Stone cold Austin secures Southampton a point

Both sides went into the game looking to claim the south-coast bragging rights, but in the end they were shared.

The neutrals were the real winners though, with the two teams serving up an exciting display of end-to-end football.

The visitors almost took the lead after 12 minutes as Virgil Van Dijk headed James Ward-Prowse’s corner narrowly wide of the far post before Fraser Forster was then called into action at the other end.

First, the Southampton goalkeeper made a stunning save to deny England team-mate Jermain Defoe after he had flicked Adam Smith’s low effort goalwards, before being forced to palm away Nathan Ake’s header following Smith’s cross from the right.

The half-hour mark brought drama as Smith went down in the box under a challenge from Sofiane Boufal, only to be booked by referee Jon Moss for diving.

Charlie Austin tested Asmir Begovic with a header at the other end as Southampton looked to take full advantage of the left-off but the big Bosnian was equal to it.

The hosts finished the half with a flourish and got their reward. Charlie Daniels was inches away from breaking the deadlock with a superb swerving effort as he took aim and cut across an effort from 30 yards but it flew narrowly wide with Forster beaten.

There was nothing the former Celtic stopper could do three minutes before the break though. Wesley Hoedt was mugged by Josh King in his own half and Bournemouth had numbers over. The Norwegian squared the ball to Surman, who in turn fed Ryan Fraser on the left and the Scot made no mistake, slotting past Forster with his right foot to give his side a half-time lead.

1 - Ryan Fraser has scored his first @premierleague goal since January 3rd (v Arsenal), ending a run of 24 appearances without finding the net. Countered. pic.twitter.com/sNfkI6xnaw

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 3 December 2017

Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino was clearly not impressed by his side’s first-half display, introducing Nathan Redmond at the break as he looked to inject some attacking verve into his team.

The change almost paid immediate dividends as Redmond fed Boufal, but his effort low was kept out by Begovic at his near post.

Bournemouth were inches away from doubling their lead after 50 minutes when Junior Stanislas couldn’t quite stretch enough to convert King’s cross-cum-shot at the far post and the hosts were made to pay for failing to take advantage of that chance.

Redmond was the provider, crossing low for Austin to sweep home to restore parity after Lewis Cook had been robbed by Oriol Romeu in midfield.

7 - Charlie Austin has scored seven goals in his last 10 @premierleague starts for Southampton, including three in his last two. Potent. pic.twitter.com/v9Rz1Sls3O

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 3 December 2017

Austin would have doubled his tally just three minutes later had it been for better decision-making from his team-mates. Redmond fed Ryan Bertrand on the counter, but the England international defender opted to shoot rather than cross with Austin awaiting a tap-in in the middle, and his low effort flashed wide.

The visitors were given a let-off with 15 minutes to play as King’s effort on the turn was palmed against substitute Callum Wilson and behind by Forster.

Austin looked Southampton’s most likely source of a winner and the former Burnley man planted a header inches over the bar with nine minutes left on the clock after Bertrand was released down the left after some flowing football.

In the end, neither side could find a winner, with Ake heading over a great chance when unmarked with the last kick of the game.

Nevertheless, the draw was enough to move Southampton up to 11th and Bournemouth up to 14th in the Premier League table.