Four winners and two losers as Southampton win again at St. Mary's vs QPR

The St. Mary's masses were treated to a great attacking spectacle on Halloween.

There were no real tricks that damaged Southampton, minus Richard Kone grabbing a consolation effort for Queen Park Rangers, as Tonda Eckert's men ran out as emphatic 4-1 victors come the end of the thoroughly entertaining contest.

Several Saints players stood out as phenomenal performers, as the unbeaten streak at St Mary's stays alive for another matchday.

There were two losers, however, with one unfortunate attacker cursing his luck that he didn't get on the scoresheet during the dominant win, and another forward player who remained rooted to the substitutes bench throughout...

Winner #1 Kuryu Matsuki

Whenever I write up a winners and losers article, Kuryu Matsuki always seems to appear in the winners bracket.

He starts off this rundown of standout players, as the Japan international scored yet again for the Saints, when he confidently curled an early effort past Pierce Charles for 1-0.

Eckert came out in the media the other month to state that he believes the ex-FC Tokyo winger can get to double figures in the Championship this campaign when it comes to his goal output.

He is now up to four second tier strikes for the campaign, so he's nearly half-way there, with Matsuki oozing with confidence at the moment whenever he pulls on Southampton red and white.

Winner #2 Cameron Bragg

Cameron Bragg was surprisingly dropped back into the starting XI for the showdown with Julien Stephan's visitors.

Annoyingly, Caspar Jander wasn't available in any capacity, with the German now back in the treatment room with an injury.

There would have been concerns that Bragg would look out of his depth, playing against a solid QPR side with the likes of Glenn Kamara in the middle of the park.

Thankfully, the young number 26 was excellent throughout, as he exorcised his South Coast Derby demons on Halloween with his first ever Championship goal for his boyhood club.

Alongside this memorable moment in the match, Bragg would also walk off with only three of his 65 passes going astray, and ten tackles and duels forcefully won.

As BBC Sport journalist Dan George would put it mid-match, the confident 21-year-old ended up "running the show" with an intense spotlight on him.

Winner #3 Keven Schlotterbeck

Keven Schlotterbeck fancied getting on the scoresheet, too, as another unlikely goalscoring hero.

He does have a Saints goal already in his back pocket, as he found the back of the net against Birmingham City during the early days of his sparkling South Coast stay.

But, he's hardly a regular source of goals.

Eckert depends on Schlotterbeck to do the defensive dirty work, over racing through on goal, and he excelled in this department against the R's with five clearances registered and five tackles and duels won.

To add the icing on the cake, the German colossus also scored a decisive effort to make it 3-0 on the day, as he headed home with ease from a corner.

Winner #4 Ryan Manning

That corner kick delivery came courtesy of Ryan Manning, who put in another excellent showing from the left-back spot for Eckert's men.

He didn't get on the scoresheet, like all those named above, but he was a creative force throughout, as he collected two assists.

Recently highlighted for creating big chances by the bucket load this season, when looking at the most effective creative machines in the entire second tier, Manning continues to age like a fine wine at St. Mary's.

His contract runs out at the end of the season, so there will surely be discussions in the coming months over extending the dependable number three's deal, long past next summer, with the aforementioned Bragg's own deal also set to expire.

Special mention here should go to Welington, as he came on as a late substitute down Manning's left-hand side, and scored a fourth for the Saints to really kick the R's when they're down.

Loser #1 Lewis Dobbin

It feels a bit mean to end an article looking back over a 4-1 win on a dour note, but Lewis Dobbin would have been enraged he didn't grab a goal during the emphatic victory.

He would have a first half effort ruled out for offside, due to Jack Stephens presumably interfering, as he goes another St. Mary's game without a strike.

It wasn't all bad for Dobbin during the 4-1 win, as he won five duels and looked lively with his energy and application.

But, when he came off towards the end of the thrilling contest, he must've been annoyed that he didn't grab a goal, as the offside flag cruelly intervened.

Loser #2 Tom Fellows

Another Championship game this season has passed Tom Fellows by.

Once upon a time, Fellows was purchased for £10m as an exciting recruit who could enhance the Saints attacking ranks, having been an assist king for West Bromwich Albion.

Now, he's rotting away on the bench at St. Mary's, while Matsuki continues to make himself undroppable on Fellows' preferred right-hand side, and Dobbin turns around his own expensive flop narrative.

Fellows' Championship season so far:

He just doesn't fit in at the moment, with only a meagre 45 minutes of Championship action coming his way in October.

What does November have in store for the forgotten forward?