Heading home from Luka Milivojevic's free-kick, Tomkins secured the Eagles a hard-fought point against an in-form Saints side, but described the feeling as "mixed" as he spoke with Palace TV post-match.
Explaining how he and the squad view the result, Tomkins said: "You go a goal up and you expect to get maximum points. It’s hard to come back in this league and they’ve managed to get back into the game. Unfortunate goal, obviously unlucky on Martin’s part and it’s just one of those things. But after that they put us under a lot of pressure so in the end, 1-1 was probably the right result.
"We don’t have many fit players and some of the injuries we’ve got are longer-term than we’d like for sure. It’s a great effort from the lads. The lads were playing with injuries today, a lot of the boys. Jairo and Kells, both were playing with knocks and it just shows what spirit they’ve got and as a team because we want to play and fight for the team."
Then focusing on his 50th-minute opener, Tomkins revealed the conversation he and Milivojevic had after the free-kick.
"I said to him after: 'How comes you didn't shoot? You normally shoot.' But he said he saw a little weakness there and luckily enough I got on the end of it. Normally he whips them in, he can whip them in from anywhere."
Palace manager Roy Hodgson discussed Tomkins' impact in the side not just this afternoon, but over three seasons. He said: "It was great James got his goal, he’s always threatening and great in the air.
"I think he’s done well for the last two and a half years. From the moment I walked into the club, I found an excellent player, I found an excellent person, a really good professional. And I’ve got to say I think his performances have been a model of consistency.
"Certainly you can rely upon him 100% in all situations. Again, tough for him. In the past, he’s not had a good record of playing three matches in a week or two matches close together but again I see him patched up in there afterwards and his performance was excellent."
You can hear more from both Tomkins and Hodgson as well as Max Meyer by heading to Palace TV now. To do so, either click here or 'Palace TV' in the official app.