Cape Town - Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam damaged Southampton's challenge for a European place as his late strike secured a 2-1 win at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Ronald Koeman's side had hoped to climb above Liverpool into fifth place in the Premier League and also put pressure on Manchester City as the race heats up for places in the Champions League and Europa League.
They made the perfect start when French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin opened the scoring midway through the first-half.