Southampton see their Capital One Cup run halted by Championship side Leeds

Manager Nigel Adkins' decision to make 11 changes backfired on him in earnest as the Whites secured another top-flight scalp.

The Saints have found life tough since leaving the likes of Leeds behind in the Championship in the summer, accruing just four points from a possible 27.

Even the lure of a quarter-final berth could not lift them as goals from Michael Tonge and El-Hadji Diouf, as well as Luciano Becchio's penalty, saw the home side through.

Tonge opened the scoring in the 35th minute, driving home from 16 yards after Jos Hooiveld failed to fully deal with Luke Varney's cross.

Diouf then appeared to have wrapped things up late on with an easy finish from close range but there was still time for Becchio to convert a last-gasp penalty after Tonge was fouled by Dan Seaborne in the box.

It is not unusual for managers to make changes in this competition - Leeds boss Neil Warnock made four himself - but in view of Southampton's rece nt struggles, Adkins' choice to rest the entire starting line-up from Sunday's defeat to Tottenham, as well as naming an inexperienced bench, looked somewhat strange.

The tinkering was reflected in Southampton's performance too, with the Saints outplayed by their hosts.

It took until the 70th minute for them to register a shot at goal and it will be Leeds, third-round conquerors of Everton, who enter the hat on Wednesday night for a first quarter-final appearance since 1996 - a year they made the final.

Such an outcome had seemed likely from the moment the teams were named.

With such an array of changes made, Southampton were unlikely to start the better of the two and so it proved, with Leeds and in particular rookie full-back Sam Byram making the early running.

It took until the 15th minute for the home side to fashion a chance of note, though, and when they did, it resulted in what will surely be considered as one of the worst misses in recent memory, with Varney somehow missing from point-blank range.

Inexplicable

Aidy White stood up a perfect back-post cross to Diouf and, when he sidefooted across the goalmouth with keeper Kelvin Davis stranded, all Varney had to do was score from a yard, but the former Portsmouth man inexplicably hit wide with Diouf unable to ram home the loose ball.

It was a miss which would often strangle the confidence of a player but seven minutes later Varney was running at the Southampton defence, cutting in and fizzing a drive across goal that crept narrowly wide.

He went even closer as the half-hour mark approached too, beating Davis to Danny Butterfield's poor backpass and, after bravely getting to the ball first, saw his edge-of-the-box effort hit the underside of the bar and fall just away from the onrushing Diouf.

Whether it was owing to unfamiliarity or not, Southampton were well off the pace and their goal continued to lead a charmed life when Rodolph Austin put a free header wide but, in the 35th minute, Leeds got what they deserved when Tonge opened the scoring.

Again Varney was involved, this time with a strong run down the left. His cross was hacked away by Jos Hooiveld but Tonge was lurking and from 16 yards slammed a drive through a crowded box for his third goal of the season.

He would have had a second before the break had Davis not tipped his vicious free-kick over but, despite being fortunate to be just a goal behind at the changeover, Saints came out in a similarly lethargic manner.

As has been the case in the league their defending left a lot to be desired, and had Diouf and then Tonge found their range better after Varney was twice brought down on the edge of the box, they could have been cut adrift.

That applied again in the 64th minute when Varney and Tonge played a one-two, with the former denied by Davis who spread himself well, before in the 70th minute, debutant Emmanuel Mayuka registered Southampton's first effort with a wayward shot.

It got little better than that for Adkins' men, though, and with three minutes left, Diouf wrapped things up.

The goal owed everything to Austin, whose 50-yard run may have included some good fortune, but when his low shot was parried by Davis, Diouf had the easiest of finishes from two yards.

After that there was still time for Leeds to get another in injury time, with Becchio, on as a sub, scoring with his first touch from the spot after Dan Seaborne pulled Tonge down in the box.

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Leeds United	Team Statistics	Southampton
3	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	1
8	Shots off Target	1
1	Blocked Shots	2
8	Corners	2
10	Fouls	16
4	Offsides	2
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
N/A	Passing Success	N/A
N/A	Tackles	N/A
N/A	Tackles Success	N/A
41.8	Possession	58.2
N/A	Territorial Advantage	N/A
0	Total Passes	0
0	Total Crosses	0
4	Lost Balls	2
2	Recoveries	0
	1st Half Poss.
	2nd Half Poss.