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United are off-colour again as Davies hits early goal
By Henry Winter | |
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Southampton (1) 1 Manchester Utd (0) 0 HOW Manchester United must hate travelling to The Dell. No matter what colour strip they wear here, grey, blue or last night's white, United have had no joy here now in three years. This defeat, secured by Kevin Davies's early strike and Southampton's ensuing defensive determination, prevented United from stretching their five-point Premiership lead and will give the chasing pack a degree of hope. Southampton were grateful to Paul Jones, the goalkeeper who produced a string of saves. Carlton Palmer, a figure seemingly from another age, will have loved dominating the central-midfield tussle with England's young lions, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, whose second-half booking triggers a suspension. Palmer's vibrant performance, full of tackles and running, embodied Southampton's spirit of defiance. United should have expected the early jolt. This cramped ground was made even more claustrophobic by the pressing tactics of Dave Jones's industrious side, who kept harrying their illustrious guests into conceding possession. United were flustered, patently missing the ball-holding, steadying influence of Teddy Sheringham, absent with a calf problem. Every one of Jones's players, including the restored Matthew Le Tissier, kept up a phenomenal tempo in the first half. From Ken Monkou in defence through to Kevin Richardson, such an experienced presence in midfield, Southampton defended with conviction. And when David Beckham and Ryan Giggs looked like causing problems down the flanks, Francis Benali and Jason Dodd intercepted well or snapped at ankles like dogs greeting postmen. Before the interval arrived, Beckham and Giggs had both been cautioned for expressing their frustration too vocally for Mike Riley's liking. Throughout the half, particularly in the opening stages, United struggled to combat Southampton's forward movement. With Le Tissier and Davies deployed behind David Hirst, Jones set United's defence a tactical quandary they failed to solve. Alex Ferguson's defenders appeared unsure whether to push into midfield and pick up Southampton's deeper-lying strikers. And so the hosts, confidence bolstered by five Premiership matches without defeat, went to work. Within three minutes, Southampton were ahead, the goal as much to do with poor prevention as inspired invention. Andy Cole, chasing back, succeeded only in fouling Claus Lundekvam 40 yards out. How Cole and his colleagues were made to pay. Le Tissier, addressing the free-kick with those bright red boots, lifted the ball to the far post, the trajectory perfectly judged to meet Davies's run. When Butt, tracking Davies, slipped, the way was clear for the Southampton striker. Unmarked and with time on his side, Davies rose to meet the ball, which he guided neatly past Peter Schmeichel. The powerful running of Davies, still only 20, continually worried United until he limped from the fray, following a legitimate challenge from Denis Irwin. Poor United. On strode Egil Ostenstad, who hit a hat-trick in this fixture last year. Gradually, United began to find a semblance of their normally regal rhythm. Yet they resembled a team without focus, particularly as Monkou was clinging to Cole like mist rolling in from the sea. On the half-hour, when Cole enjoyed his first sight of Jones's goal, Monkou killed the moment. United's best efforts emanated via runs from the deep. Jones did well to stop Giggs's low cross, after a neat interchange between Nicky Butt and Beckham. Then Lundekvam misjudged a back-pass and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer raced through, rounded Jones but could not keep the ball in play. This was a period of real hope for United. Giggs was denied by Jones and then Cole, found brilliantly by Giggs, headed over as Southampton stood firm. Threatening increasingly, United's best moments remained from dead-balls. A Beckham free-kick was held by Jones, who then saw another Beckham special crash against the bar. When the otherwise excellent Matthew Oakley fouled Scholes, another Beckham free-kick curled past Jones but found only the angle of bar and upright. United kept probing but lacked their usual organisational discipline, allowing Ostenstad to lurk with intent. Twice Schmeichel had to come out to thwart the Southampton attacker. __________________________________________________________ Southampton (1) 1 Man Utd (0) 0 Davies 3. Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Benali, Richardson (Spedding 87), Monkou, Lundekvam, Davies (Ostenstad 19), Palmer, Hirst, Le Tissier (Slater 80), Oakley. Subs Not Used: Dryden, Moss. Booked: Dodd, Le Tissier. Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville (Nevland 85), Irwin, Scholes, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Butt (McClair 80), Cole, Solskjaer, Giggs. Subs Not Used: P. Neville, Berg, Pilkington. Booked: Giggs, Beckham, Butt. Att: 15,241 Ref: M A Riley (Leeds). __________________________________________________________ Manchester United suffer Southampton jinx again LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Manchester United fell to their Southampton jinx again as a third minute Kevin Davies strike sent the English champions crashing to a 1-0 defeat on Monday. It was the third consecutive season United had lost at Southampton in the league, following a 3-1 setback in 1995-96 and a 6-3 defeat in an extraordinary match in 1996-97. This latest loss will have given the teams chasing premier league leaders United fresh hope. The Manchester side have 49 points -- five ahead of second-placed Blackburn and seven in front of third-placed Chelsea, each having played 23 games. Liverpool are fourth, eight adrift with Tuesday's game against Newcastle in hand. Southampton seized their early lead after Andy Cole gave away a free kick on the left. Matthew Le Tissier's dead-ball kick found the unmarked Davies, whose downward header inside the far post beat Peter Schmeichel as he dived to his left. United, having been largely ineffectual in the first 30 minutes, began to make more impact as halftime approached, Cole having a close range shot deflected narrowly wide and heading just over the bar. The league champions sustained their pressure into the second half, with England midfielder David Beckham three times threatening from dead-ball situations. His first free kick was saved by 'keeper Paul Jones, who turned the second over the bar but was beaten by the third as Beckham hammered the ball against the left hand upright from just outside the penalty box. Jones remained unyielding as United produced a furious late assault, the value of his outstanding performance subsequently being acknowledged by his manager Dave Jones. "Paul took a couple of weeks to settle in the premier league but it did not knock his confidence and he is now showing real authority," said the Southampton boss. © Reuters Limited 1998 __________________________________________________________ January 20 1998 FOOTBALL Premiership champions suffer defeat for third successive season at The Dell Davies stoops to conquer United BY ROB HUGHES Southampton ...1 Manchester United ...0 THE artisan work ethic of Southampton did for Manchester United last night as it had done for Chelsea two weeks ago. True, United are still five points clear in the FA Carling Premiership, but this is the third year in succession that they have come down to the South Coast full of imperious notions and been subjected to defeat. No excuses this time and none sought. "Can somebody tell me how they won that game?" Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, said. "We had enough possession, enough chances, but, when we did get on target, their goalkeeper was outstanding. Still, we make it difficult for ourselves as usual, give hope to everybody else . . . it's the real Christian thing to do." That United feel cramped in this, a stadium less than one third of the capacity of their own, is a matter of established record. Why then, they should leave such space as to gift Southampton a goal inside three minutes only the dreamy Gary Pallister can know. The goal had begun with a sweeping run out of his own defence by Lundekvam. Cole, a forward attempting to do a defender's job, simply barged him from behind. Up stepped Matthew Le Tissier, once the Saint but now having to work overtime in training to even gain a place in the side. He has new red boots and, when he applied the right one to the ball 30 yards out, he directed it with precision, angled from left to right, towards the far post. As the ball was delivered, Nicky Butt slipped and, with Pallister completely static and Schmeichel rooted to his line, young Kevin Davies was allowed too much room and time to score with a falling, rather than a diving, header. He has been some purchase, this 20-year-old. His fee, £750,000, is less than the new annual contract apparently being offered to Butt to bring him in line with the other United millionaires. Davies, with his ninth goal in the FA Carling Premiership since stepping up to this level in the summer, proved, with his movement and burly presence, that he has the appetite to take on the best team in the land. In the twelfth minute, when Hirst flicked the ball on, Davies again found that neglected space behind Pallister, but this time he was off-balance and the ball brushed his hairline before bouncing to safety. Alas, Davies was granted only three minutes more when, from an unpunished tackle by Irwin, he became a casualty, his right ankle damaged beyond immediate repair. Gradually, the sheer quality of United did begin to wash over Southampton. The home team's astute amalgam of experience and youth stood firm in a composed fashion, until betrayed by carelessness