Howard on the way as his double lifts Derby

The 31-year-old former Hartlepool, Northampton and Luton striker was one of Billy Davies's first signings when the Scot took over as Derby manager last summer and, after a difficult start, Howard has proved himself one of the key players in the club's resurgence.

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Crunch clash: Southampton's Kenwyne Jones (right) and Derby County's Tyrone Mears battle for the ball

His two goals at St Mary's have put the club, who were league champions under Brian Clough in 1972, in pole position for a place in the £60 million Wembley play-off final and a return to the top flight after five years away.

No wonder Davies was happy to sing Howard's praises, saying: "He was always a pain in the backside against my teams when I was at Preston and that's why I wanted him. We needed to sort out the spine of the team and, along with Stephen Bywater and Darren Moore, he has been excellent.

"According to one or two people he was a waste of money at the start of the season but he's not bad for £650,000."

Until Howard headed his 18th goal of the season to bring Derby back into the match the team who missed out on automatic promotion by only two points were in danger of being swept away by Southampton's lively start.

The so-called curse of third place — 11 of the 14 team's finishing there have failed to win the play-offs — looked in danger of being repeated after Derby had gone behind when 20-year-old Andrew Surman rounded off a neat move with a rasping 20-yard drive.

They might have conceded a second had referee Michael Jones not refused Southampton's desperate appeals for a penalty after Kenwyne Jones appeared to be fouled.

Jones was a busy man in the first 32 minutes, booking six players — four from Derby — as the anxiety of the occasion infiltrated both teams. Davies said conceding a goal after only seven minutes was Derby's "worst nightmare" but praised his side's courage in fighting back.

The turning point came when Matt Oakley, a Saint for 10 years but now Derby captain, found Howard at the back post, where the 6ft 3in striker looped a header over goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.

Oakley, whose form has "shone like a beacon" in the second half of the season, according to Davies, was also instrumental in the second goal, delivering a precise crossfield pass to Stephen Pearson, whose run into the penalty area was ended by Pele's clumsy challenge. In front of the noisy Derby followers, Howard kept his nerve to score from the spot.

After losing their way in the middle of the match against the influential Seth Johnson and Oakley in midfield, Southampton roused themselves for a stirring finale but could not undo the damage done.

Manager George Burley conceded that it was not their day. In addition to hitting the bar twice through striker Marek Saganowski — either side of Derby's second goal — they also lost £10 million rated full-back Gareth Bale and striker Jones to injury.

Neither is expected to be fit for the second leg at Pride Park on Tuesday and, in the case of Bale, who has a badly bruised ankle, there will be speculation that the 17-year-old Wales defender, coveted by Manchester United and Spurs, has played his last game for the club.

All, of course, is not lost. Burley said: "We started well, but defensively we were found wanting a bit. Howard's a good player but he has to be marked. You do need a bit of luck in these matches and today we didn't get it.

"I said nothing would be decided by this match and it has not been.We showed that we can open up Derby and score goals. But we have to tighten up at the back and we intend to do that."

Davies adopted a similarly cautious approach. The former Preston manager has been rumoured to be unsettled by internal strife at Derby and refused to deny there were problems behind the scenes. While there was so much still to play for he refused to be distracted.

"At the end of the season we'll sit down and see what happens," he said.

Should Derby have completed a storybook return to the Premiership Davies will be in a strong position. But his and the club's future remain in the balance.