Leeds United 0 Southampton 1: Leeds are denied any reward by Davis’s defiance

Almost 40 years to the day on from the afternoon when the Saints lost 7-0 before being subjected to an impromptu keep-ball session by Bremner, Giles et al, Davies’s words sprang to mind, albeit with a very different connotation.

This time, it was United’s turn to feel harshly done to on an evening when Ricky Lambert kept Southampton on top of the Championship while the home side produced arguably their best display of the season.

On the balance of play and chances created, Leeds should have won the game at a canter.

That they did not was down almost entirely to a once-in-a-lifetime display from Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.

Time after time, Leeds looked like making the breakthrough only for Davis to keep them at bay with a stunning save or defiant block.

No wonder, therefore, that the final whistle was met by not only a fully deserved standing ovation for the United players from their supporters but also the sight of Saints players and coaching staff racing towards Davis.

The veteran goalkeeper was, within seconds of referee Nigel Miller calling a halt to proceedings, buried underneath a mass of team-mates before emerging from the scrum to be hugged by his grateful manager.

Nigel Adkins running 65 yards to thank Davis was understandable, as without him the chances are Southampton would have returned south on Saturday fearing that the initiative in the Championship title race had swung the way of West Ham United.

Certainly, Leeds manager Neil Warnock was in no doubt as to why his first home game in charge had ended in defeat.

He said: “I thought the goalkeeper could have won five man-of-the-match awards with that display. You can see what it meant to the Southampton players by how they all rushed towards him at the final whistle.

“In fact, I said to Nigel Adkins at the end that he should get out and buy some lottery tickets. I said, ‘Get £100 of them’.

“It was disappointing to lose but what I will say is a game like the Southampton one has whetted my appetite. Not just in the way that we played but how we passed it as well.

“The effort was fantastic and we played football how it should be played. We dominated the best side in the league for 89 minutes. You can’t ask for a lot more than that.

“Now they have set the standard. What they did against Southampton is now a minimum requirement. If they do, we can get the place buzzing.”

Leeds may not have created as many chances as Don Revie’s great side did when handing out the most comprehensive of seven-goal beatings to Southampton on March 4, 1972.

But there is no denying just how in control United were against the league leaders in Saturday’s televised tea-time game.

Never was this more apparent than in the final half-hour when Leeds created no less than eight gilt-edged chances.

Davis saved five of these, the pick of a hugely impressive crop coming when he denied Luciano Becchio with a brave block after quickly getting to his feet following a goalmouth scramble.

Danny Webber was the next to be left frustrated by Davis, who tipped a fierce shot over after the debutant had exchanged passes with Becchio.

Davis repeated the trick to keep out a low drive by Webber a couple of minutes later before proving the equal to Leeds once again as the game entered the final quarter, Becchio seeing his low drive beaten away.

The chances kept coming and an equaliser seemed certain during the mother and father of all goalmouth scrambles just four minutes from time.

However, even when Davis was finally beaten, United were still left rueing their luck as first Robert Snodgrass and then Darren O’Dea headed against the crossbar in a matter of seconds.

As the second of those headers rebounded down into a mass of bodies, 20 players set about hacking at the ball before Tom Lees saw his shot diverted wide by Jos Hooiveld.

Coming just a few minutes after Webber had scooped the ball wide following a mistake by Frazer Richardson, it was further proof that this was just not going to be Leeds’s day.

The plethora of missed chances meant Southampton were able to claim all three points courtesy of Lambert’s 20th league goal of the season.

It came on 15 minutes via a stunningly straight-forward move as Tadanari Lee headed Jack Cork’s right-wing cross towards Lambert, who thundered an unstoppable shot past Andy Lonergan.

That Lambert’s strike was Southampton’s only effort, either on or off target, during the opening 45 minutes spoke volumes for how Adkins’s side had been penned back by their hosts.

United’s best chance of the first half had come on 26 minutes when McCormack picked out Becchio with a drilled cross only for Davis to save the Argentinian’s prod goalwards.

McCormack also went close with a drilled 20-yard effort, while Aidy White allowed an excellent chance to get away by failing to react quickly enough to tap in Snodgrass’s shot as it flashed inches wide of a post.

With the second half bringing more of the same, Leeds were, by the final whistle, left believing it really is a cruel world as Southampton celebrated what could prove to be a huge three points in their attempt to secure a Premier League return.