The hosts controlled large spells of the contest, but the Saints, watched by incoming manager Ivan Juric from the stands, pulled off a resolute defensive display to keep their opponents out.

The Cottagers were restricted to speculative efforts in the first half when Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi tried their luck without success.

They went closest in the 67th minute, though, as Wilson's close-range effort was kept out by the returning Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Adama Traore came off the bench in the second half and was inches away from a breakthrough in the closing minutes, but the visitors held on for their first point since a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion last month. 

While Southampton remains bottom of the table with six points from 17 matches, Fulham is up to ninth with 25 points.

Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk said that he hoped the result will act as a catalyst in its bid to survive in the Premier League.

"We wanted to build on solidity for the group, find that balance. We are the first team to deliver a clean sheet here this season," Rusk said.

"We're delighted with that, and hopefully it can be a catalyst for the players to build on and move forwards."

Rusk was also in charge as Southampton went down fighting against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

"They're an honest group, they're focussed as professionals and focussed on the job at hand, they gave everything in these two games, they can take confidence into whatever comes next," Rusk said.

Former Roma manager Juric is expected to be in the dugout as they host West Ham United on Boxing Day after the Croatian only had a watching brief in London as he awaited his work permit.

"Ultimately, the role of an interim head coach is less about your vision of football and more about the immediacy of what the club and team needs. I've drawn on my experiences and worked as hard as I can to help the players over the two games," Rusk said of his two-match spell.

"My task was to take responsibility for the two games, focus on that and nothing else. I had a brief chat with Ivan, I'm sure over the coming weeks his identity and ideas will become clear."

Meanwhile, Marco Silva expressed his frustration after his Fulham side failed to score for the first time in 16 league matches and missed the chance to go level on points with reigning champion Manchester City with a win.

"We should have won the game definitely," Silva said.

"We tried everything from the start, it's impossible to finish a game with more attacking players in our team. Our attacking line was never really a threat to them.

"We had two or three clear chances, but we should have created more. We have to be more incisive, more clinical. It's a missed opportunity for us definitely, that was a game we win if we take better decisions," Silva added."