Souness slams ref after draw

Graeme Souness slammed match referee Stephen Lodge as a "disgrace" after Liverpool's goalless draw with bottom club Southampton at Anfield.

Souness was furious over what he thought was Southampton's over-physical approach in a game that saw Anfield stars Rob Jones and Steve McManaman limp out of the action. Midfielder Mike Marsh was also injured but he played on.

Souness fumed: The referee was a disgrace. If that is the standard of refereeing, then English football has no future." He added: "If you can let a team come here and play like that..." before turning on his heel and walking out of the press conference.

Souness, no stranger to brushes with soccer authority, will surely find himself in disciplinary trouble after this outburst. In fairness, Southampton were committed and determined if at times over-zealous but their performance was never what could be described as "dirty".

Southampton manager Ian Branfoot defended his side saying: "I don't think we have a dirty player on our books. If Graeme wants to have a go at the referee, that's up to him. I don't, there's no point. I can't influence referees. I can't influence the Football Association. I don't think we were over-physical. I was pleased with our performance, we got a good point and we could have nicked it. We'll be happy driving down the M6 tonight."

He might have been happier had Alan Shearer not seen his goal touch desert him. The First Division's bottom club, three points adrift, were forced to settle for a point against lacklustre Liverpool, with Shearer guilty of two misses. The 3 million pound rated forward, who crowned his England debut with a superb goal against France at Wembley ten days earlier, was sadly off target for the Saints at Anfield.

Saints made a storming start and Shearer had an early opening only to see his first effort deflected and then his second saved. Shearer latched on to Barry Horne's pass but delayed his shot and allowed England team-mate Mark Wright to take the sting out of the shot, allowing Bruce Grobbelaar to save.

A minute later striking partner Ian Dowie put Shearer in the clear again but with only Grobbelaar to beat, the man tipped to take over Gary Lineker's international mantle saw his low shot rebound off the goalkeeper's legs.

Liverpool struggled to put their game together and Ian Branfoot's strugglers continued to dominate after the break, with Matt Le Tissier flashing one long-range effort wide and seeing another effort deflected for a corner.

Two corners followed in quick succession and from Le Tissier's second, Dowie flicked on with Wright blocking on the line and Grobbelaar diving to gather.

With just over 20 minutes to go Liverpool began to assert themselves as Southampton, taken to extra-time in the FA Cup in midweek, began to fire.

Then it was goalkeeper Tim Flowers' turn to shine, making vital saves from Dean Saunders to his left, substitute Ronnie Rosenthal to his right and then a brave stop to deny them both as they closed in on Barry Venison's through-ball.

Saints deservedly held out and will be ruing those missed early chances, while Liverpool will be anxiously awaiting fitness reports on young defender Jones, who failed to appear for the second half, and McManaman, who limped off on the hour. 

Copyright -  British Soccer Week