FOR a manager who refuses to practise them and can't stand to watch them, Sam Allardyce has good reason to be grateful for his team's talent for converting penalties.

Thanks to six brave volunteers, who showed character and accuracy from 12 yards in last night's Reebok epic, Wanderers have booked themselves a place in the quarter-finals of the Worthington Cup.

Six of the best ... the first taken by Colin Hendry, who wasn't even nominated on the original list, and the tie-breaker by former Southampton striker Rod Wallace, who astonishingly admitted having NEVER taken a penalty in his long, distinguished and high-scoring career!

"Honestly!" the Reebok hero insisted. "That's the first penalty I have ever taken in professional football. I was quite pleased with it. The penalties before were taken really well so I just did the same thing - and thankfully it went in!"

Considering Allardyce is against practising spot kicks as a matter of principal - "It's absolute nonsense," he says passionately, "I never have and I never will" - his players produced a set of telling strikes after Hendry shouldered the responsibilities of captaincy and showed the way.

Yet, if the veteran Scot hadn't spoken up, his name would not have been on the list assistant manager, Phil Brown, handed to referee Andy D'Urso.

"I said I'd take the first but I think Phil Brown thought I was kidding," Hendry revealed. "He didn't put me down in the five. But I insisted I take the first one.

"It gives me a great sense of pride being captain and I felt it was my responsibility. Phil came up at the end and shook my hand."

Allardyce had to rely on the reaction of his coach, Neil McDonald, to keep track of the penalty shoot-out, which was neck and neck - a perfect 10 - until Jussi Jaaskelainen saved Southampton's sixth, taken by Chris Marsden, to set up Wallace for his matchwinner. Gareth Farrelly, Michael Ricketts, Nicky Southall and Paul Warhurst had all followed Hendry's lead in keeping Wanderers level-pegging after Marian Pahars had confidently opened the proceedings.

"I watched the penalties at Wembley," the manager explained, recalling the bitter memory of the ill-fated shoot-out defeat by Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final in April of last year, "and I said I wouldn't watch any after that. I sat in the dugout and watched Neil McDonald to see if he jumped up or not. Six good penalties, they tell me."

Ironically, the penalty king - Dean Holdsworth - was out of the frame after making way for Ricketts midway through the extra period. But not before he had displayed his prowess from the spot to put Wanderers in front for the first time on a night that took the sparse crowd through the full spectrum of emotions.

There might have been disappointment that so many of the Premiership team - nine who started the Fulham game on Saturday were rested - and a certain frustration as the so-called "fringe" players adjusted to playing together. But, when Holdsworth stepped up to send Saints' keeper Paul Jones the wrong way after Paul Williams had dumped Akinori Nishizawa in the 54th minute, they were in touching distance of a place in the last eight of a competition that offers their most accessible route into Europe and revenge over a side that had snatched three points at the Reebok in September - one of the teams they will need to better over the season if they are to secure a second top flight term.

But, to his dismay and anger, Allardyce saw his defenders switch off 10 minutes from the end of normal time when James Beattie hooked the ball across for Kevin Davies to equalise.

Extra-time served up more mixed emotions with Michael Ricketts coming off the subs' bench to bamboozle Williams before nonchalantly chipping in his 11th goal of the season only for the Wanderers' defence to be embarrassed within 90 seconds when centre-back Tahar El-Khalej snatched a second equaliser.

"These players, unlike the players who played against Fulham on Saturday, haven't played together that much and were a little disjointed," Allardyce said, making understandable allowances for those drafted in. "But I would expect that, when we're in front twice, we should see the game out at the Reebok.

"Players have been pushed to the limits with 120 minutes's football, which they have not had before and they showed some good touches and good qualities.

"It's just disappointing that when we needed the solid unit and a bit of shape we didn't get it."