SAINTS were held to a second goalless draw in the space of four days after a tepid contest against West Ham.

Having failed to find the breakthrough against strugglers Fulham on Boxing Day, Saints were again blunted in attack as the Hammers earned a share of the spoils to take back to east London.

The returning Danny Ings did find the net early on for Saints, but it was ruled out for offside, while the Hammers almost nicked a winner in the final minutes with Alex McCarthy brilliantly denying Said Benrahma.

The draw for Saints does at least halt a run of five consecutive defeats in previous meetings with West Ham, as they end an impressive 2020 in the top half of the Premier League table.

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was absent from the sidelines and forced to manage the side from home via a video link as he self-isolated following a member of his household testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

Assistant boss Richard Kitzbichler along with the rest of the coaching staff were on hand from the dugout, keeping in contact with Hasenhuttl.

The starting XI showed three changes from the Boxing Day draw at Fulham. Ings returned from a hamstring injury to start while Oriol Romeu was back from a one-match suspension and Moussa Djenepo recalled. Shane Long, Ibrahima Diallo and Stuart Armstrong all dropped to the bench.

West Ham made five changes from their weekend draw with Brighton with Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini among the players recalled.

The game at St Mary’s was once again behind closed doors due to a tightening of coronavirus restrictions in Southampton.

Saints, seeking a first win in four, got off to a bright start. Having dominated possession in the early stages, the hosts had the ball in the net on six minutes after Che Adams collected a long ball forward and teed up Ings. The striker wriggled free in the box and fired home, but the goal was disallowed for an offside earlier in the move.

That proved to be the end of the excitement for much of the rest of the half.

Theo Walcott fired wide from 20 yards while at the other end two West Ham free-kicks looked dangerous. The first fell to defender Craig Dawson, who inadvertently kicked Adams in the head as he looked to volley in, while Sebastien Haller could not take an Aaron Cresswell set piece into his stride in the box.

Walcott teed up Ings for Saints, but the flag again went up after the former Liverpool frontman’s flick was saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

The final openings of the half fell the way of West Ham. McCarthy was called into action to save from a close-range Ryan Fredericks header after good work down the right from the Hammers, before Lanzini fired over with the final kick of a cagey first half.

West Ham started the second half the better of the two sides with Yarmolenko looking a threat and moments after Romeu fired over the bar, the hosts made their first switch of the evening with Long replacing Adams up front.

David Moyes instantly responded, bringing on Benrahma.

But it was neither of the new men to the field who carved out the next opening with Walcott, finding space in the centre of the pitch, letting fly from more than 25 yards and calling former Arsenal team-mate Fabianski into a smart, low stop.

Walcott caused problems again with 70 minutes on the clock, driving into the box before the loose ball fell kindly for Kyle Walker-Peters, whose low drive was comfortable for Fabianski.

Tomas Soucek, who netted for the Hammers at the weekend, had his first glimpse of goal of the contest moments later, connecting with a Declan Rice free-kick but his header into the ground did not unduly trouble McCarthy.

The Czech ace found space again a couple of minutes later. After West Ham outnumbered Saints in attack, the ball to Soucek in the centre of the box was vitally cut out by Ryan Bertrand.

Both managers turned to their benches as the game entered its final 15 minutes with attacking options Armstrong and Michail Antonio introduced.

And the Hammers nearly got the goal they craved as Benrahma found space in the box, but McCarthy spread himself to produce a huge save from six yards to preserve his clean sheet and earn his side a point.

Saints: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu; Walcott, Djenepo (Armstrong, 78); Adams (Long, 58), Ings.

Unused subs: Valery, Vokins, Salisu, Smallbone, Diallo, Obafemi, Forster (g/k).

Booked: Bertrand, Djenepo, Walker-Peters.

West Ham: Fabianski; Fredericks, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Lanzini (Benrahma, 60), Fornals, Yarmolenko (Bowen, 72); Haller (Antonio, 77).

Unused subs: Diop, Johnson, Coufal, Noble, Snodgrass, Randolph (g/k).

Booked: Yarmolenko.

Referee: Andy Madley.

VAR: Andre Marriner.