Feeney (Parsons, 72), Partington (Stephenson, 62, Annetts, 85), Hollands (Hill, 80), Igoe (Ings, 76), Goulding (Hutchings, 56), Pitman (Smith, h-t).

Saints: Davis (Bialkowski, h-t), Wotton, Lancashire, Perry, Mills (Reeves, h-t), Thomson (Paterson, 39), James, Gillett, Boyle (Saville, 72), Lallana, Rasiak (Doble, 67).

Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire).

Attendance: 3,343 (inc 1,363 away supporters).