Heskey provides relief for Houllier

Southampton - 0 Liverpool - 1 Anyone with the shrewdness to have backed this scoreline with Emile Heskey as first scorer - a brave double indeed - will have enjoyed the weekend 25 times more than Michael Owen. Yet Liverpool were the winners here with Gerard Houllier relishing victory as an exhilarating moment that money cannot buy.

Through the veil of evening rain at St Mary's it was possible to detect Liverpool, this season's most argued-over team of the Premiership, displaying their virtues rather than vices, even if Owen missed the kind of chance that you would have put your pension pot on.

Owen was inserted in Houllier's starting line-up on Friday evening and remained there despite the smoke from football's rumour factory swirling ever more around him. Heskey, befitting his diffident personality, came more quietly to this game and then became its big noise. The recalled striker broke his three-month duck with only his second Premiership goal this season.

It was as well that Sven-Goran Eriksson unexpectedly did not turn up, because James Beattie did not show either. Southampton's super-scorer was out there somewhere, because the team sheet said so, but the remorseless Sami Hyypia almost erased him.

After this, Liverpool's first victory in 12 Premiership matches, relief was etched in Houllier's face because, despite his continuing brave utterances, his club's worst run for more than 50 years had got to the manager, too.

Victory made him more entitled to put a positive spin on what he insists had been "not a bad spell, but a difficult spell". As for claims within the Anfield camp that Houllier had at times been "too nice" to the players, his response could be interpreted as a mixture of yes and no. "I was nasty when I needed to be nasty."

But then a softer approach. "When a player has his head under water, there is no point in pushing it down further. I said to them, 'I care more for you than cups and points because you are a good bunch of boys'.

"I didn't doubt the talent of the players but I doubted about their confidence. So I said, 'don't worry about the critics, the criticism is on me, and I can take the criticism'."

Yet even now Houllier knows that much hangs on tomorrow's Worthington Cup return with Sheffield United in which his team must overturn a 2-1 deficit.

For the moment Houllier's men are back in the top six, above hosts previously unbeaten at home this season. Here Liverpool looked the form team, aggressive at the start when John Arne Riise and Danny Murphy almost scored even before Riise's curving free-kick was comfortably headed in by Heskey at the far post after 14 minutes.

Such was Liverpool's work-rate and defensive assurance that Chris Kirkland was forced into only one save, from Southampton's most impressive player, Rory Delap, in the first minute of the second half. Liverpool mostly made their own luck, though Kirkland appeared to handle almost a yard outside his area. But the linesman, who had an excellent view, kept the flag down, thus sparing Liverpool being reduced to 10 men after only 19 minutes.

Heskey had already missed badly before Owen's even worse failure shortly before the hour. Riise, receiving Steven Gerrard's superb pass, instantly played it inside for Owen. Enjoying time and space, Owen advanced and shot lamely past the far post. An absolute banker had gone down. It just shows how easy it is to be a mug punter.

SOUTHAMPTON: Niemi, Telfer, Michael Svensson, Lundekvam, Bridge (Delgado 80), Fernandes, Delap, Marsden (Anders Svensson 61), Oakley, Beattie, Tessem (Ormerod 61). Subs Not Used: Jones, Williams. Booked: Anders Svensson.

LIVERPOOL: Kirkland, Carragher, Hyypia, Henchoz, Traore, Murphy, Gerrard, Diouf, Riise, Owen, Heskey. Subs Not Used: Dudek, Smicer, Biscan, Cheyrou, Baros. Booked: Murphy. Goals: Heskey 14.

Referee: S Bennett (Kent)