SOUTHAMPTON: West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen kept Southampton at bay with a series of fine save as the teams played out a 0-0 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.

Neither side could get the upper hand at a windswept St. Mary’s Stadium but it was Southampton, which created the better chances.

West Ham Ham dominated possession in the early stages but was lucky not to concede after Pablo Daniel Osvaldo’s sidefooted shot from Jay Rodriguez’s cross was brilliantly saved by Jaaskelainen in the 10th minute.

West Ham responded through Mohamed Diame’s long-range shot that flew just inches over the top left corner in the 20th minute. Diame was then booked for a trip on Adam Lallana but found himself at the receiving end of a dangerous tackle from Morgan Schneiderlin that was left unpunished by the referee.

Ravel Morrison, who was handed his first Premier League start after replacing the injured Stewart Downing in Sam Allardyce’s team, then curled a right-footed shot from outside the box over the bar five minutes before halftime.

The 38-year-old Jaaskelainen proved decisive again in the 49th when he tipped the ball out for a corner from Victor Wanyama’s volley. The Finnish goalkeeper then made a stunning one-handed diving save to parry Morgan Schneiderlin’s volley in the 67th.

Even in-form England striker Rickie Lambert couldn’t beat Jaaskelainen as his right-foot strike was also denied six minutes later.

West Ham wasted its best chance of the match with six minutes to go as Mark Noble served up a fine cross in the area for James Collins, only for the defender to drag his shot over the crossbar.

Both teams now have five points from four games, four less than league leader Arsenal, which is level on points with Tottenham after a 3-1 win at Sunderland on Saturday.

Liverpool can reclaim the first spot and maintain its 100 percent record in the league with a win at Swansea on Monday night.

Espanyol remains unbeaten

In Barcelona, Espanyol won 1-0 at 10-man Granada thanks to Manuel Lanzarote’s 76th-minute free kick on Sunday, keeping the Barcelona-based side unbeaten through four rounds of the Spanish league.

Lanzarote gently curled the ball off the post and into the net from a free kick inside Granada’s area awarded to Espanyol after the referee ruled that goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez had handled a back pass from a defender.

Televised replays showed that the ball appeared to take a deflection off an Espanyol player, suggesting that the free kick should not have been given.

Granada’s tempers boiled over in the 82nd when substitute Odion Ighalo received back-to-back bookings, both for protesting to the referee.

Elsewhere, Getafe striker Nicolas “Miku” Ladislao netted a double in a 2-1 win over last-place Osasuna, ruining the debut of new coach Javi Gracia.

Osasuna started brightly on the road in Madrid with Roberto Torres opening in the 24th, but Miku headed in a corner kick that sailed over goalkeeper Andres Fernandez to level in the 35th.

After his acrobatic kick had sent the ball off the woodwork, Miku used a nifty back-heeled touch to slip the ball around a defender before placing his second goal just inside the post in the 52nd, sending Getafe on its way to its first win of the season.

Osasuna almost grabbed the draw when Oriol Riera hit the crossbar in the 85th, but it remained the only team yet to take a point in Spain’s topflight.