towards half-time. Lundekvam began the betrayal, lazily stroking a back-pass that went straight into the path of his countryman, Solskjaer. He, deputising for Sheringham, who has a calf injury, looked certain to score, but Paul Jones, the Southampton goalkeeper, came quickly towards the Norway forward, who took his eye off the ball and ran it over the goalline. Moments later, Giggs won the ball from Richardson in the centre circle. The counter-attack was rapid and elegant as Giggs and Solskjaer exchanged ground passes. Eventually, Giggs, attempting to flick the ball past Jones, found again that this is a goalkeeper of reflexes and reach and, when Jones blocked the ball, Cole hit the rebound against Lundekvam. It was the second time that Jones had denied Giggs for, when the Welshman produced a stunning cross from the right edge of the penalty area, Jones suddenly jack-knifed to the lush turf to hold the ball one-handed. United undoubtedly missed the cerebral work of Sheringham - indeed, they failed to keep their heads altogether as half-time approached. Cole had the ball in the net, but the flag was up, Butt was offside and Giggs was booked for his protest, Beckham receiving another yellow card for petulance after claiming that Benali had fouled him. Tempers remained fragile and frayed. Dodd was booked for body-checking Giggs off the ball and, from the free kick, Beckham attempted to deceive Jones with his bend on the ball. The goalkeeper read the intentions and was perfectly positioned to catch the ball. However, Beckham, despite a sore neck after colliding in mid-air with Benali, came back cheekily, inventively and ultimately unluckily. Another free kick from him, from an acute angle, obliged Jones to twist and turn and push the ball on to his bar. From another one midway into the second half, after Oakley had fouled Scholes, Beckham comprehensively outwitted the goalkeeper, but the ball came out to safety off a post. David Jones, who is purposefully building his Southampton squad and proving that managers and men can come through from the lower divisions, said that his players had probably enjoyed their best half-hour of the season "but when Manchester United started to come on to us a little bit, the players showed all the qualities I expect, they dug down really deep and I've just told them they've set the standard for the rest of our season." SOUTHAMPTON (4-3-1-2): P Jones - J Dodd, K Monkou, C Lundekvam, F Benali - C Palmer, K Richardson (sub: D Spedding, 87min), M Oakley - M Le Tissier (sub: R Slater, 81) - D Hirst, K Davies (sub: E Ostenstad, 20). MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - G Neville (sub: E Nevland, 85), R Johnsen, G Pallister, D Irwin - D Beckham, N Butt (sub: B McClair, 81) P Scholes, R Giggs - O G Solskjaer, A Cole. Referee: M Riley. Copyright 1998 The Times Newspapers Limited. __________________________________________________________ Southampton v Man United 19/01/98 8.00 Southampton (1) 1 Man United (0) 0 FT Davies 3 Whatever it is in the South Coast water, the rest of the Premiership will surely be on to David Jones and ask him to bottle some of it for them. Two years ago, United's championship bid had been almost derailed on the afternoon of the grey shirt fiasco, Southampton shocking them with a 3-1 triumph that nobody could see coming. Last term, the scale of the reverse had been crystal clear, Alex Ferguson's side hammered 6-3 in 90 minutes that seemed more and more incredible as they went on. And tonight the established order of English football was turned on its head all over again as the Old Trafford aristocrats were sent back with another bloody nose at the hands of the relative paupers. To add insult to United's injury, their fourth league defeat of the campaign was inflicted by a 20-year-old plying his trade with lowly Chesterfield this time last year. Kevin Davies has become the new hero of The Dell since his arrival as Graeme Souness' 750,000 parting shot. And no goal will have been celebrated more gleefully than his 12th in Southampton colours, a third minute header from the recalled Matt Le Tissier that left Peter Schmechel rooted to the spot. It was the narrowest of advantages for Saints, yet somehow one they managed to cling onto, despite a host of opportunities for the champions. With Claus Lundekvam and Ken Monkou giving the outstanding Paul Jones brilliant protection, poor finishing, and sheer bad luck, left United cursing their luck. Too vehemently at times, David Beckham running his disciplinary luck to the limit and Nicky Butt facing up to a two-match ban after an ugly clash with Le Tissier. But for all their efforts the equaliser would not come, United's plans of relently moving eight points clear of the chasing back torn to shreds as their rivals were given unexpected hope. Yet after the last two visits, perhaps United should have feared the worst, especially when they were forced to travel without calf victim Teddy Sheringham. It