Saints were caught by a Camara snap-shot as they once again failed to focus properly.

The game looked to be won when England striker Michael Owen limped off with a hamstring injury ten minutes from time.

With all three substitutes used, it left Liverpool down to ten men and minus their most potent striker. They thought it was all over. . .

But perversely that apparent setback may have helped the Merseysiders as Saints momentarily dropped their guard.

They were still rejoicing in the prospect of a tame finish to the game when Titi Camara snatched an unlikely equaliser before Owen had even hobbled into the dressing room.

Jamie Redknapp had a shot blocked by Claus Lundekvam but the loose ball ran for Camara who rammed it back in first-time from 20 yards. Once again it was a case of Saints shooting themselves in the foot just when they seemed to have secured a first Premiership win in six outings thanks to Trond Soltvedt's second goal for the club.

Both have come against Liverpool. After scoring the last-gasp winner against them in the Worthington League Cup ten days previously, the Norwegian did it again on 39 minutes.

He was set up by the unlikely combination of an excellent right-foot cross from Francis Benali and a far-post header down by Matthew Le Tissier.

Soltvedt reacted quickest to force home from close range.

It was Southampton's first serious attempt on goal after a strong and sharp start by Liverpool who were clearly smarting from their earlier defeat at The Dell.

They adopted Saints' own 4-5-1 away formation and surprisingly left Owen on the bench to the delight of the home fans and players who got an instant lift when they saw the team sheet.

Gerard Houllier's men though were clearly out for revenge and had most of the play in a drab opening half-hour which saw Paul Jones save well from Camara and Danny Murphy.

Saints found it hard to cut through the packed midfield and too often ended up hitting long balls which gave Marian Pahars little chance against the solid pairing of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz.

They mopped up despite the muscle of Mark Hughes restored to attack with Le Tissier moved out to the right wing where he struggled to get into the game.

His frustration showed as he swiped a drinking bottle from the hand of physio Jim Joyce as he was substituted early in the second half.

There was barely a murmur of protest from the crowd and the decision was justified as Stuart Ripley produced another powerful performance to give Saints far more width and pace down the right.

He also provided more protection for Jason Dodd who was becoming increasingly exposed.

Saints dug in strongly with their determination epitomised by two superb blocks from Benali who flung himself in the way of blasts from Murphy and Camara early in the second half.

That commitment was matched in midfield where Soltvedt tracked tirelessly up and down while Matthew Oakley maintained the top form he was showing before hurting his back.

He drew a top class save from Friedel with a thundering 30-yard free-kick and kept the engine room ticking over strongly as they closed down quickly to deny Redknapp space to assert himself fully.

Helped by that battling display from the midfield, Dean Richards and Lundekvam snuffed out the menace of Owen after he came off the bench.

And when the England striker blazed over as he ran through on 76 minutes, it looked as though Southampton's grit would be rewarded.

The escape appeared to be a double boos t for the home side as Owen hurt his hamstring in the process though the fans were still sorting out their mixed feelings - joy for club and concern for country - when Liverpool snatched their equaliser.

After that Saints mounted a furious late onslaught but were unable to break through again with Hassan Kachloul twice nodding narrowly wide from deep crosses to the far post by Ripley, the second following a fabulous turn to leave Steve Staunton stranded.

The Moroccan enjoyed an African tussle with Rigobert Song to show just why Liverpool are strongly rumoured to be chasing him.

In injury-time Pahars had a looping header saved under the bar by Friedel but this time there was to be no last-gasp winner to shatter Houllier's side.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.