Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Well at least we didn't throw the points away. That's about the best I can say about this. We were way, way, way below par but thankfully the defenders did their job and ensured Dudek had an easy afternoon and maximum points were collected.

After the convincing rout of West Brom at the weekend, I was really looking forward to this game. The Saints are awful and with us being in pretty decent form, it seemed likely that the goals would flow.

It never turned out that way though, despite the return to the side of Mellor and Alonso. Stephen Warnock was also handed a start at left back, as Rafa shuffled his pack to keep everyone fresh for the weeks ahead.

There was no Baros, but then I wouldn't have picked him for this game either with Chelsea on the horizon. Hopefully Milan was just rested and there's nothing more serious involved, but prior to the game I was more than confident that Flo and Mellor would have enough for us to see off Harry Redknapp's side.

Flo did prove to be the matchwinner and it wasn't the absence of Milan which affected our performance, it was just that too many players had off days.

Alonso was way below his best form, but still had enough class to create the only goal of the game. Luis Garcia on the other hand... well he was just abysmal. As bad a display as I've seen from an attacking midfielder in a long time.

Garcia is usually frustrating, but today he was just attrocious, constantly giving the ball away cheaply and putting his defence under pressure. The only surprise was he stayed on the field as long as he did. I'm struggling to remember anything he did right allafternoon. He did observe the minutes silence impeccably I suppose.

In a scrappy first half, it was Liverpool who posed the greater threat. The in form Riise started brightly and tested Niemi in the first minute, but ended up getting bogged down a bit and quickly found himself dragged down to the level of most others on the field.

Gerrard wasn't doing badly,but he wasn't dominating the game in the way you'd expect him to, and with Alonso not quite with the pace of the game either it quickly became clear that this could easily become a struggle.

Southampton battled for every ball, and there were some fairly hefty challenges flying in. Gerrard suffered a facial injury and Finnan was forced off after a bad tackle by McCann left him requiring stitches in a leg wound.

As most of us awaited the arrival of Traore (who had replaced Finnan at the Hawthorns two days earlier), up leapt Salif Diao from the bench much to the surprise - and trepidation - of a packed Anfield.

Diao did his best as he always does, but he was a bit ropey (I'm being kind) and the prospect of him facing Robben and Duff at the weekend doesn't even bear thinking about.

With Finnan leaving the field, Carra was back to 'babysitting' duties again. Against Chelsea Carra will have his work cut out doing his own job, he doesn't need to be worrying about what the right back is doing. Hopefully Finnan will make a quick recovery.

Without ever gaining any fluency, the reds still managed to create some openings in the first half. Mellor put a half chance over the bar after a good cut back by Riise, Sinama then hit the side netting and Riise hit a free kick just wide.

Then just when it was looking like the game would be goalless at half time, Alonso produced a defence splitting pass and Sinama finished expertly across Niemi.

Flo is really starting to show his worth since the Spurs game in the Carling Cup. His confidence seems to have grown a lot since that night, and he's a valuable member of the squad these days. The criticism I've always had of him is that he rarely looks like scoring, but he's proving me wrong now.

The finish which won this game was top class, and fair do's to the lad, he's played a big part in things recently. He's now a goal threat.

The goal couldn't have come at a worse time for the Saints. One minute they're preparing to go in all square, and then out of nothing they're behind.

It should have been the catalyst for the reds to launch an all out assault on the visitors goal after the break, but it just never materialised.

There were some good moments, mainly involving the skipper who became more of an influence the longer the game wore on. His promptings were behind every good thing we did.

Mellor's powerful shot was palmed away by Niemi after Gerrard's surge into the box had created an opening, and Riise crashed a shot onto the bar after a majestic volleyed pass from the skipper had released him.

That pass from Gerrard was as good as anything I have ever seen on a football pitch. It almost left me breathless, it was that good. For him to even see the pass in the first place was impressive enough, but to be able to drop a ball just over the full back and perfectly into the path of Riise, and to be able to do it on the volley was a skill that no other player in the land (except maybe Alonso) could have executed.

He's said and done some things which haven't been befitting of the captain of the club, but the more we struggled today the bigger he seemed to grow. He dragged us through this game and set the example for others to follow.

One minute he was the furthest man forward, the next he was back making a magnificent slide tackle to stop a dangerous Southampton attack. As the nerves crept in amongst the fans and players, it was the captain who drove forward looking for the goal to kill the game.

His pace and power were scary at times, and there was a 30 second spell just before full time when I swear he was like fucking Superman. A blistering run took him clear, and when Niemi denied him he then managed to collect the rebound ahead of three defenders, and after possession had been lost he appeared from nowhere to win it back. Truly awesome.

Riise was denied the most blatant of penalties after another stunning ball from Gerrard sent him clear. Niemi just took him out and got nowhere near the ball, and it almost defied belief that a spot kick wasn't awarded.

It didn't matter, as we held on despite some obvious nerves. After what happened against Pompey, it's understandable that the fans and players were a bit edgy. That night Benitez contributed to Pompey's comeback by changing the back four.

He made changes again in this game, but each substitution was justified. Mellor wasn't at his sharpest and was probably tiring too, as tonsilitis takes a lot out of you. Rafa may also have had an eye on the Chelsea game, as Mellor has been involved in most of our big games of late.

Rather than replace him with Nunez though, I'd have probably brought Hamann on and pushed Gerrard further forward. The only reason I'd have done that, is because I'd have put Nunez on for Garcia (at half time). Garcia was actually Southampton's most creative player.

Most of their attacks started through him, and he just couldn't seem to find a red shirt with a pass. Nunez is a bit limited, but he keeps things simple, doesn't give the ball away cheaply and stays wide which gives the side good shape.

Garcia almost got on the scoresheet when he headed Nunez's pinpoint cross towards goal, but Niemi tipped the ball onto the post. Shortly after that the little Spaniard was replaced by Hamann, as Rafa tried to shore things up.

For all the jitters and nerves which engulfed the stadium, Southampton never really looked like scoring. However, there was always the possibility they'd snatch something from a Delap long throw or a Diao misjudgement.

The closest they came to threatening was when Dudek flapped at a long throw, but the defence covered for him and the danger was cleared. The visitors never actually managed to create a single opening, and that's to the credit of Sami and Carra, as well as the excellent Warnock.

Stephen has found himself out in the cold in recent months, after featuring a lot in the opening weeks of the season. But when he does play he always looks assured, combative and never lets anyone down.

Had it not been for Gerrard I'd have probably made Warnock the star man, mainly because he is one of the few who can say he played up to the level he should have.

It's unrealistic to expect us to play well every week, which is why I'm not at all concerned about this game. What's important is that when you do allow your standards to drop, you somehow manage to scrape the win.

That's what we haven't done this season. When we've won, it's because we've played well. If we haven't played well, we've generally lost or drawn. So it's nice to finally be able to win one when we haven't performed.

To beat Southampton we didn't need to play well so it didn't matter. Chelsea will be a different story altogether, but we totally outplayed Arsenal a few weeks ago, so if we can reproduce that level of performance who knows.

When the fixtures come out, I usually look for the derby games and the games with United first. This year the first game I looked for was Chelsea at Anfield, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

One thing is for sure, Anfield will be bouncing as for many of us this is the biggest grudge match of the season.

 

Team: Dudek; Finnan (Diao), Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock; Garcia (Hamann) Gerrard, Alonso, Riise; Sinama-Pongolle, Mellor (Nunez):

Agree or disagree? Email me at dave@liverpoolway.co.uk

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