Marco Silva bemoans ‘missed opportunity’ as Fulham held by Southampton

Marco Silva said Fulham’s goalless draw with Southampton is a “missed opportunity” after they failed to rediscover their winning touch at Craven Cottage.

Fulham have now won only once in their last six Premier League matches and a big enough victory on Sunday could have seen them go above Manchester City in seventh.

Despite impressing in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield last week, the Cottagers failed to produce their best against Saints, who were under the interim charge of Simon Rusk with Ivan Juric watching from the stands.

“I have to say that it’s a missed opportunity for us to climb in the table,” Silva said.

“In our last four results, they were going to have a bigger impact if today we took a step forward and won the game. We respect Southampton but these are the type of games we need to win at home and we didn’t create enough chances in the game.”

New boss Juric was in attendance from the stands as Saints picked up their first point since November 29.

Interim Rusk credited his side’s performance as they managed a rare clean sheet in the capital.

“Credit to the players, their endeavour and concentration levels were excellent, and hopefully it’s a platform to go forward here,” Rusk said.

“(I’ve had) a little bit of contact with Ivan, we had some conversations, we’re pleased that the club made that appointment.

“We’ve had a bit of dialogue, over the next few weeks we’ll see Ivan’s influence and the affect that has on the team.”

Aaron Ramsdale, who donned special four-finger gloves after he returned from a hand injury, shone on his return to Saints’ XI

The former Arsenal keeper, who joined Southampton for a club-record fee of £30million in the summer, made a series of terrific stops to grant his side a draw.

“Aaron’s energy is fantastic,” Rusk added.

“We’re fortunate to have such a top-level player, he delivered a top level moment, it’s great to see him back.

“It’s a great platform not only for Aaron now but for the team as well.”