Danny Ings capitalised on an error by Martin Kelly to earn Southampton a share of the spoils at home to Crystal Palace.
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Ings pounced on Kelly's misplaced backpass before slotting
confidently past Vicente Guaita for his 12th league goal of the season.
James Tomkins - making his 350th career appearance - had given
the visitors the lead early in the second half, heading Luka
Milivojevic's delivery into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Max
Meyer thought he had put Palace ahead before half-time, but the
German's effort was disallowed by the video assistant referee for a
marginal offside call against Wilfried Zaha.
Southampton threw
caution to the wind following Ings' equaliser and went close to
snatching all three points through James Ward-Prowse, but the
midfielder's goal-bound free-kick was palmed to safety by Guaita.
The result lifts Saints four points clear of the relegation zone, while Palace stay ninth on 27 points.
Saints slow out of the blocks
Christmas schedule makes it hard to prepare - Hasenhuttl
Superb back-to-back wins at Aston Villa and Chelsea had
given Southampton a three-point cushion over the bottom three going into
this game, but there was little for the home fans to cheer in a dire
first half at St Mary's.
Neither side managed to register a single
shot on target, with Meyer's disallowed goal the closest either team
came to breaking the deadlock before the interval.
Ralph
Hasenhuttl's side improved marginally in the second half, but it wasn't
until after Ings' equaliser - which came from Southampton's first shot
on target - that the hosts began to apply serious pressure on the Palace
goal.
Second-half substitute Moussa Djenepo put in another lively
display off the bench and went close to giving Saints the lead moments
after Ings' goal, but Guaita did well to palm the ball to safety.
The
Palace custodian then made another smart save from Ings' header at the
near post, before the former Burnley and Liverpool man nodded over the
crossbar from a central position inside the area.
Ward-Prowse's
dipping free-kick looked destined for the back of the net, but Guaita
got another strong hand to the ball as Palace held on for a point.
Southampton
have now lost just two of their last eight league matches but with
games against Tottenham, Leicester and Wolves looming, the hosts may be
disappointed not to have claimed a third straight victory.
Palace hold on after first-half VAR call
'Mistakes happen' says Hodgson after Kelly error
Roy Hodgson's side had their goalkeeper to thank late on but may feel
hard done by after Meyer was denied by VAR in the first half.
Zaha
did superbly to set up the former Schalke man, but the Ivorian was
deemed to be marginally ahead of play when put through by James McArthur
in the build-up.
The visitors looked comfortable after Tomkins'
opener, but Hodgson will be bitterly disappointed by the self-inflicted
nature of Southampton's equaliser.
Kelly was under little pressure
as he attempted to play a simple pass back to Tomkins but succeeded
only in playing in Ings, who finished with aplomb.
Guaita then
saved brilliantly from Djenepo, Ings and Ward-Prowse to preserve a point
for the Eagles, who remain in a comfortable position in the top half of
the table - despite going into their final game of 2019 without seven
first-team regulars.
Hodgson has intimated Palace will try to sign
"a few" players in the January transfer window to bolster their
injury-ravaged squad.
Man of the match - Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
Vicente
Guaita helped Palace cling on to a point at St Mary's, producing superb
second-half saves from Moussa Djenepo, Danny Ings (pictured) and James
Ward-Prowse
Ings continues purple patch - the stats
Southampton have lost just two of their last eight Premier League games (W4 D2 L2), after losing six of the seven before that.
Crystal
Palace have scored a league-low four Premier League goals in the first
half of games this season, with a league-high 78% of their goals in the
competition coming after the break (14/18).
Fourteen of Crystal Palace's 20 Premier League games this season were goalless at half-time, six more than any other side.
Seven of Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins' 12 Premier League goals have been headers.
Southampton
striker Danny Ings has scored 12 goals in his 20 Premier League
appearances this season, his best haul in a top-flight campaign.
Ings
has netted 50% of his team's Premier League goals this season (12/14),
the highest proportion of any player in the top flight this season.
'We felt we could turn the game' - what they said
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, speaking to Match of the Day: "It's a more than deserved point. We had the much bigger chances today and it was a good save from Moussa Djenepo.
"We
knew it was a difficult game against this opponent when you're 1-0
down, because they sit deep. The subs gave us a little bit of a boost,
particularly Djenepo on the left.
"We felt that we could turn the
game completely after that but we're not unhappy with the point. It was
similar to the game here last season against them." Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, speaking to Match of the Day: "I thought we did extremely well to get ourselves into the lead, especially after suffering the VAR disappointment.
"When
the goal came, I thought we were starting to show control. But their
equaliser was a technical mistake, it happens in football and it gave
them a new lease of life. On transfers: "We talk about it,
the chairman and Doug Freedman. There's a genuine desire and interest to
bring players in who can help us out. We had that desire in the summer
and couldn't bring it off, but it's still there."
What's next?
Saints
welcome Tottenham Hotspur to St Mary's on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT),
while Palace travel to struggling Norwich City on the same day (17:30).
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