• Southampton 0-0 West Ham

Jaaskelainen keeps Southampton at bay

ESPN staff
September 15, 2013
Jussi Jaaskelainen was at his best to pull off a string of fine saves © Getty Images
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Jussi Jaaskelainen pulled off a string of fine saves as West Ham held Southampton to a goalless draw in difficult conditions at St Mary's.

In a match devoid of many moments of class, Jaaskelainen proved decisive as Saints were denied a first home win of the season.

Heading into the game, much of the talk revolved around Ravel Morrison.

The highly-rated Morrison was handed his first Premier League start in place of Stewart Downing, who has joined Andy Carroll, Joe Cole and George McCartney in the treatment room.

Southampton brought in Nathaniel Clyne, Jay Rodriguez and Luke Shaw, with the latter almost caught out in the opening minutes.

Diame impressively controlled a crossfield ball and turned the teenage left-back, giving him space to sting the palms of Artur Boruc.

Saints, though, should have taken the lead with their first chance of the afternoon. Rodriguez's cute cutback from the byline found Osvaldo unmarked - but the Italian's goalbound strike was impressively blocked by Jaaskelainen.

It was a chance Southampton's record signing was clearly frustrated not to have buried, with a chance at making amends soon after denied by the quick thinking of Reid.

Reid's outstretched leg prevented him running free at goal, with Jaaskelainen thwarting Lambert from the rebound.

Diame saw an audacious long-range drive whistle just over as West Ham pushed for an opener in the rain, which they thought they managed just past the half-hour mark.

Boruc spread himself well to stop Jarvis when through one-on-one but captain Nolan rifled home from outside the box - only for the offside flag to cut his celebrations short.

Schneiderlin was fortunate not to receive a yellow card for a poor challenge on the already booked Diame, with West Ham furious as the midfielder left in pain on the floor without so much as a free-kick.

Victor Wanyama, particularly poor in the first half, forced Jaaskelainen to tip over from distance shortly after the restart, with the opener almost coming from the resulting corner.

Lallana swung the ball in and Lambert's powerful header rattled the post, followed by hopeful calls for a handball against the impressive Collins when Wanyama attempted to strike home the rebound.

Pochettino's side continued in the ascendancy and Schneiderlin saw a threatening overhead kick was headed away by Reid after Osvaldo had seen a shot blocked.

Mark Noble and Wanyama were both booked for late challenges, with Joey O'Brien soon joining them for a tackle on Lallana that saw tempers fray and could have resulted in a red.

The challenge came after Jaaskelainen superbly turned a Schneiderlin volley around the post, with the goalkeeper then brilliantly clawing away a curling Lambert effort.

Collins lashed over as West Ham pushed a for a late winner before Wanyama fired the final chance wide.

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