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Juric looks on as Ramsdale’s heroics earn Southampton much-needed point

Ivan Juric looks on at Craven Cottage
Ivan Juric looks on at Craven Cottage - Getty Images/Ryan Pierse

New Southampton manager Ivan Juric was in attendance as his side held Fulham to a goalless Premier League draw at Craven Cottage.

Juric, who signed an 18-month contract at St Mary’s earlier this week, watched from the stands as his new side picked up a much-needed point in difficult conditions on Sunday.

Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk was on the touchline as the heroics of Aaron Ramsdale frustrated Marco Silva’s men. Juric will take over from the departed Russell Martin next week.

Aaron Ramsdale of Southampton makes a save to deny Harry Wilson of Fulham
Aaron Ramsdale made the save of the match to deny Harry Wilson - Getty Images/Ryan Pierse

Despite Fulham flexing their attacking quality in the opening 10 minutes, they failed to convert their chances, with Alex Iwobi’s speculative effort from his weaker left foot narrowly missing the top-right corner.

The hosts were having success through marauding left-back Antonee Robinson. The United States international was often seen overlapping Iwobi and whipping in deliveries, but Southampton were resilient defensively as it seemed unlikely that the stalemate was going to be broken before half-time.

The visitors were giving a good account of themselves in front of new manager Juric and 18-year-old Tyler Dibling was at the heart of their attacking moves in the first 45 minutes.

The attacking midfield player battled with Calvin Bassey, skipping past him down the right flank in a bid to drag his side up the pitch. But, despite some good moments, Southampton needed to do more after the break if they were to break the deadlock.

Dibling came off at half-time but Robinson continued his dazzling display.

On the hour mark, the full-back performed a similar run down the channel, crossing into Raúl Jiménez before Ramsdale was able to deny the striker with a tipped save over the crossbar.

It felt like Fulham’s fortunes were starting to turn, but the efforts of the returning Ramsdale continued to frustrate the home side.

And Southampton’s No 1 showed his quality once again with the save of the match. An inch-perfect delivery by Adama Traoré from deep found the outstretched boot of Harry Wilson, but Ramsdale spread himself and got an all-important touch to keep the scores level from six yards out.

“Credit to the players, their endeavour and concentration levels were excellent, and hopefully it’s a platform to go forward here,” Rusk said.

“[I’ve had] a little bit of contact with Ivan, we had some conversations, we’re pleased that the club made that appointment. We’ve had a bit of dialogue, over the next few weeks we’ll see Ivan’s influence and the affect that has on the team.”

Silva, meanwhile, described the result as “a missed opportunity for us to climb in the table.”

“In our last four results, they were going to have a bigger impact if today we took a step forward and won the game. We respect Southampton but these are the type of games we need to win at home and we didn’t create enough chances in the game.”