It was back to business for Southampton today as life in League One kicked off at home to last season's play-off finalists, Millwall...

In a typically dramatic opening day, Saints took the lead in the second half through 19-year old striker Matthew Paterson and captain Kelvin Davis made a fantastic double penalty save to deny Millwall soon afterwards.

The dogged visitors then levelled through Nadjim Abdou to set up a tense finale but the scores remained the same as the points were shared.

SAINTS vs MILLWALL

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Southampton: Davis, Murty, Thomas, Perry, Harding, James, Wotton, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Paterson, Saganowski. Subs: Bialkowski, Gillett, Holmes, Lancashire, Pulis, Thomson, Gobern.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Smith, Frampton, Barron, Hacket, Abdou, Bolder, Martin, Alexander, Morison. Subs: Sullivan, Harrsi, Grabban, Grimes, Fuseni, Price, Laird.

Referee: Mr. Mick Russell

Attendance: 20,101 (Including 2,242 away fans)

Saints created their first opening in the 7th minute, with Paterson and Saganowski surging forward and the younger striker attempting to set up his Polish colleague with a cheeky backheel.

Ex-Stevenage striker Steve Morison broke free through the middle a few minutes later, but was quickly closed down by the imposing figure of Wayne Thomas, who forced his opponent to loop the ball harmlessly up and over him to be collected by Davis.

Morgan Schneiderlin then clashed heads with his Millwall counterpart and the Saints physio swung into action, but the Frenchman was soon back on his feet.

With both sides still easing their way into the new campaign, Saganowski soon found himself back in front of goal but could only place a tame header wide of the left hand post.

A quick Millwall break upfield on 17 minutes won them a central free kick when Hackett was up-ended by Perry, but David Martin's shot was rifled straight into the wall and out of harms way.

A mix-up at the back between Graeme Murty and Thomas meant both men temporarily switched places as the Lions surged forward, but Abdou was denied a shooting chance by some quick Saints thinking.

A long ball forward from Lloyd James in the 25th minute sent Paterson sprinting for the by-line, but Millwall 'keeper David Forde was just able to reach the ball a second before him and knock it out of play.

Saints almost got the new season off to a spectacular start in the 28th minute, when Schneiderlin tried an audacious lob that Forde just managed to claw onto the roof of his net.

The resulting corner also gave Saints a fantastic goal scoring chance, as Lallana's in-swinging delivery was hit first time by Chris Perry and grazed the near post on its way out of play.

The hosts had the ball in the back of the net on 41 minutes as Saganowski held it up well inside the box, but was adjudged to have fouled Frampton and strayed off-side as he turned and headed over the 'keeper.

Schneiderlin tried his luck again a minute before the break from just inside the Saints half, but this time his shot was too high to trouble the visiting 'keeper.

With a minute added on for stoppages, Kelvin Davis did well to save at the feet of Morison before Perry cleared up field.

Half-Time: Saints 0-0 Millwall

Both sides emerged unchanged into the bright St. Mary's sunshine with the visitors playing towards their 2,242 travelling fans.

Left-back Scott Barron tested Davis with a low diaonal shot a minute later, but his effort drifted wide of the far post as Davis dived down to meet it.

Saints fought back almost straight away and took the lead in the 50th minute when Matt PATERSON scored his second professional goal with a low shot from six yards out after a flick on from Saganowski.

St. Mary's was already on its feet as the young striker wheeled off to celebrate his first goal on home turf and new manager Alan Pardew looked equally pleased iwith his young charge in the technical area.

Millwall made a double substiution in the 59th minute with Martin and Adam Bolder making way for the recognisable form of Jason Price and Ali Fuseni.

A fantastic cross in from the left from debutant Dan Harding left the Millwall 'keeper with a quick decision to make and he punched clear but also managed to catch Saganowski in the process.

The Lions' stopper then kicked the ball onto the roof of the Itchen stand as Saints pushed forward again and received a light-hearted cheer for his efforts.

The visitors were awarded a controversial penalty in th 64th minute as two Millwall men went down in the box and the more dubious fall of the two was rewarded by referee Mick Russell.

With the ball on the spot, Gary Alexander fired in a low shot to Davis's right, but the Saints 'keeper got down well to impressively save both the spot kick and Price's follow-up.

Millwall did eventually level the scores two minutes later when a corner right found Nadjim ABDOU in the box and he headed across goal and past Davis into the top right corner.

Goal scorer Matt Paterson was withdrawn by Alan Pardew with just over 20 minutes remaining and the lively Gary Alexander put more pressure on the hosts on 71 minutes with a stinging shot that flew straight at Davis, but he was just about able to hold on.

Kenny Jackett's men were now taking things up a notch and Davis punched the ball clear again a minute later before Millwall had a goal of thier own disallowed for offside as Alexander was flagged.

Pardew's second switch saw Simon Gillett replace Lloyd James on 74 minutes, as the summer heat took its toll on both sets of players.

Saints won a corner won a corner four miniutes later when, first Gobern and then Wotton's persistance paid off, but Lallana's delivery was headed over the bar by Perry.

With the game now hanging in the balance, Jackett sent on Harris for price and Pardew followed suit with Schneiderlin replacing Thomson with seven minutes to go.

With three minutes added on at the end, it set up a tense finale to the game, with Millwall showing the staying power that brought them so close to winning promotion last term.

Saints almost had the last laugh however, with a late corner, but the final whistle was blown as the ball came in and Alan Pardew's men will now have a pretty good idea of what lies ahead for them this season.

Full Time: Saints 1-1 Millwall