MATCH STATS NORWICH CITY: Green, Colin, Charlton, Shackell, Fleming, Brennan, Safri, Hughes, Marney, Huckerby, Ashton Subs: McKenzie (for Charlton, 70), Thorne (for Colin, 75), Ward, Doherty, Jarrett (for Hughes, 27) SOUTHAMPTON: Niemi, Hajto, Lundekvam, Powell, Higginbotham, Prutton, Oakley, Quashie, Belmadi, Jones, Fuller Subs: Cranie (for Lundekvam, 53), Walcott (for Jones, 70), Wise, Blackstock, (for Fuller, 76), Smith SCORERS: Southampton: Quashie (pen, 15) TOP CANARY: PinkUn, EDP & EN: Youssef Safri PinkUn Poll: Brennan/Safri (33%) ATTENDANCE: 23,498 REFEREE: Lee Probert (Gloucestershire) EXTRA TIME: First half: 2 mins Second half: 4 mins YELLOW CARDS: Southampton: Hajto (foul on Huckerby, 42), Fuller (push in Safri's face, 69), Blackstock (foul on Fleming, 90) R Fuller 69; D Blackstock 90. Norwich: Huckerby (dissent, 13) RED CARDS: None. SHOTS ON TARGET: Southampton, 4 Norwich 3 SHOTS OFF TARGET: Southampton, 6 Norwich 8 CORNERS: Southampton, 1 Norwich 9 FOULS:  Southampton, 17 Norwich 14 OFFSIDES:  Southampton, 0 Norwich 2

Saturday August 20, 2005
RICK WAGHORN

A highly-controversial 15th minute penalty from Southampton skipper Nigel Quashie condemned the Canaries to their first defeat of the season at Southampton.

Awarded against City skipper Craig Fleming when Ricardo Fuller's flick rose up against his arm from no more than two yards distance, it was the fact that referee Probert insisted on the penalty being taken again after a Southampton player clearly encroached and Robert Green clearly saved that infuriated the visitors.

Once again nothing fell Norwich's way as Dean Ashton forced a marvellous save out of Antti Niemi when clean through and Jim Brennan headed against the post as Norwich turned up the pressure after the break.

Having dropped six points from those three successive 1-1 home draws the pressure was always going to mount on Nigel Worthington's men to end their miseries away from home.

Though City played well enough in patches to earn at least a point fortune is currently doing them few favours with the loss of Andy Hughes after half an hour with what appeared to be a hamstring strain merely summing up an increasingly frustrating start to the new campaign.

As the Canaries began their quest to rack up their first away success since the final game of the 2003/2004 season and Iwan Roberts' swansong at Crewe, so Canary boss Nigel Worthington made one significant change. For after Thursday's news that Clinton Morrison could be Norfolk bound in a £2 million deal so all of a sudden Leon McKenzie found himself relegated to the bench with Jim Brennan making his first start of the season on the left-hand side of midfield.

All of which left Darren Huckerby to partner Dean Ashton up front in the new look Norwich line-up.

Whether the change was solely prompted by Morrison's reported impending arrival was not as yet clear. What was, however, was that Norwich's new look would offer them far greater defensive solidity as one time left-back Brennan stepped in to Huckerby's shoes on the left wing - a move that was also undoubtedly designed to avoid any repeat of last season's 4-3 free-fall.

For the home side manager Harry Redknapp also rang the changes with his former charge at Pompey, Ricardo Fuller, replacing youngster Dexter Blackstock in the Saints' forward line.

Otherwise it was the same side that racked up Southampton's first win of the season away at Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

With the home side kicking off it was Norwich who enjoyed by far the greater share of the early possession only for David Prutton to carve out the game's first clear-cut chance.

Set free by young striker Kenwyne Jones the City defence appeared to part before Prutton as he drove on towards the Canary goal.

Fortunately his final shot lacked either the direction or the venom to trouble Canary keeper Robert Green on his 200th senior appearance for the Norfolk club.

Robert Green shows his frustration at referee Lee Probert's decision to order a retake.

City's bright start came to nothing, however, when in the 15th minute Southampton stole into a highly controversial lead.

First came the award of the penalty itself with City skipper Craig Fleming feeling rightly aggrieved by referee Probert's award after Fuller's flick-on hit the skipper's hand from no more than two yards away - giving the Canary defender little or no time to do anything about it.

Further fury was to follow as for the first time in his senior professional life, Green saved a spot-kick as he dived away to his left to palm Nigel Quashie's penalty wide.

It counted for nothing, however, as the referee pointed to the spot again for encroachment - Norwich's anger stemming from the fact that it was a Southampton player who was clearly guilty of encroaching rather than anyone in a green City shirt.

