Leeds United 2 - 0 Southampton

	Alan Smith fires home the second (AlexLivesey/Allsport)

Leeds' championship potential even now must be questioned if they cannot pummel opposition that bookmakers quote as 500-1 shots for the title. Harsh, maybe, but a valid query all the same.

Manager David O'Leary could have been been tempted to bellow from the dug-out: 'Hey, chairman, what about investing in more Trotter-mobiles?'

Republic of Ireland defender Ian Harte had been compelled to roll up to the ground on the morning of the match in a yellow Del Boy-style Robin Reliant as punishment for being the worst training-pitch performer of the week.

Come Saturday evening Harte's battered three-wheeler could have been bulging with any number of high-profile passengers.

The vigour and incisiveness that Leeds produced in the second half of last season - collecting more points even than Manchester United - had vanished. Also missing was the instinct for goals that their pre-season wanderings across Europe had hinted at.

Southampton goalkeeper Paul Jones barely had a heart-stopping moment as Leeds lacked ingenuity and craft in midfield. Up front they were little better for all the sweat shed by Mark Viduka and Robbie Keane.

For most of the game a goalless draw looked likely. Southampton were committed to defence but, for all that, they did create opportunities.

Kevin Davies, the striker who spent a nightmare two years at Blackburn before returning to the south coast, might have given them a two-goal lead before half-time with a couple of thundering drives if it had not been for the alertness and agility of Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.

Marian Pahars, too, was a potent threat, forcing Martyn into one acrobatic save which belied his 35 years, while Southampton central defender Dean Richards showed exactly why he has been so hotly pursued by former boss Glenn Hoddle with a performance which was a model of composure.

Another significant chance for Saints fell to Uwe Rosler as, surprisingly, he won an aerial duel with Rio Ferdinand after 51 minutes.

Unnerved and alone in his own penalty area, Ferdinand's attempted clearance merely struck the German and the ball dropped at his feet. But, as Martyn advanced swiftly from his line and the angle narrowed, Rosler lacked the precision to take his opportunity.

O'Leary needed to act. He did, with immediate effect. Eirik Bakke and locally-raised hero Smith were summoned from the bench. Within minutes Leeds had rid themselves of their chains and the game was won.

The abrasive Smith, possessed of typical determination, won a tackle and Olivier Dacourt's shot rattled Southampton nerves. From the 67th-minute corner, a soaring Ferdinand delivered the perfect header and Bowyer's bludgeoning finish did the rest.

Nine minutes from the end Smith, seizing on Bakke's through-ball, spun away from Richards and glided the ball with composure into the net.

The three points were won and, no doubt, a point was proved emphatically by Smith in the contest for first-team starting places at Leeds. Smith's display would surely have impressed England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, who brought him on as a substitute in the midweek match against Holland.

Apart from the Rosler slip, captain Ferdinand, showing no sign of his recent hamstring trouble, was imperious at the back - and that, too, is heartening news for Eriksson with the World Cup qualifier with Germany just two weeks away.

But, for Leeds counterpart O'Leary, the missed chances and the increasing Southampton pressure were copious and worrying. Even Bowyer, for much of the game, was a shadow of the influential force which proved so thorny for defences throughout last season.

Leeds will, no doubt, play much better - and they will have to if they are to fulfil their heady ambitions. For Southampton it promises to be a long, anxious season.