BY Graham Otway ( The Times )

ALEX FERGUSON paired his £19m purchases Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole for the second time yesterday and they produced a goal apiece to set up Manchester United's first away win in any competition this season.

Their ecstatic, almost loving embrace, which followed Cole's coolly taken 60th-minute strike against Southampton, suggested they would not complain at further opportunities to gel into an effective task force, but it is unlikely to happen.

Teddy Sheringham, the man Cole replaced, need have no worries. After his battling performance against Bayern Munich in midweek, Ferguson has no plans in the immediate future to dispense with the 32-year-old.

"With the games we have to play I have to have a few partnership options and I hope they can all play together," he said. "I know Yorke has had three different partners since he came here, but I think he's the kind of player who can play with anyone."

After David Howells had missed a free second-minute header to give Southampton a chance to extend their run of three successive home victories over United, the south-coast outfit subsided.

Yorke opened the scoring with his fifth goal since his £12m move, but his first in the Premiership away from Old Trafford. Jesper Blomqvist released Cole on the left and the Trinidadian just got enough of his boot on a low cross to steer the ball wide of Paul Jones, who watched in agony as it trickled over the line.

Cole's strike on the hour was almost poetry. Blomqvist broke quickly from defence, wriggled his way past three defenders before releasing Cole on the edge of the Southampton area. Switching the ball to his right foot, he curled his shot well beyond Jones's grasp.

If Blomqvist - making only his third start since his summer transfer from Vitesse Arnhem and far too much of a handful for 19-year-old full-back Phil Warner - was the architect of the first two goals, Roy Keane was the overall mastermind.

After a year out recovering from cruciate ligament damage, the Irishman is still inching his way back to peak form. "Quickness to the ball and anticipation were always his trademarks and they are gradually coming back," said Ferguson.

Although he was firing on a cylinder short, Keane's contribution was still too much for a Southampton side that has only accumulated one point from eight games and which must now be regretting the summer sale of Kevin Davies to Blackburn. A healthy bank balance will mean little to the fans if the club is relegated.

When Matt Le Tissier found himself free in the penalty area inside the first five minutes, Keane dashed back to put in the all-important challenge. Time and again he released either Blomqvist or David Beckham as United switched swiftly from defence to attack.

And after the game had been sewn up by Jordi Cruyff seizing on a rebound off Jones, Keane twice stole forward to create chances for himself that could have given United a nap hand. The only blot on his copybook was a booking for a tackle from behind on Stuart Ripley.

Three points took United to second place in the table, six points behind Aston Villa with a game in hand. As John Gregory pointed out: "There are a lot of familiar faces behind us" and a United side which wins without breaking into a sweat must be a real concern.

It is only six months since his fellow managers bestowed an award upon Southampton's David Jones after he steered them to 12th place in the Premiership following an equally poor start in which they lost seven of their first nine games.

Whether he can reproduce another rescue is questionable. On radio before yesterday's game, Carlton Palmer admitted that Southampton were already in a relegation fight, saying: "We will do well to avoid going down."

Jones countered by saying: "No one at this club is contemplating relegation," but in the pubs in the immediate vicinity of the Dell, it is almost the sole topic of conversation.

Mark Hughes, signed from Chelsea to replace Davies, was missing suspended yesterday. In his absence and with Le Tissier often an onlooker from ineffective positions, Southampton lacked the class to break down a United defence which was without the injured Peter Schmeichel.

Jones claims he is not contemplating resignation but unless he quickly turns Southampton's fortunes around, then thoughts of his departure will be aired in the Dell boardroom.

Southampton: Jones, Warner, Benali, Palmer, Monkou, Lundekvam (Gibbens 55min), Howells, Ripley (Beattie 63min), Ostenstad, Le Tissier, Bridge.
Booked: Walsh, Lennon.

Man Utd: Van Der Gouw, P. Neville, Stam, G. Neville, Irwin (Brown 78), Beckham, Keane, Butt, Yorke (Cruyff 72), Cole, Blomqvist (Sheringham 72).
Booked: Palmer (38min), Keane (64min).
Scorers: Manchester United: Yorke 11, Cole 59, Cruyff 74.

Referee: D Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).

Attendance: 15,251.