meant Andy Cole was partnered by Ole Solskjaer, with Butt back in midfield, and before the champions had the chance to impose themselves they were a goal down. Cole's clumsy halt of fit-again Lundekvam's advance from deep showed why he is a striker by trade, yet there was a sense of slow-motion about the action that followed. Le Tissier - looking like the beneficiary of a visit to a health farm - floated in and when Butt lost his footing, Davies stooped to send a header past the flat-footed Schmeichel. Davies, all power and pace despite his tender years, was unsettling the United backline every time he went near the ball, and with Carlton Palmer and Kevin Richardson not scared to put their feet in either the champions were rocking. Jones blocked with his legs from Solskjaer, yet it was Davies who was looking more likely to get the next, and if he had seen David Hirst's flick earlier when Matthew Oakley played in, United might have been really in trouble. But his evening was to last just 20 minutes, when, after turning into space and surging forward again, he was downed in uncompromising style by Denis Irwin. The Irish defender did get some of the ball, but even more of Davies, and although he tried to walk it off, it was to no avail. Not that Saints were without options, and it was Egil Ostenstad, scorer of two in last season's epic, who entered the fray. Yet while the Norwegian worked hard, he lacked Davies' sheer physical intensity, and with the danger quelled, United started to make some inroads at last, Lundekvam and Monkou less assured. Unfortunately for Ferguson's side, they came up against a keeper in prime form, Jones' handling immaculate, never more so than with a one-handed grab after Giggs had centred from the right. Even so, he needed a bit of fortune when Lundekvam sold him horribly short with a no-look back-pass. Solskjaer latched onto it, but Jones' rush forced the striker to touch the ball too far. Lundekvam redeemed himself a minute later. Ryan Giggs robbed Richardson and suddenly was 50 yards up the field, taking Solskjaer's return. Jones bravely blocked as the Welshman shot on the turn, yet Cole seemed certain to convert, only for Lundekvam's desperate lunge to deflect the ball wide. They were creaking however, Cole's blushes spared by a flag after he had headed over from point-blank range, before Solskjaer's over-eager advance when Giggs took up the ball meant another raised flag long before Cole tucked home. Giggs' angry response provoked the otherwise decidedly lenient Michael Riley into action, his caution for dissent followed seconds later by the increasingly-ratty David Beckham for the same. Beckham did not calm down after the break, seemingly trying to talk his way into a first red card of his career, showing his unhappiness at Francis Benali's attentions. Yet the England ace's dead-ball delivery looked the most likely way United were going to get back on terms. Jones moved smartly to save one bending effort after Richardson had been booked for cleaning out Giggs, but only just got there to tip his next try onto the top of the bar. United's domination of possession was now almost total - a double-figure corner count clocked up before the hour - yet for all that control they struggled to really test the home keeper. The frustration was shown with a flare-up which saw Butt and Le Tissier booked - Butt now faces a two match rest - and when the luck went against United again in the 69th minute they surely knew it was not to be. Oakley was adjudged to have fouled Paul Scholes in ideal Beckham territory 20 yards out, and the England man caressed over the wall and beyond Jones' despairing dive. Down it arced, but a fraction late, coming away off the angle of post and bar and somehow not falling for either Solskjaer or Cole. After all that defending, Saints suddenly broke away, Benali of all people threading through to Ostenstad, who picked his spot in the far corner but drilled across goal. Hope for United, yet Jones was inspired, plunging to his right to parry instinctively as Giggs' centre struck Cole's knee to divert the other way. Anxiety was the order of the day, Saints' clearances hurried as the nerves were shredded, although Hirst spooned over in the final minute. Not a miss he was to regret, with Jones the hero once again in the final seconds to foil substitute Brian McClair. Jones deserved to have the final act. Southampton: (4-4-2) Jones, Dodd, Benali, Richardson (Spedding, 87), Monkou, Lundekvam, Davies (Ostenstad, 19), Palmer, Hirst, Le Tissier (Slater, 80), Oakley. Subs not used: Dryden, Moss. Booked: Dodd, Le Tissier. Man United: (4-4-2) Schmeichel, G. Neville (Nevland, 85), Irwin, Scholes, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Butt (McClair, 80), Cole, Solskjaer, Giggs. Subs not used: P. Neville, Berg, Pilkington. Booked: Giggs, Beckham, Butt. Attendance: 15,241. Referee: M A Riley (Leeds). |
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