The winners and losers as Hart marks full Burnley debut with clean sheet at Southampton

Neither side could find the net as it ended 0-0 between Burnley and Southampton on the south coast.

Southampton were flat and lethargic in the early stages of the game, with Burnley piling on the pressure.

Saints clawed their way back and really came alive in the second half, but neither side were able to find the back of the net as the game ended goalless at St Mary’s Stadium.

Here are three winners and two losers from Sunday’s game.

Winners

Alex McCarthy

Alex McCarthy was forced to make a great save at point-blank range when Aaron Lennon found himself in the box.

McCarthy was then forced to deny Chris Wood at the end of the first half who should have done better from James Tarkowski’s cross.

The 28-year-old was on hand again to deny Stephen Ward’s left footed effort from the centre of the box at the beginning of the second half.

Joe Hart

At the other end Joe Hart, who arrived at Burnley from Manchester City in the summer, made several important saves throughout the game.

He was on hand to stop a close-range header from Mario Lemina, Southampton’s only effort on target in the first half.

He made two crucial stops in the second half too. The first was from a Jack Stephens shot with 20 minutes remaining, which he followed up minutes later with a stop from Lemina header.

Southampton’s debutantes

New arrivals Danny Ings and Mohamed Elyounoussi were brought into solve the Saints’ problems in front of goal which saw them find the net just 37 times last season.

The two forwards came on in the 56th minute and immediately injected some much-needed urgency into Southampton’s play.

However, despite having five shots on goal between them and linking up well with each other around the box they were unable to carve out an opportunity to beat Hart between the sticks. It’s early days yet, though and the pair look like they could become an effective duo going forward this season.

Losers

Mark Hughes

The Saints manager would be looking for a positive start to his campaign after suffering heavy criticism last season. The Welshman started the game with a 5-2-2-1  formation, which he abandoned after 20 minutes because it simply wasn’t working.

His side improved when Ings and Elyounoussi came on in the second half. Hughes may be lamenting the fact that his side didn’t get more from a game that his side largely dominated in the second half, with several chances going begging.

Still, a point against a Burnley side that finished in seventh place last season isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Stuart Armstrong

Armstrong arrived from Celtic this summer for £7.1 million, and the Scotland international seemed to have picked up the pace of the Premier League almost immediately.

The 26-year-old midfielder liked to get in front of his striker while at Celtic and he carried on in that vein on Sunday afternoon.

Going forward his final ball was slightly off at times, but he worked doggedly in defence, forcing Burnley’s midfielders to play the ball all the way back to Hart.

Armstrong’s debut came to a disappointing end, however, when he had to be taken off after suffering an injury in the second half.

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