Southampton manager Gordon Strachan paid striker James Beattie a glowing tribute after his first ever hat-trick for the club helped clinch a third successive victory for Saints.
Beattie and his Southampton team-mates were stunned in the opening 25 minutes as Fulham took a two-goal lead through midfielders Lee Clark and Steed Malbranque.
But Beattie hit back with a penalty and a well-taken header to send the two teams in level at half time before rounding off an impressive individual display by scoring his third goal of the afternoon in the 53rd minute to give Southampton the lead for the first time.
Strachan said: "James has a phenomenal attitude and a great level of fitness and even when he is not scoring goals he gives the team everything.
"It has been a difficult few weeks for him off the pitch but he has responded brilliantly.
He seems to get goals in bunches and now what he needs to do is start scoring more consistently." Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi had no chance with Fulham's first goal as Clark's 25- yard shot took a cruel deflection off Claus Lundekvam and he received little cover from his defence as Malbranque strode through unchallenged to score.
But Beattie reduced the deficit two minutes later when he sent Edwin van der Sar the wrong way from the spot after Alain Goma had handled Brett Ormerod's cross.
The ex-England Under-21 star equalised three minutes from the interval when he headed home at the far post giving the Fulham goalkeeper no chance and Beattie produced another copy-book header in the 53rd minute to give Saints the lead.
Ormerod scored a late fourth as he fired home his sixth goal of the season against a Fulham side, who failed to follow up their bright start as Southampton extended their unbeaten run to five matches.
And there was even time for injury-plagued striker Agustin Delgado to make his first appearance for nine months from the substitutes bench, much to the delight of the 26,188 crowd