IT'S JUST as well referees are keen to add on injury time at the end of games - Saints' season could almost seem mundane without it.

Kevin Davies' last minute equaliser against Aston Villa was incredibly the ninth time this season in the Premiership Saints have scored or conceded in the 90th minute or beyond.

It worked in their favour on five of those occasions - against West Ham, Leeds, Sunderland, Fulham and now Villa - while against Spurs, Bolton, Man United and Everton fortune favoured their opponents.

It's hard to believe that one side could use the final seconds of a game to quite such effect and, the great irony is, it can be looked at two ways.

When you score it's the 'never say die attitude.' When you concede it's 'we need to play until the final whistle.'

Perhaps it should be agreed that nobody stops playing until the end of the game and sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don't.

Villa were adamant after this match that they did enough to take all three points, but their undoing was a failure to take their chances and Saints capitalised.

The game could, and possibly should, have been dead and buried at half time.

Saints missed Chris Marsden, rested to stop him getting booked and suspended for the FA Cup semi-final, and it was like watching a completely different side in the first 45 minutes.

Gone was the zip, the enthusiasm, the exuberance - all that came from Villa while Saints grimly hung on thanks mainly to Peter Crouch's catalogue of misses and some good stops from Antti Niemi.

Crouch had chances in the air, on the ground, from close range, from further out, and one-on-ones - but still he failed to convert them.

If he'd have got these kind of opportunities at Portsmouth last season he would have had four...at least.

But after half an hour the influential Lee Hendrie, who looked very good alongside the classy Thomas Hitzlsperger, did give his side the lead.

Hendrie fed the ball into Darius Vassell, who had his back to goal on the edge of the area. He was dispossessed and Hendrie struck the loose ball first time with his right foot and swept it into the corner from 20 yards.

Just six minutes later it was two in the most horrendous circumstances.

Claus Lundekvam, who has been so consistent and reliable this season, woefully mishit his backpass allowing Vassell to steal in and slide the ball pass Niemi.

But, never fear, James Beattie was on hand to pull one back five minutes before the break.

Paul Telfer's deep cross from the left was challenged for by Beattie and Michael Svensson, Ronny Johnsen couldn't get it away and Beattie thrashed in his 20th Premiership goal of the season.

So Saints went in at half-time lucky to be just one goal down with Villa having hit the post after Svensson had copied Lundekvam's backpass.

Thankfully this time Vassell dallied somewhat. He rounded Niemi but allowed Wayne Bridge to put in a fantastic tackle and the ball hit the post - as it had done from the head of Beattie on 35 minutes.

Jo Tessem came off at half time, Danny Higginbotham went to left back, Bridge left midfield and David Prutton moved into the centre and things got much better - a bit more like the Saints we know.

Still Crouch missed the odd chance and Niemi made the odd save, but Saints looked the more likely.

There was also controversy - both sides might have had a penalty and Gordon Strachan made his feelings known, covering his head with his suit jacket and pointing at the referee who came over and did a bit of pointing back.

But, having only been on the field eight minutes, Davies brought down a miscued Johnsen clearance and buried it for his first Premiership goal of the season- and yet another late, late point for Saints.