[Mhiz Rebecca]

Shane Long scored the only goal of the second leg to
earn Southampton a 2-0 aggregate victory over Liverpool
and book his side a place in the EFL Cup final.
The Saints survived a second-half onslaught on their goal
to preserve their 1-0 first-leg advantage heading into the
closing stages, before substitute Long pounced on the
break to seal a famous victory.
Southampton did enough over the 180 minutes to punish
their opponents' profligacy and earn a place in the final
for just the second time - and a first since 1979 - as they
overcame the eight-time winners.
A slender win on the night at Anfield ensures that
Liverpool's poor start to 2017 continues, with their hopes
of going one better than last season's final appearance
coming to a crushing halt.
Liverpool, with just the one win in seven now in 2017,
took time to get going and were restricted to just two
shots from range in a first half edged by their opponents.
Daniel Sturridge , given the nod up top in one of four
changes from last time out, sent a tame attempt down
the middle and Roberto Firmino did likewise just two
minutes later.
The visitors were enjoying themselves when given the
chance to break forward, with Nathan Redmond - the
difference maker in the first leg - particularly proving to
be a threat down the left-hand side.
Redmond skipped past one and picked out Dusan Tadic
after initially being played through by Ryan Bertrand 's
smart flick, but a mix of poor finishing from the Serbian
and good keeping for Loris Karius kept the scoreline
level.
Steven Davis was the next to profit from Redmond's
impressive work inside the area, though the Northern
Irishman also failed to keep his composure when it
mattered and could only blast high over the bar from
eight yards out.
The only other openings of the first half also fell the way
of the visitors, as James Ward-Prowse dragged a shot
from the edge of the box wide and Davis saw his well-
struck shot blocked aside by James Milner.
For the third home game in a row Liverpool went into
half time goalless, but the Reds certainly made up for
their lack of cutting edge in the first half with a far more
rounded display in the second - bar the finishing.
There was a scare for Fraser Forster when failing to
handle Emre Can's shot, with the ball spinning towards
the line only for the England back-up stopper to quickly
turn and claw it from underneath the crossbar.
Coutinho then saw a shot deflect on target, before
Sturridge sent one acrobatic effort over the crossbar
from seven yards out and failed to test Forster when
picked out from the left soon after.
It was proving to be a frustrating evening for the Reds -
Coutinho the latest to fluff his lines when picked out in a
decent position, while also curling one narrowly wide of
the far post.
Liverpool are certainly not strangers to turning around
one-goal deficits on home soil at this stage in the
competition, having done it twice before since the turn of
the century, but Southampton were doing their all to
keep that slender advantage intact.
The Reds struggled for momentum in the final stages of
the game, though, and it was then left to Long to
convert in the final minute of time - after Sturridge was
denied what looked to be a penalty following a challenge
from Jack Stephens - to ensure a first final of any sort
for Southampton in 14 years.