Southampton halt losing run with West Ham draw as Declan Rice ends year-long goal drought in style

Southampton ended a four-match losing streak by holding West Ham to a 1-1 draw at St. Mary’s on Sunday, but the result wasn’t enough to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Romain Perraud put the hosts in front after 20 minutes, but Declan Rice drew the Hammers level midway through the second half with his first goal in almost a year to rescue a point.

Saints fell into the drop zone on Saturday following Wolves’ 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, and Ralph Hassenhutl’s side remain in 18th place following the draw.

However, they sit just one point behind the Molineux club, Aston Villa and Leeds United in a tightly packed bottom end of the table.

The result ended a four-match winning run in all competitions for David Moyes’ visitors, who are 11th in the standings with 11 points.

The hosts started brightly as Che Adams was denied twice by Lukasz Fabianski in the West Ham goal.

When Perraud’s goal arrived it was in controversial circumstances, as West Ham thought the referee had stopped Jarrod Bowen from getting to the ball before the Frenchman’s deflected effort found the net, while also appealing for a foul throw in the build-up.

West Ham found the leveller in the 64th minute when England star Rice played a give-and-go with Said Benrahma before curling home a fine finish from outside the area for his first goal since 31 October 2021.

The visitors offered more going forward, finishing the game on the south coast with 25 shots to Southampton’s 10 – albeit with only four on target to the hosts’ eight.

Next up for Saints is a trip down the south coast to Bournemouth on Wednesday, while West Ham head to Liverpool the same day.