The England striker planted a firm header past Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi in the 14th minute to give Gerard Houllier’s team their first league win in 12 starts and end Saints’ unbeaten record at St Mary’s.

The Reds should also have won by a bigger margin with Heskey and Michael Owen both guilty of missing excellent chances later in the game.

But Liverpool will not worry about that as they reflect on a long-awaited win that sees them leapfrog Saints into sixth place in the Premiership.

Liverpool’s goal came when Michael Svensson brought down Heskey on the right and John Arne Riise swung in a perfect free-kick which Heskey powered past Niemi into the top right corner of the net.

Heskey should have added a second nine minutes after his opener when he was put clean through on goal by Jamie Carragher’s pass, but the former Leicester striker could only blast his shot straight at Niemi’s legs.

Riise had almost doubled his side’s lead in the 19th minute when he arrived in the box to meet El Hadji Diouf’s low cross, but the Norwegian’s goal-bound shot was deflected narrowly over the crossbar.

And Owen was also guilty of missing a glorious second-half opportunity in the 57th minute when Riise broke free on the left and centred a perfect cross for the England star, who only had Niemi to beat.

But, he dragged his shot wide of the far post from just 12 yards out when he really should have done better.

Houllier’s team had roared out of the blocks and taken the game to Southampton from the first minute – and they almost took the lead inside 60 seconds.

The impressive Riise picked up a loose ball 35 yards from goal and was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful drive which Saints goalkeeper Antti Niemi could only parry.

Owen pounced on the loose ball, but his close-range shot thudded straight into Niemi’s chest and the Finn was then able to smother the ball.

The visitors continued their bright start two minutes later when Danny Murphy found space in the box after Southampton failed to clear a corner, but his firm effort from 15 yards was superbly turned away by Niemi.

Houllier had certainly fired his team up for the match and Owen was next to go close in the eighth minute when he was released by Diouf, but the England international could only fire a shot over the crossbar from a narrow angle.

Southampton, whose 10-match unbeaten run in league and cup came to an end with the defeat, struggled to create any chances of note throughout the match although they came into the game more in the second period as Liverpool were happy to sit on their lead and hit the Saints on the break.

But, apart from a Claus Lundekvam header from Matt Oakley’s 84th-minute cross and long-range efforts from Jo Tessem and Fabrice Fernandes, the home side never really threatened to force their way back into the match.

The Premiership’s leading scorer James Beattie was subdued by the presence of Liverpool centre-backs Stephane Henchoz and Sami Hyypia, who kept the hotshot quiet all night to help their side end their disastrous run of results.