Southampton v Middlesbrough 28/09/96 3.00Southampton (2) 4 Middlesbrough (0) 0 FT Oakley 11 Le Tissier 29,48 Watson 82 Matthew Le Tissier scored twice as Bryan Robson's galaxy of stars were run ragged by Southampton. England ace Le Tissier scored direct from a corner and also sneaked in with a cheeky goal which looked several yards offside as unhappy Middlesbrough suffered. Victory over Robson's men allowed Graeme Souness his first victory in the Premiership since he took charge of the Saints. Matthew Oakley opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a fine run by man-of-the-match Gordon Watson. His pass found Jim Magilton who managed to prevent Middlesbrough goalkeeper Alan Miller snatching the ball which flew free to Oakley who made no mistake from close range. In the 28th minute Le Tissier curled in a corner which completely baffled the Boro defence and he claimed it although Norwegian ace Claus Lundekvam may have got a faint touch. An offside decision went against Boro in the 47th minute as Le Tissier ran on to receive a pass from Simon Charlton and as Miller stood waiting for referee Roger Dilkes' whistle Le Tissier rammed the ball home. Watson completed a fine performance, taking advantage of an error by Derek Whyte to blast in Saints' fourth in the 82nd minute. To compound Boro's woe, ten-goal Fabrizio Ravanelli missed a penalty in the 86th minute after Alan Moore had been brought down by Richard Dryden. 
Southampton: Moss, Lundekvam, Charlton, Dryden, Magilton, Maddison, Slater (Heaney (Watkinson, 72), 17), Le Tissier, Shipperley, Watson, Oakley. Subs not used: Potter, Benali, Flahavan. Booked: Lundekvam. Middlesbrough: Miller, Branco, Whyte, Vickers (Cox, 79), Whelan (Moore, 64), Emerson, Barmby, Stamp, Juninho, Ravanelli, Fleming. Subs not used: Hendrie, Hignett, Roberts. Booked: Whelan, Juninho. Attendance: 15,230. Referee: L R Dilkes (Mossley, Lancs). |
