Mauricio Pochettino took charge of his first game as Southampton manager since taking over from Nigel Adkins this evening.
Everton were the visitors to St Mary's and after a bright opening 45 from the home side, the game petered out in the second and ended up finishing goalless.
Read how Pochettino's first game went with our minute-by-minute coverage below.
Evening all! Should be a cracker this one. Southampton will be keen to impress their new manager and have often produced fine attacking football at home. Everton won't lie down and will have plenty of talent on show.
TEAM NEWS JUST IN! Rickie Lambert gets the nod up front for Southampton.
SAINTS XI: Boruc; Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw; Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Cork, Guly; Ramirez; Lambert
EVERTON XI: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Naismith, Pienaar, Neville, Osman, Fellaini; Jelavic
Pochettino has stuck with a similar structure to the one his predecessor Nigel Adkins used, with Lambert up top on his own and the trio of Guly, Puncheon and Ramirez behind.
For Everton, the Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas returns to the bench after a six-week absence. Here are the two benches...
SUBS:
Saints: K. Davis, S. Davis, Rodriguez, Fox, Richardson, Chaplow, De Ridder
Everton: Mucha, Heitinga, Oviedo, Mirallas, Hitzlsperger, Anichebe, Duffy
Here's Pochettino speaking to Sky Sports News, via an interpreter: "I am getting to know the players and they are getting to know me but it is a bit hard to do more than that in three days so we are on the right path.
"We are maintaining the structure that was previously here. I have maximum respect for the structure that was here before, in time we will bring in new concepts but we have just made little changes now."
Pochettino has made two changes to the side that drew at Chelsea in midweek, with Lambert and Gaston Ramirez starting. Both men came off the bench to help the Saints come from two behind in Adkins's last game in charge.
His opposite number David Moyes has been speaking of the new Saints boss: "I've seen Mauricio Pochettino's teams play. I don't know him personally but he looks as if he's a modern, young coach who will have a lot of knowledge of Spanish football, which will help him."
Amazingly, there is apparently no mention of Adkins in tonight's programme WHATSOEVER. That's quite unbelievable if true.
REFEREE WATCH: Tonight's man in charge is Neil Swarbrick.
Here's more from Moyes, this time on Adkins's sacking: "It is difficult to weigh up, it is disappointing because Nigel is a really good guy, undoubtedly tonight we are playing against his team.
"I don't know what changes the new manager can make in the time he has been in, but it is disappointing for Nigel and I would have liked to see him here tonight."
There's no sign of Southampton's new signing Vegard Forren in either the starting lineup or substitutes bench.
Johnny Heitinga returns to the Everton bench after a two-game suspension while Steven Naismith ousts Victor Anichebe out of the visitors' starting lineup.
Unfortunately for Southampton, skipper Adam Lallana hasn't passed a fitness test and he's still out with a knee injury.
To read more about Adkins's complete omission from the matchday programme, click here.
Here come the two sides out onto the pitch. Both are in their home strips with the Saints all in red and Everton in blue tops, white shorts and blues socks.
Formalities, done. Team huddles, done. Here we go...
First peep on Swarbrick's whistle as Pienaar clatters in to Schneiderlein. No action in either penalty area yet.
SO CLOSE! Inches away from a dream start for Pochettino. Ramirez is afforded plenty of space in the middle and he picks out Lambert sprinting away down the right. The forward gets in his cross early for Guly arriving at the back post. It doesn't reach the Brazilian at the back post but Jagielka pokes it just wide of his own goal on the slide.
More encouraging play from the Saints. The ball is played behind Pienaar and Puncheon has room to drive at the Toffees' backline. Clyne makes a great run on the overlap, but the number 42 decides to go it alone and shot is deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
The Saints' fans certainly haven't forgotten Adkins. They begun by singing "One Nigel Adkins" and there's plenty of written messages of support dotted throughout the stands.
A free kick is lofted up for Fellaini and he wins the header, nodding it towards the penalty spot for Jelavic. The Croatian meets it but never got enough on it.
Ramirez lets fly from 25 yards and yet again it's Jagielka in the way to get a nick on it and divert it out for a corner. The Uruguayan goes across to take it himself and seems to try and catch Howard out by going for goal. The Everton stopper sees the whipper over his bar.
Lovely cross from Coleman almost finds Jelavic but that's good defending from Yoshida. Baines collects the ball and has a pop and that's behind for a corner.
The left-back trots over to take the corner and floats it over for the pulling-away Distin who shoulders it weakly into the ground and wide. Neither keeper really tested yet.
OFF THE POST! Southampton win a free kick at least 30 yards out and Lambert fancies it. The Saints' top scorer curls it sweetly over the wall and Howard is sprawling at full stretch to his right when it slaps the face of the post.
Everton's first meaningful shot of the game comes from Naismith after Hooiveld nodded the ball into the Scot's path. He hit it well but it was straight at Boruc who holds well.
YELLOW! First booking of the game goes to Saints centre-back Hooiveld for clipping Fellaini as he looked to break free. Baines takes the resulting free kick but curls it too close to Boruc.
SAVE! This is brilliant from Lambert. He times his run perfectly down the right but doesn't have much support in the middle so shapes to shoot. Jagielka falls for the dummy, allowing the striker to cut in on his left and look to curl it in the far corner. Howard isn't going to be beaten from there though and beats it clear.
