James Beattie drilled a pass into the penalty area for Brett Ormerod to pursue, but Given crossed his path and clawed at his feet and Ormerod fell dramatically to the ground. The referee was satisfied that there was an intention to foul and Beattie slammed in the penalty.Of course there was always a concentration of interest in the performances of the England squad men, Wayne Bridge and Dyer. But while Bridge generally had ample time and space to keep the left side of Southampton’s defence solid, for a long time Dyer was unable to untangle the turmoil of midfield.In spite of Beattie continuing to be a thorn in the side of their central defence, Newcastle emerged for the second half considerably more positive Dyer became busier and thrust forward more imaginatively. Suddenly Laurent Robert sent a cross-shot sizzling through the penalty area, Neil Moss fell on it but the ball rebounded and Shearer found the net.The unhappy double irony of Dyer’s injury was that it came on a day which should have been a celebration but also at a moment when he seemed to be getting to grips with the game.

He was running powerfully on the approaches to the penalty area when El Khalej intervened. Southampton’s 10 men immediately had to face Newcastle’s understandable wrath and determination to at least square the outcome. Nolberto Solano’s quick passing stretched their retreating defence and Aaron Hughes pushed forward powerfully. Yet, in spite of Southampton’s disadvantage, they still managed to close ranks on Shearer and Lomana LuaLua. For them the day was full of satisfaction, which was enhanced by Paul Telfer chipping Given in the 90th minute. For Newcastle and England, it was one of frustration and worry.Southampton 3Svensson 17, Beattie pen 24, Telfer 90Newcastle United 1Shearer 55Half-time: 2-0 Attendance: 31,973.

After watching their London rivals win the two most coveted domestic trophies, Manchester United simply could not bear to let Arsenal steal all the headlines. Enter David Beckham, the captain of England and the most recognisable face in the country, to sign a new three-year contract with the deposed champions. Not quite what he had in mind, but a prize of sorts for Sir Alex Ferguson. Not bad money for a man who is currently hobbling around, after having broken a bone in his left foot.

“I am absolutely delighted,” he said before being paraded at Old Trafford at yesterday’s League match against Charlton Athletic. “The club have bent over backwards to be fair in their dealings and I always knew that United were the only club I ever wanted to play for.”By putting pen to paper on the biggest contract in the history of English football, Beckham has eased the fears of the United board and fans. It also means that the guests at his pre-World Cup bash today are guaranteed the best bubbly.United’s offer had been on the table for some time, but Beckham – well, his agents and lawyers – were combing the small print to avoid any future problems. The major sticking point had been Beckham’s image rights, for which the player was demanding an estimated £20,000 extra a week, on top of his flat salary of £70,000. Roy Keane, the club captain, is said to have a clause in his own contract stipulating that he must be the highest wage-earner in the senior team.