Steward's fall overshadows Saints' success

More news was expected today on the condition of a Southampton steward who suffered serious injuries during last night’s south-coast derby with Portsmouth at St Mary’s.

Southampton police said the worker fell down a flight of stairs during what was described as a “crowd surge”.

It is not clear if the incident is linked to an outbreak of fighting in the away section of the ground after James Beattie converted an injury-time penalty to seal Saints’ 2-0 Carling Cup fourth-round win.

Pompey fans, who had been told they would be locked in the ground for 10 minutes after the final whistle, surged towards a set of stairs leading to an exit and punches were clearly seen to be thrown.

The derby date, the first meeting between the two bitter rivals for eight years, was an eventful evening for all the wrong reasons.

En route to the match, Portsmouth’s players and manager had what Harry Redknapp described as a “miracle” escape from a 14-vehicle motorway pile-up. Redknapp said: “Our driver Mick did a miracle.”