Durham Women were made to settle for a point in their first game of 2023 as they were held by Southampton.
In a game of few clear-cut chances, the best opportunities fell to the hosts who enjoyed some strong spells of pressure.
But so too did the Saints, who similarly to their hosts were looking to bounce back from defeat last time out.
Given both sides had been on the end of disappointing results last weekend, it was perhaps little surprise that the opening to the encounter was cagey and hard-fought.
Indeed, it took almost 20 minutes for the first chance to arrive when Sarah Robson glanced a header narrowly wide of the back post from a corner.
Lily Crosthwaite then fired straight at Kayla Rendell, before Naoisha McAloon did well to block Megan Wynne’s effort at the other end.
The best chance of the first half came in its dying embers, as Mollie Lambert curled narrowly wide after surging into the box.
And that moment of promise acted as a catalyst for a strong start to the second half, as Durham piled on the pressure.
Saoirse Noonan sent an early effort wide before Lambert saw an attempt well-blocked by the imposing Rendell.
Laura Rafferty then had to clear Noonan’s header off the line – before the tide started to turn a little bit.
Becky Salicki did well to block a rasping drive as Southampton grew into the game, with McAloon then tipping Ella Morris’ strike wide.
Both sides showed plenty of endeavour to get forward late on but, as they had been for the majority of the game, chances struggled to come and the spoils were shared.