Having won just twice in their last 15 encounters, Southampton desperately needed a positive result, yet an open start to the contest saw chances aplenty for both sides.
Ché Adams showed pace and strength to shake off Thilo Kehrer, subsequently being denied by Łukasz Fabiański’s outstretched foot.
At the other end, the in-form Gianluca Scamacca saw his effort from distance sail narrowly wide of the top-right corner, before the game’s opener arrived in the 20th minute.
A controversial throw-in from Kyle Walker-Peters was ultimately ignored by VAR, eventually leading to Romain Perraud’s heavily-deflected shot beating Fabiański.
The goal seemingly did little to change the pattern of play, with no shortage of opportunities for either side.
Adams and Mohamed Elyounoussi each tested Fabiański, while Scamacca was heavily involved for the visitors, almost providing an assist when Lucas Paquetá’s header clipped the far post.
Crucially, the Saints went into the break ahead after hitting the target with seven of their eight attempts - a far more convincing return than West Ham’s zero from 10 efforts.
Nonetheless, Southampton’s lead remained slender as the Hammers continually knocked on the door. Paquetá and Scamacca added to the growing tally of shots before the Brazilian rifled a half-volley on the turn from range to finally force Gavin Bazunu into a save.
With an hour played, a West Ham goal was beginning to look inevitable, and so it proved when Declan Rice played a one-two with Saïd Benrahma, giving the captain enough space to curl in his first goal in a year.
There was no let up from the visitors as the final whistle approached, but the Saints did enough to hold on, extending their winless head-to-head record to five games. Meanwhile, David Moyes’ side avoid a ninth defeat from their last 11 Premier League away matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United)
