The 20-year-old has been waiting for 69 games to get his first top-flight goal and when he put Saints ahead with a second-half penalty it helped set them up for a 2-0 victory over Hull City.
Ward-Prowse has been a regular at St. Mary’s over the last three seasons but his only other goal came in an FA Cup tie against Coventry City in 2012, in what was only his second start for the club.
James Ward-Prowse steps up to score his first Premier League goal for Southampton
And Ward-Prowse spoke of the relief he felt when he saw his spot-kick beat opposing keeper Steve Harper to open the scoring.
"It was amazing, it was a big weight off my shoulders and something I’ve been wanting to do for a long-long while," he revealed.
"And being able to do it in front of the home crowd and with it being an important goal in the game was massive for me.
"It was a moment I’ll never forget."
Goals have not been quite so hard to come by for the likeable youngster at international level though.
Ward-Prowse already has four goals for Gareth Southgate’s U21s to his name, most recently the winner against Germany late last month.
His performances for Southgate’s side and the Saints have also caught the eye of senior boss Roy Hodgson, who described him as a "big prospect" last week.
However this summer’s Euro Finals in Czech Republic remain his main focus.
"It is obviously pleasing to see that," he admitted. "That's the goal of mine, to reach that level.
"But at the minute, I am focused on the U21s and making sure we have a good summer.
"As long as I can do that then hopefully that will see me promoted to the first-team, but I obviously have got to be doing a good job here as well."
James Ward-Prowse answers your questions via his Twitter takeover of @England
