Championship leaders Coventry City held on for a vital point with 10 men at Southampton in an action-packed encounter at St Mary's.

Ephron Mason-Clark's powerful header back across goal from Victor Torp's cross shortly before half-time had given Frank Lampard's side a deserved lead.

But the game turned in an instant within 90 seconds of the restart when Coventry left-back Jay Dasilva was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Welington.

Nathan Wood's first goal for the Saints brought them level nine minutes after Dasilva's dismissal but the Sky Blues were able to resist constant Southampton pressure to earn what might eventually prove to be a valuable point in their quest for automatic promotion.

Both sides had presentable opportunities in the opening stages but it was Coventry who grew stronger as the first half wore on, making it count when Mason-Clark netted for his fifth league goal of the season.

Their dominance was to be short-lived, however, with Dasilva sent off after hurtling into Welington with studs raised halfway up the Brazilian's shin.

Southampton were immediately incentivised by the man advantage and looked to be on course for a comeback win when Wood connected with Adam Armstrong's cross to head into the ground past Carl Rushworth in the 56th minute after Coventry had failed to clear their lines.

Despite taking expected control of proceedings thereafter, Tonda Eckert's side struggled to create any clear-cut chances and any time they did get a sight of goal, they found Coventry goalkeeper Rushworth in fine form.

Southampton's best opportunity came just three minutes after the equaliser when Finn Azaz found a yard of space on the edge of the area but was denied by Rushworth.

Armstrong saw a low effort from 20 yards thwarted by the on-loan Brighton keeper in the 80th minute before Ryan Manning's rasping drive in injury time was also beaten away by a sprawling Rushworth.

Tensions boiled over at the final whistle with both sets of players and staff coming together in the centre circle as a number of pushes appeared to be exchanged.

With regular central defensive pairing Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching missing through illness for Coventry, as well as winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Lampard may well view this as one point gained under the circumstances.

As for Southampton, it is the first time they have failed to win a league game on home soil since Eckert took over from Will Still in November, having won all four previously.

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert told BBC Radio Solent:

"We played to win in the end, it's something that we keep emphasising with the players. We play to win and that's the most important thing.

"Today it's disappointment because I think the chances were there to come away with three points.

"I think they kept a back four for quite long after they got the red card and it was a little bit easier because we had space then on the sides to drive.

"But when they went to a back-five, it was a little bit different. I still think we got in some very promising positions. Maybe not enough personnel in the final moments but it's a good team and we managed to play the whole game in their half.

"I think there were more than enough chances to win the game in the end."

Coventry manager Frank Lampard told BBC CWR:

"At half-time, I wouldn't have said that [it was a good point] because we were fantastic in the first half.

"Considering the game prep we've had with people falling ill in the last couple of days and some players have played slightly below par as well but you wouldn't have noticed that.

"Then the context of the red card, the decisions in the first half, but our spirit, our effort, our desire to try to hang on to what we had at the end of the game was very special.

"I'm delighted with the performance, I'm delighted with the point considering we had 10 men in the second half."