Hereford United 0 Southampton 0 HEREFORD gave a solid defensive display as they held their higher-graded visitors to a goalless draw.

The Bulls experimented with a 4-5-1 formation and this certainly made them hard to break down, although their own goal chances were at a premium.

Although the first period provided plenty of entertainment with some pacy, end-to-end football, neither goalkeeper had much to contend with.

Hereford did threaten when Simon Johnson’s pass almost sent triallist Jerry Ani away but the Saints defence recovered to clear.

At the other end, another triallist, Sam Oji, appeared capable of dealing with the Southampton threat, which was reduced when Nathan Dyer was stretchered off after a clash with goalkeeper Darren Randolph.

After the break, Hereford pushed forward for a time and shots from Richard Rose, Robbie Threlfall and Toumani Diagouraga flew high or wide.

But Southampton, who fielded a strong side, almost took the lead when Marek Saganowski’s shot was superbly blocked by Dean Beckwith before Randolph leapt to grasp a Gregor Rasiak chip.

Saganowski and Rasiak then both shot wide before the flood of substitutions began to disrupt the understanding on the pitch.

Southampton continued to look lively in attack and Jake Thomson flashed a shot just over after good work by Joseph Mills, who had a late drive saved by Randolph.

Hereford: Randolph; Rose, Oji, Beckwith, Threlfall (Easton, 64 min); Johnson (McLeod, 82 min), Diagouraga, Smith (Guinan, 64 min), Langley (Taylor, 64 min), Done (Robinson, 82 min); Ani (Hudson-Odoi, 64 min).

Southampton: Bialkowski (Forecast, 46 min), James, Thomas, Wotton, Perry, Surman, Euell, Dyer (Thomson, 40 min), John (Rasiak, 46 min), McGoldrick (Mills, 73 min), Wright-Phillips (Saganowski, 46 min).

Referee: A Bennet Attendance: 1,209 (145 from Southampton).