Mark Hughes 400th match as a Premier League manager is not one he will forget.
The Stoke City manager saw Marko Arnautovic sent off on 23 minutes before Saints striker Shane Long escaped the same fate for what appeared to be a clear elbow in a feisty goalless draw.
Hughes has often spoken of his view that the Potters are not exactly the man in the middle’s favourite. He will have seen little here to change his mind but will be delighted with a point.
Mark Arnautovic looks up at the referee after going into Sofiane Boufal (bottom) with his studs showing
Referee Anthony Taylor (3rd left) showed no hesitation in showing a straight red card to the Austrian forward (2nd left)
Arnautovic makes his way off the pitch after being dismissed for the reckless challenge in the 23rd minute
Potters manager Mark Hughes grew increasingly frustrated as decisions continued to go against his team
Shane Long looks up to the skies after narrowly missing a chance to break the deadlock on Wednesday night
Southampton manager Claude Puel was left frustrated as his team failed to break down their 10-man opposition
In the build-up, the Stoke Sentinel had listed one of their new faces, Nathan Redmond as the opposition player to boo, given he chose the south coast over the Potteries when he made his £10m move from Norwich City in the summer.
He almost made a sudden impact, teeing up Sofiane Boufal who drilled harmlessly wide from distance in a bright opening under the bet365 lights.
Lively Morocco international Boufal came close to making amends when he robbed Glenn Whelan but was denied by a good stop low to his left by Lee Grant before Shane Long fired wide from a promising position.
Ryan Bertand (right) prepares to block as Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam (centre) attempts a flying overhead kick
Stoke supporters were getting into the Christmas spirit on a cold evening at the bet365 Stadium
English forward Nathan Redmond (right) is brought down by Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri (left) on the wing
Enter the real pantomime villain. The last time referee Anthony Taylor was in these parts he sent a furious Mark Hughes to the stands for stepping out of his technical area in a match Stoke would go on to lose 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. This time he went one better and showed red to one of his players.
On 24 minutes, Marko Arnautovic went in studs up on Boufal as he controlled Cuco Martina’s throw-in and caught him on the thigh. Taylor did the rest. ‘He plays for Stoke, send him off,’ roared the aggrieved home fans. The challenge was lazy and mistimed, and the Austrian, unlike his supporters in the stands, can have few complaints.
It created a familiar siege mentality environment and an offside flag waved in favour of the home side shortly before half-time was greeted with an ironic standing ovation throughout the stadium.
Their mood, and that of their manager, would not have improved when Long went unpunished after an apparent elbow left Bruno Martins Indi pole-axed.
Shane Long and Co found it difficult to break through the host's stubborn defence during the first half
English centre-back Ryan Shawcross (right) rises high to beat Irish striker Long (centre) to a header
Glen Johnson of Stoke (left) slides in to tackle full back Ryan Bertrand during the scrappy Premier League clash
Southampton had scored in each of their last 14 visits to Stoke, a run stretching back to a 1-0 defeat in August 1977.
Redmond almost extended that run but was denied by Grant before the same man flicked a corner goalwards only for Erik Pieters to clear off the line.
The pressure came in droves from the visitors. Grant produced a fine flying save to deny Ryan Bertrand, while Virgil van Dijk headed a corner over.
Sub Jay Rodgriguez was inches from connecting with Boufal’s pass but the 10 men somehow managed to hang on.
Hughes, at 53, will want to add a lot more to his impressive 400. He will not, however, fancy many more nights like this.
Ryan Bertrand's ferocious 30-yard strike was saved brilliantly by Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant (right)
Stopper Grant (right) charges out to deny Jay Rodriguez (left) a goalscoring chance with his fingertips
Grant pumps his fist in celebration of a clean sheet and a point after the referee had blown his final whistle
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