Southampton nearly throw away a three-goal lead but survive late strikes from Johan Elmander and Robert Snodgrass to beat Norwich 4-2 at St Mary's Stadium.

Southampton survived a late Norwich City comeback to hold on for a 4-2 victory at St Mary's Stadium.

Rickie Lambert scored within 37 seconds of coming off the bench to add to Morgan Schneiderlin's early opener before capping his cameo by providing Jay Rodriguez with the third.

Rickie Lambert of Southampton celebrates scoring their secons goal with Jay Rodriguez of Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Norwich City at St Mary's Stadium on March 15, 2014 © Getty Images

However, Johan Elmander netted in the 85th minute, and Robert Snodgrass followed shortly after as the Canaries threatened an unlikely turnaround which Southampton managed to withstand late on.

Like Lambert, Southampton were quick off the mark and nearly went in front in the third minute when Gaston Ramirez headed inches over the crossbar from a James Ward-Prowse corner.

They were ahead 90 seconds later as Schneiderlin applied the finishing touches to a fine team move, collecting a layoff from Rodriguez before stroking the ball beyond John Ruddy on five minutes.

None of Norwich's recognised strikers has found the net in 11 games, and Gary Hooper displayed a lack of confidence when he dragged a 32nd-minute shot wide from Snodgrass's cross.

After their rapid start, the Saints struggled to create chances and manager Mauricio Pochettino responded by surprisingly hauling off in-form captain Adam Lallana before the hour mark.

However, his replacement Lambert made an immediate impact as he turned away from Joseph Yobo before firing a left-footed shoot beyond stand-in Norwich skipper Ruddy into the bottom corner.

The striker then played an important role in what would turn out to be a decisive goal when his deft pass allowed Rodriguez to score the 50th league goal of his career by converting into an empty net.

Rodriguez hit the crossbar with a bending 25-yard shot 10 minutes later, but it was Norwich who added to the scores when Elmander pounced on a loose Jose Fonte pass to poke into the net.

It appeared as though it may prove to be more than a consolation when Elmander shot against Artur Boruc, and Snodgrass tucked in the rebound to reduce Southampton's advantage to just one.

Nathan Redmond had an equalising chance on 90 minutes, but Sam Gallagher ensured that the three points would go to Southampton when he opened his Premier League account in stoppage time.