It was a case of what could, or really should, have been for Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth as they headed to Southampton in search of their first ever away win against their local rivals.

The Cherries should have taken all three points when, late in the second half, Harry Arter stepped up to the penalty spot after Ryan Fraser was brought down in the box. His effort could not have been further from the mark after the midfielder slipped as the turf gave way underneath him and Claude Puel, who had seen his side spurn countless chances all evening, could breathe a sigh of relief.

The game dubbed by one paper this week as the ‘New Forest Derby’ got off to a lively start when, with just three minutes on the clock, Dusan Tadic – in need of a big performance after his recent demands for more game time from Claude Puel – forged a golden chance to make his point going one-on-one with former Saints stopper Artur Boruc, only to spurn his effort high and wide.

The Serbian, however, was clearly up for this one – quickly putting Jay Rodriguez through on the counter with a smart ball which, unfortunately for the one-time England international came to nothing, before seeing another effort of his own slide wide.

It wasn’t long before the Saints had the ball in the net as Rodriguez, at the second time of asking, stabbed a one-on-one home, only to see the assistant’s flag raised for offside.

After the disallowed goal, the first half went on with little incident until Steven Davis was called into action, having to clear former Southampton midfielder Andrew Surman’s close range effort off the line.

That goal-line scare seemed to wake Puel’s side again as they went in search of an opener. They were close as well when a fine passage of play resulted in Cedric Soares’ cut back finding Tadic in space, however the playmaker had to watch on as his shot clipped the outside of the post.

With just a couple of minutes left to go in the first half, Rodriguez was once again unlucky not to have his name on the score-sheet when his powerful volley was kept out by a diving Boruc.

The second half went along a similar line to much of the first for the opening 15 minutes, before Benik Afobe slid a seemingly unmissable chance wide of Fraser Forster’s goal.

Seconds later and the Saints had the chance to make the Cherries pay for their mistake as Boruc parried Nathan Redmond’s long-range effort back into danger, however James Ward-Prowse couldn’t get his shot on target.

With a double change introducing Sofiane Boufal and Shane Long, Puel looked to pile on the pressure and should have seen his side ahead when the latter was played in behind the Bournemouth back line only to fire wide of the far post, another chance missed.

It was then the visitor’s chance to rue their miss as, after Adam Smith’s shot cannoned back off the post, the Cherries failed to make anything of a number of scrappy chances in the goal-mouth before Dan Golsing’ looped a shot over the bar.

With little over ten minutes to go, the three points were in Bournemouth’s lap when Ryan Bertrand was penalised for a pull on Ryan Fraser in the box. Harry Arter, who was introduced just after the break having started on the bench, stepped up and sent his effort well over the bar after his standing leg was sent sideways as the turf fell apart to the delight of the home fans.

That miss sparked a fiery last ten minutes however, the Saints were ultimately made to pay for a whole host of missed chances as Manolo Gabbiadini watched on from the stands.

The draw means the Cherries are now into double figures when it comes to points picked up on the road this season and are all but safe from the drop, whilst having returned from home after a near two month absence, Puel’s side will be looking to make more of their encounter with Crystal Palace here on Wednesday night.

Here are FIVE things we learned from Southampton v Bournemouth…

Goalless without Gabbiadini

The Saints’ new Italian striker was the main focus of the match day programme, pictured alongside a Lamborghini as a nod to the chant fans have given their new hero, however that was as far as his involvement went on the night.

Watching on from a sponsor’s box the former Napoli man will have cringed at the chances missed by messrs Tadic, Rodriguez and Long, knowing that given a go he could well have put them away.

Puel must now be thinking about adding further firepower come this summer.

No luck for J-Rod

Having bagged a brace in the reverse fixture before Christmas, Jay Rodriguez will have been looking forward to Saturday evening’s encounter for some time.

However, there was no repeat at St. Mary’s for the No.9. The former Burnley man, who has struggled desperately to find the form he was in before the first of two long-term injury lay-offs, was often found offside and was unlucky to be denied by his former teammate at the end of the first half.

Wilshere’s role

Arsenal loanee Jack Wilshere hasn’t started a game for Eddie Howe since their loss at West Brom back in February, however, his performance at Southampton could well change that.

The England international, whose future still remains uncertain despite Howe’s desire to land a permanent deal, looked to give the entire side a lift with his introduction in the second half. The visitors did have the better of it after the interval but looked far more threatening with their summer coup on the pitch, something to think about for Howe ahead of Anfield on Wednesday.

Penalty curse

Until recently Bournemouth had one of the best penalty conversion record’s going this season. Eddie Howe’s side had scored seven from seven before they faced West Ham at home in March when both Joshua King and Benik Afobe missed from the spot.

With King having come off it was Harry Arter who had the chance to restore their form from twelve yards, but the Saints turf, which also gave way when Harry Kane missed here around Christmas.

Saints formation

Saints have struggled for goals all season long, however, in the earlier stages it wasn’t often fans left a match having seen them spurn clear chances.

The one positive, then, is that Puel’s return to a fluid 4-2-3-1 shape has seen the midfielders getting involved once again. In the first half especially the trio of Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic combined well in the final third, something which simply wasn’t there earlier in the season.