Indeed such was Huckerby's anger that he earned the game's first yellow card of the afternoon.

Up stepped Quashie again and this time he rolled the ball beneath Green away to his right and the Saints had gone marching ahead.

Norwich had a further lucky escape in the 24th minute when Fuller weaved his way out of Shackell's grasp tight on the by-line before pulling the ball back to a lurking Prutton whose first-time shot rolled little more than a yard wide of Green's far upright.

Norwich's best moment arrived a minute later when Brennan's excellent ball forward found Huckerby escaping into the space behind full-back Tomasz Hajto but having successfully burst into the box the Canary striker found too many red and white shirts spread out before him and he could do no more than force a corner.

Further evidence that this might not be City's afternoon came in the 27th minute when City were forced to make an early substitution as Andy Hughes gingerly walked off to be replaced by Jason Jarrett.

With Jarrett still short of match fitness and Hughes having played such a big role in last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace it was the last thing Worthington needed with City already a goal adrift and chasing the game.

Twice in the space of two minutes Saints' keeper Antti Niemi rode to the home side's rescue as Norwich tried to force their way back into the contest.

The first was the stuff of managerial nightmares as a dozing Darren Powell was hopelessly robbed of the ball by an alert Ashton and having powered his way into the Southampton penalty area the Canary striker looked odds-on to drive home his third goal of the season.

Instead Niemi dived away to his right to push the ball up before Hajto hooked the ball off the goalline.

A minute later it was Brennan's turn to take aim at the Saints' goal, his rising 25-yard drive forcing Niemi into a fine one-handed punch away for a corner.

Signs that Southampton were by now firmly rattled arrived in the shape of their first booking when Hajto felled Huckerby tight on the left-hand touchline.

With skipper Quashie having already shown his feisty side in a clash with first Safri and then Ashton Southampton were beginning to look slightly ragged even if Norwich had yet to find that all important leveller.

Half time: Southampton 1, Norwich City 0

The second half was less than a minute old when Norwich had their first injury scare when Shackell and Fuller collided leaving the young Canary centre-half badly winded.

Three minutes later as Norwich continued to turn up the pressure on their hosts Brennan came agonisingly close to squeezing home a leveller after Huckerby had forced the first corner of the second period.

A whipped delivery to the near post finally found the ball dropping for Brennan only for his header to fall back off Niemi's left-hand upright.

In the ensuing melee Claus Lundekvam collided with Brennan and after two minutes of anxious attention from the Saints' physio was stretchered off.

Andy Hughes leads the protests against Lee Probert's decision to allow Southampton to retake their penalty.

Redknapp reacted immediately by throwing Martin Cranie into the fray with the Saints' youngster taking up his position at right-back with Hajto stepping inside at centre-half.

The game really burst into life just before the hour mark as Norwich capped off another fine, long period of possession with a fierce, dipping 30-yard effort from Safri which skimmed the roof of Niemi's net.

A minute later it was Norwich breathing a sigh of relief as Jones twisted strongly away from Shackell and as Green advanced and Fleming closed so his lifting shot drifted just over the Norwich bar.

The game was fast bubbling up into a furious contest as Brennan twice tried his luck from distance only to drill one shot wide and the other straight into the waiting Niemi's arms.

In the 69th minute the game had another booking as Fuller was adjudged by the watching fourth official to have fouled Safri - a shove in the face that could easily have prompted more than a yellow had referee Probert only had eyes in the back of his head.

The 70th minute also brought a double substitution as McKenzie replaced Charlton and Southampton's new Boy Wonder - 16-year-old Theo Walcott came on to rapturous applause in place of Jones.

Worthington made his last throw of the dice 15 minutes from time when Peter Thorne replaced Colin - a move that saw Dean Marney revert back to right-back with Thorne arriving on the right-hand side of an attacking three.

A minute later it was Redknapp's turn to play his last card as young Dexter Blackstock replaced the tiring Fuller.

Eleven minutes from the end and Southampton were firmly on the back foot again as the ball dropped into the Saints' six-yard box and it took a desperate hooked clearance away for a corner for the danger to end.

Moments later Canary skipper Fleming was throwing himself full-length at a diving header only for the ball to balloon a yard over Niemi's bar.

Certainly City's four-strong forward line was enjoying the best of the contest but as ever this afternoon clear-cut chances were proving hard to come by.

With the clock now firmly against the Canaries Jarrett saw his 15-yard effort deflected away for a throw-in and with the Saints now into full 'protect what we've got!' mode so Norwich's first defeat of the season was hoving ever closer.

The four minutes of added time did produce one final yellow card as youngster Walcott produced one desperate challenge too many but in the end Southampton clung gamely on for a hard earned win.

Result: Southampton 1, Norwich City 0