West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance24,265.
Saturday 12 September 2015 20:03, UK
Saido Berahino came off the bench 10 days after claiming he would never play for West Brom again as his side drew 0-0 with Southampton.
Tony Pulis thought his side should have had a penalty after Callum McManaman went down under the challenge of Matt Target in the 16th minute but nothing was given by referee Stuart Attwell.
There was a real lack of creativity in attack from both sides but Southampton did manage to create one clear cut opening in the 37th minute as Jay Rodriguez headed Dusan Tadic's cross wide from close range.
After the break, Pulis called on Berahino - who saw a proposed move to Tottenham break down on deadline day - in the 55th minute and his appearance received a mixture of boos and cheers from the home fans.
However, he could not make the desired impact as both defences continued to dominate in what was a game to forget at the Hawthorns
Southampton named Virgil van Dijk - a deadline day signing from Celtic - in their starting line-up for the trip to West Brom and the visitors looked the more lively side in the opening stages with Tadic producing a couple of testing crosses from the right.
West Brom were struggling to get going in attack but they thought they should have had a penalty when McManaman burst into the box before being felled by Targett inside the area.
Despite the strong appeals Attwell remained unmoved and it was Southampton, who looked the more likely to break the deadlock.
Tadic - a bright spark in a game lacking creativity - continued to probe as Craig Dawson and Salomon Rondon.
Craig Dawson headed over for the hosts but Saints goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg remained untroubled as Van Dijk put in an assured debut alongside Jose Fonte.
At the other end Rodriguez should have broken the deadlock in the 37th minute when he got ahead of Dawson but he could not capitalise, heading Tadic's inch-perfect cross wide from six yards.
After the break Southampton's dominance continued and Pulis was forced into action as he brought on Berahino, just after Rondon fired over.
The England U21 striker received a mixed reception from the home fans but they were nearly celebrating a goal when Maartin Stekelenburg dropped a regulation catch, before gathering on his line at the second attempt.
James Ward-Prowse's produced a wayward effort in the 65th minute, while substitue Sadio Mane hit the side netting after bursting into the penalty area 10 minutes later.
Southampton finished on top but in truth they never looked like scoring against a well marshalled West Brom defence, led effectively by Jonny Evans.
Soccer Saturday Verdict - Phil Thompson
At some point in the first half, it was that quiet in the stadium you could hear Tony Pulis booming instructions because it was that poor. It was like a pre-season game. There were more frightened players, they both backed off defensively leaving a big void in the middle where teams passed away.
The only moment in the game that there's any argument about is when Callum McManaman went into the box in an inside position, poked it past Matt Targett, and it looks like he went over it quite easily but there is no other option. To me it was a penalty kick no matter what.
It is almost like a fear factor, West Brom started with Rickie Lambert and Salomon Rondon up front, but they did not want to play anyone in behind. There is no great belief they can go and win games at the moment. It just petered out this game. Everybody groaned at the end it was that poor.
Player ratings
West Brom: Myhill (7), Dawson (7), McAuley (7), Evans (8), Brunt (6), Gardner (6), Fletcher (6), Yacob (5), McManaman (5), Lambert (5), Rondon (5).
Subs: Olsson (5), McClean (5), Berahino (5).
Southampton: Stekelenburg (6), Cedric (6), Fonte (7), Van Dijk (8), Targett (6), Wanyama (6), Ward-Prowse (6), S. Davis (6), Rodriguez (6), Tadic (7), Pelle (6).
Subs: Yoshida (5), Mane (5).
Man of the Match: Virgil van Dijk
