Sven Goran Eriksson came to St Mary's to watch a strong candidate to be England's next centre-forward - but must have left wishing he had the previous one!

For all the hype over Southampton's in-form James Beattie, Newcastle's Alan Shearer is still the best around.

How the England coach must wish the Newcastle striker would come out of international retirement!

Although well patrolled by the solid international pairing of Claus Lundekvam and Michael Svensson he still set the tone and tempo for a rip-roaring Newcastle display in a pulsating match.

Shearer used to pass on tips to Beattie when the pair were at Blackburn together - and he is still showing him the way even now.

Eriksson must have been impressed with Shearer's aerial power, his chasing and closing down, his runs wide and crosses, his ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play, his rattling of defenders - and of course his nose for goal.

But all that depends on whether the national boss was able to make any kind of rational assessment from this rollercoaster of a game.

Even the unflappable, ice-cool Swede must have been swept up by the thundering action which was hard to fully take in.

This was a fabulous game between two totally committed sides playing with awesome tempo and commitment but in a fair spirit which saw the referee keep his cards in his pocket despite some full-blooded tackling.

It is no exaggeration to say it could easily have finished 5-5 - or even more. It was end-to-end stuff as the two teams traded blows more or less evenly.

Even the two goals came within three minutes of each other. Newcastle drew first blood on 50 minutes with a patient flowing move which saw them switch the ball crossfield and back again.

Laurent Robert found Dyer who laid off to Bellamy who drifted past a limp and late wave of the leg by Anders Svensson through the inside-left channel.

As the defence backed off the Welsh international produced a sublime piece of skill to clip a precise 20-yard curling shot just inside the right post.

A minute later Jermaine Jenas could and should have ensured that the Magpies got their first win in Southampton since 1972 when he was teed up by Bellamy in front of goal.

But instead of hittng it first time he took a touch allowing Paul Jones to dart swiftly off his line to tip away the shot.

It was a pivotal moment as Saints went straight up the other end to level. Fabrice Fernandes drove the ball low across the face of goal and Chris Marsden slid in at the far post to force home from almost point-blank range.

The quickfire response summed up the pattern of the game which almost resembled a basketball match in its speed and tempo - and in the way play switched from one end to the other.

And while both sides can justifiably claim they had enough good chances to have won, it would have been rough on either of them to have lost.

The only slight difference was that Newcastle were denied by a goalkeeper determined to reclaim his first-team slot from the injured Antti Niemi while the home team failed to hit the target with their best opportunities.

Beattie went into this fixture as the Premiership's leading marksman with 11 goals in eight games but he was not given a sniff in front of goal and Newcastle will be glad the best chances fell to Marsden who twice missed the target with free headers.

The second came at him a bit too quick from Michael Svensson's near-post flick and he got under it and nodded over on 73 minutes.

But he should have scored the first, an unchecked diving effort from a perfectly-weighted cross from the left by Fernandes five minutes earlier.

The closest call though came from Andy O'Brien who was relieved to get away with an inexplicable header against his own bar under no pressure in injury-time.

But the Geordies had good chances of their own. Bellamy headed over when it seemed easier to score after Jones had made a good reaction save to keep out Shearer's instinctive knee to the ball from Robert's deflected free-kick.

Kieron Dyer took the ball round the keeper but saw his angled shot cleared off the line by the covering Lundekvam and Jones made superb stops from Speed's looping header, Bellamy racing through and Dyer's low drive as well as Jenas.

Southampton regularly play at this tempo on the south coast but for Newcastle to match them so effectively was a real tribute to their character and fitness in the wake of such a demanding midweek trip.

They chased everything and showed the kind of spirit which has too often been lacking in previous trips to Southampton where they traditionally fare so badly.

For once though it is no cliche to say football was the winner from this magnificent advert for the Premiership which was more like a cup-tie as both sides went at each other full tilt to produce one of those rare occasions where everyone went home happy.

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