Southampton 3 - 0 West Brom

Southampton 3 - 0 West Brom

Southampton see off West Brom thanks to James Ward-Prowse double

Home team scorers
James Ward-Prowse 5
James Ward-Prowse 35 Pen
Dusan Tadic 72



This was the kind of complete performance that will reassure Southampton’s supporters that the side whose fearless zest made them so thrilling to watch last season are back for good – and it was a day for Ronald Koeman to cherish given that Charlie Austin was in the stands at St Mary’s after completing his move from Queens Park Rangers before kick-off. Having blown hot and cold on too many occasions during a difficult winter, here Southampton simply blew West Bromwich Albion away, rising into the top half thanks to a resounding 3-0 victory.

Austin, a bargain at £4m, will come into a winning side, and the striker must have liked what he saw from his new team-mates. Already buoyed by Wednesday’s restorative victory over Watford, Southampton’s mood was further lifted before kick-off by the news of Austin’s arrival and they rarely looked like a side that had recently gone on a run of one win in 10 league matches. They were determined to win consecutive matches for the first time since the start of November, after the shot-in-the-arm thrashing of Arsenal on Boxing Day was followed by the grogginess of two straight Premier League defeats, an early exit from the FA Cup and misgivings over the attitude of certain players.

Southampton began with the urgency of a team that still had a point to prove, and the piercing quality of the first of James Ward-Prowse’s goals, in the fifth minute, was an emphatic sign of their returning belief. West Brom could not have anticipated that the damage would be so severe when Craig Dawson fouled Sadio Mané on the left, given that the wide position of the free-kick made shooting a low-percentage option. The big men trotted up from the back in anticipation of a cross and Boaz Myhill stepped to his left, diligently covering the far post, but leaving a large gap at his near post. Ward-Prowse used his corkscrew of a right foot to whip the ball high to Myhill’s right and the West Brom goalkeeper had far too much ground to make up.

Southampton puffed out their chests. This was more like it. They passed the ball crisply, pressed high and pinned West Brom back. The visitors were enterprising in their previous match, a commendable 2-2 draw at Chelsea; here, though, they were decidedly second best. Craig Gardner sent a header just wide and later appealed for a penalty, but Victor Anichebe made little impact against the host’s three-man defence.

Koeman’s system gave his wing-backs freedom to attack and Southampton earned the cushion of a two-goal lead when Shane Long slipped a clever pass inside Dawson, whose afternoon went from bad to worse when he tripped Matt Targett. Ward-Prowse beat Myhill again, this time from the spot, and Southampton were denied a third when James McClean blocked Targett’s shot on the line.

West Brom were wretched and Tony Pulis reacted by making two changes at half-time, Chris Brunt coming on for Darren Fletcher and Salomón Rondón joining the hitherto isolated Anichebe up front after replacing Jonas Olsson.

Yet Fraser Forster remained untroubled in the Southampton goal and West Brom’s mediocrity was summed up by their failure to muster a single shot on target.

Southampton were always comfortable and they wrapped up the points when Dusan Tadic stepped off the bench and whipped a shot past Myhill after fine work from Steven Davis’s reverse pass in the 72nd minute.

A fortnight ago, Koeman seethed after Southampton lost 1-0 at Norwich City, benching Mané for turning up late to a team meeting and criticising Victor Wanyama for a foolish red card. But grudges have been forgotten. Mané was a menace behind Long, and Wanyama shielded his back-four unselfishly after returning from his suspension. Unity has returned.

Guardian