United's number four recorded a first-half brace at St. Mary's, making it three in two games against the Saints this season as she also moved joint-top of the club's goalscoring charts for the campaign.

Nobbs set the standard for Newcastle after just 14 seconds when she rounded Fran Stenson and put the Lasses ahead, but the overall team performance was what pleased the midfielder.

"It's a big three points for us, and I think we showed our fight and a bit of ruthlessness," she told newcastleunited.com after the 2-1 success. "I thought our quality upfront and at the back was there for everyone to see.

"We've had a lot of possession in games recently, but we knew we needed to be scoring more and keeping goals out of our own net, and (on Sunday) I feel like it all came together."

A hard and detailed week of training saw United put themselves in a great position to win on the road and close the gap on the promotion spots, with Nobbs and her teammates leaving no stone unturned heading down south.

Despite the midfielder being keen to heap praise on everyone who took to the field for Newcastle on Sunday, much of the chatter centred on her and that impactful start to the game.

"It's always nice when you score so early, but then it's about staying in the game," Nobbs added. "We made sure not to let up, and I think we were able to show that fight we have in us.

"I just had this feeling, even from the warm-up, that we were all ready to go. I don't know what it was; sometimes you just get a feeling and have a bit of luck on your side, but we certainly made it count.

"We knew that they played a lot of long balls, so we were ready for that and prepared to sometimes miss out their press and go long ourselves. It's just about doing the little things well and the right time."

While the Stockton-on-Tees-born midfielder had been focused on getting the win against Southampton, the home draw against Ipswich Town Women seven days earlier continued to sit in her mind and Nobbs knew it was crucial for United to put things right and show another side to their game at St. Mary's.

"It's not always going to be pretty in this league," she said. "Sometimes you've got to really fight, and I think all of the girls really grafted for 90 minutes. It was brilliant to see.

"I think the game against Ipswich is one that we'll always think about because of our performance, but to then come here and pick up a big win away from home is huge for the team.

"We know that anything can happen in this league, so we're definitely not done fighting yet."