A win for either side would have confirmed their Premier League safety, and Southampton started the brighter of the two, and could have taken the lead early after a fine pass from Steven Davis found Adam Lallana darting into the area, but James Tomkins was alert to deny him the opportunity before he could get his shot away.
Southampton vs. West Ham United: Final score 1-1, Ramirez and Carroll score in stalemate at St. Mary’s
Southampton and West Ham are still not entirely safe after they played out a 1-1 draw at St. Mary’s Stadium, with Gaston Ramirez and Andy Carroll getting the goals.
Ian Walton
A poor game that was largely mired in midfield with few oppotunities followed for the rest of the half, although Rickie Lambert almost opened the scoring when he got on the end of Gaston Ramirez's free-kick at the back post, although he could only find the woodwork.
After half-time, more of the same appeared to be on the cards, but eventually Southampton managed to take the lead. Gaston Ramirez got on the end of a long ball but was crowded out by the West Ham defence, but after seeing his first effort blocked, the ball fell straight back to him, and he made no mistake with his second, slotting the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen and putting the Saints ahead.
Their lead did not last long, however, and Andy Carroll soon restored parity with a free-kick from just outside the area that found it's way past Artur Boruc thanks to a deflection from Davis. With the scores level, the game largely resumed in the same scrappy manner as before, although Southampton tried to force the issue by introducing Jay Rodriguez.
At first, the striker seemed to be causing all sorts of problems, particularly for Emmanuel Pogatetz, forcing the Austrian into a booking and a series of fouls as he failed to deal with his pace, but the Saints’ delivery could not quite present a clear chance for them to win the game. In the end, Rodriguez had to make do with a 25-yard effort in injury time which forced Jaaskelainen into a scrambling save, but it seems both sides will have to wait in order to confirm their safety.
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