By Martin Rowe
Saints scraped a draw with a last-gasp penalty to snatch a point at Craven Cottage against Fulham on Boxing Day.
Fulham’s Dimitar Berbatov scored the opening goal of the game when Sascha Riether’s cross was only palmed into his path by Saints goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.
The former Bulgarian international then revealed a t-shirt whilst celebrating which stated the phrase “Keep calm and pass me the ball”. The striker was booked for his actions.
After a difficult first half an hour which could have seen Fulham easily double their lead Southampton began to improve as the front trio of Gaston Ramirez, Jason Puncheon and Rickie Lambert started to combine but the final ball lacked penetration.
Early in the second half Puncheon created some space before letting fly, but his attempt went inches wide of Mark Schwarzer’s goal.
Rickie Lambert then nearly had a golden opportunity to pull his side level but failed to control a delightful pass from the Uruguayan Ramirez.
But then when Fulham looked as though they had weathered the storm, a handball incident gifted the Saints a penalty with five minutes remaining.
Rickie Lambert who has been dispatching these over the last three years picked up the ball, dusted himself down and scored to ensure a draw at Craven Cottage.
That was his seventh league goal of the campaign and kept Southampton above the drop-zone.
With 19 games played Southampton currently have 16 points and travel to Stoke City on Saturday December 29.