Arter questions Southampton pitch after penalty miss

Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter suggested that Southampton's ground staff need to examine the St Mary's pitch after the turf gave way causing him to miss a crucial penalty.

Arter blazed his spot-kick well over the crossbar in the 79th minute of Bournemouth's 0-0 draw against their south coast rivals, squandering one of the few chances to transpire in a dour contest.

The Republic of Ireland international took responsibility for the miss after the game but pointed to a similarly wayward effort at the same end of St Mary's by Tottenham's Harry Kane earlier this season.

"I feel if I scored we would have got three points. I didn't intentionally miss. As much as it is disappointing it is part and parcel of football," Arter told BBC Sport.

"It is my fault. One of the lads said Harry Kane did something similar - maybe they need to have a look at it.

"There is no blaming in this team. The lads said keep your head up. It is not the end of the world and just a game of football.

"We had a gameplan and it wasn't really working. The manager got his 15 minutes to get his point across and in the second half we were the better side."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, whose side managed just two shots on target in the game, agreed with Arter's assessment, saying: "It should have been three wins in a row.

"We were not great in the first half but in the second we dominated the game and had great chances to put the game to bed.

"We had great chances in the second half and that is impressive because Southampton are a good team."

Southampton had lost five of their previous seven matches in all competitions going into the game and there was an air of relief about manager Claude Puel in his post-match comments.

The Saints were without talismanic striker Manolo Gabbiadini and they struggled to create chances in his absence.

Puel said: "It was a difficult game. We know this because they are a good team with quality and defensive organisation.

"I think a draw is normal. We have the first opportunity to score and it was difficult to finish the game with tiredness and some international players. Fifteen of the players in the squad were playing in international games and we saw this. A draw is normal."