Yoshida appeals for a penalty as he is nudged by Distin trying to get something on Ramirez's deep free kick. Never going to be given, that.
The home fans are really getting into this as they want another penalty for a Lambert-Coleman tussle before Guly goes in hard on Coleman.
CHANCES GALORE! How are Southampton not in front?! Ramirez sees his shot diverted away for a corner and he goes over to take it. Somehow Lambert is left all alone six yards out and his header is brilliantly kept out by Howard. Everton don't clear the ball and it's lofted back in for the onside Hooiveld to chest it down and volley but he lashes it straight at the American keeper. Crazy.
YELLOW! Second booking for the home side as Schneiderlein wipes out Naismith who had foxed him with a clever turn.
Jelavic almost returns Naismith's pass to the Scot for a clear chance but Boruc is alert to gather.
CHANCE! I'll say it again, how have Southampton not scored?! This time it's patient build-up down the left that results in Puncheon swinging in a cross for Lambert, who is again left unmarked. He gets plenty of neck action on it and you're waiting for the net to bulge with Howard rooted but it flashes past the post.
One minute added on.
HALF-TIME: Southampton 0-0 Everton
Amazingly, we're still goalless at St Mary's. It's the home side who should be at least a goal in front with the usually-reliable Lambert squandering a pair of gilt-edged openings. Everton have offered very little and Moyes won't be a happy bunny.
Pochettino will be delighted with his side's display but will know that they should be ahead. Lambert has forced Howard into two fine saves and also smacked a free kick agains the post and flashed a free header wide.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville thinks that's the worse he's seen Everton play all season. They really haven't done a lot and the likes of Fellaini, Pienaar and Jelavic are going to have to turn up in the second half.
As it stands, both sides will be staying where they started the day in the table, with Everton fifth and Southampton 15th.
The two teams are back out. Will Southampton continue to dominate? Or has Moyes shouted some life into Everton? Here we go...
Was just about to write how little action there'd been in the opening five minutes, UNTIL a great save from Boruc to deny Fellaini. Baines's corner finds the big Belgian and he has a free header but thumps it into the gloves of Boruc.
Coleman does well to deny Ramirez's cross reaching the middle but he's picked up an injury in doing so and he's going to have to come off.
SUB: Moyes is making an attacking change by bringing on Victor Anichebe in place of the right-back. It's the Nigerian's 150th appearance for the Toffees.
An Everton corner is cleared away and Osman takes it on on the half volley. He hits it superbly and it looks like it's heading in but for the flicked header over from Yoshida.
WHAT A MISS! Baines threads it down the left for substitute Anichebe and he easily picks out a free Jelavic in the middle. All the Croatian has to do is sweep the ball home, but he misses it completely and the ball bounces away off his standing leg.
SUB: Southampton make their first change and Lambert now has a strike partner in the form of Jay Rodriguez, who replaces Guly. That means that Ramirez will move out to the left.
SUB: Jelavic didn't stay on for long after that gaping miss. He's taken off for the returning Mirallas.
SAVE! Fellaini slides in Anichebe and the big man's first touch is perfect to get him away from the defence. He swings at it with his left foot and it's going in at the near post until Boruc parries it wide. Fine stop.
SUB: Another change from Pochettino and he's taken off the impressive Ramirez for Davis. The young Uruguayan seemed to holding his hamstring, Saints fans will hope he's not injured.
It's been a much staler second half from Southampton, and Everton have only picked it up a little. Mirallas is the latest one to have a shot on goal but he slices it way wide.
Moments earlier, there was some amusement on Jason Puncheon's part as he had to leave the pitch. It seems he needed the toilet and the crowd think it was a number two. They're singing: "Jason Puncheon, he s***s when he wants..."
Rodriguez hasn't got much on down the right so he does well to win a corner. It doesn't come to anything though and this game needs a spark of life as we go into the final 10 minutes.
CLIPS THE BAR! Puncheon floats over a corner from the right and yet again it's Lambert who gets his head to the ball but he can't get it down and it clips off the top of the bar.
Another Saints corner almost comes to something, but Hooiveld's flick-on slaps into Jagielka's chest.
SUB: Final roll of the dice from Pochettino as he takes off Puncheon for Steve de Ridder.
Southampton win a free kick as four minutes are added on.
SHOT! Nifty feet from Mirallas gives the Belgian some space to run at the Saints backline. He has Anichebe one side, Naismith the other, but goes for a low shot that's well held by Boruc.
Late corner for Everton...
Swarbrick's whistle goes for... a foul on Boruc under the crossbar. Seconds remaining.
FULL-TIME: Southampton 0-0 Everton
A game that started in promising fashion but never really got going. I'm sure that most Southampton fans would have taken a point beforehand and they'll be encouraged by the amount of chances they created. Everton supporters, on the other hand, won't be happy with that lacklustre performance from their side. That's the second goalless draw in a row for the Toffees.
If you've just joined us, click here for Joe Fish's match report from tonight's match. Thanks for joining Sports Mole this evening, be sure to stick around on site for plenty of reaction and match analysis. Until next time, good night!
