Len Goulden was the supreme artist in an attack that at times left Southampton utterly bewildered. For the first quarter of an hour the Hammers played football so sharp, so incisive, that only the Saints’ cool, orthodox defending prevented a rout. Goulden struck the crossbar, and Small, Macaulay and Morton all went close as West Ham swept forward with a five‑up flourish and wing‑halves who seemed determined to carry the ball into the penalty area themselves. For a spell it bordered on the farcical: one side in complete command, the other hanging on by instinct.

Then, in the 20th minute, Small finally broke through, his shot rocketing off the underside of the bar and in. It should have been the decisive blow. Instead it jolted Southampton into life. From a team taking the count, they suddenly became a pack of desperate, fleet‑footed raiders. The transformation was astonishing. Parkin - signed from Middlesbrough only the night before - equalised almost at once, and even when Small restored West Ham’s lead, the Saints came back again. Sillett, their left‑back pressed into service as an emergency forward, levelled matters with a finish as improbable as his temporary role.

It became a weird and wonderful game. West Ham continued to play football of the highest class, but Southampton were a team of moods - sometimes excellent, often erratic, always dangerous. And with Parkin directing matters, their revival gathered real force. Despite travelling through the night to reach the ground, he was a live wire from first to last, instantly popular with the home crowd and the chief architect of the Saints’ straight‑through, direct passing that so unsettled West Ham. Big Jim Barrett, normally immovable, was run off his legs long before the end.

When Osman put Southampton ahead with twenty‑five minutes left, form had been turned completely on its head. But West Ham, stung, hit back. Foxall equalised, and though the Hammers missed two further excellent chances, they were left to concede a point that should have been secured with ease in the opening spell.