West Brom 0-1 Southampton: Jordy Clasie fires Saints to victory

Jordy Clasie scored his first Premier League goal as Southampton recorded a 1-0 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Clasie, who came into the side in place of the injured Steven Davis, made the most of a rare start in midfield by firing the Saints in front midway through the first half after superb hold up play from Dusan Tadic.

Southampton came close to doubling their lead after the break when Tadic curled an ambitious effort narrowly wide of the mark.

West Brom pushed hard for an equaliser but were denied on a number of occasions by Fraser Forster, who made a series of key saves in the dying moments to secure the Saints all three points.

Southampton's front four of Shane Long, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond and Tadic combined well in the opening stages but it was the hosts who had the first real chance of the match when James Morrison stung the palms of Forster with a well-struck drive from long-range.

And for all of Southampton's intricate play in and around the West Brom box, their opener came from a long punt downfield from the England international goalkeeper.

West Brom failed to deal with the ball, allowing Tadic to eventually feed Clasie at the edge of the box.

The Dutchman made no mistake with his first-time finish - firing past Ben Foster to grab his first Premier League goal after 37 appearances for the Saints.

Claude Puel's side were boosted by the opener and could have doubled their lead shortly afterwards but Long slipped at the vital moment when clean through on goal.

West Brom were creating as many chances at the other end and came close to an equaliser when Forster dived to keep out Salomon Rondon's goal bound header.

The match continued in the same vein after the break with Southampton dominating possession but with the Baggies carrying a real threat on the break.

Tadic curled a speculative shot just inches over the bar shortly before substitute Hal Robson-Kanu blasted a close-range effort off target under pressure from the onrushing Forster.

With time running out, West Brom continued to push men forward and were almost rewarded in the closing stages when Dawson fired a volley towards goal - only to see his shot saved by Forster with Allan Nyom unable to convert the resulting rebound.

Jonny Evans had one last chance to salvage a draw for the hosts but his tame close-range effort was punched to safety by Forster in the fifth and final minute of injury time as Claude Puel's side held out for a hard-fought victory.

Player Ratings

West Brom: Foster (6), Dawson (6), McAuley (6), Evans (6), Nyom (6), Fletcher (6), Livermore (5), Morrison (6), Phillips (6), Chadli (7), Rondon (5).

Subs used: Brunt (6), McClean (7), Robson-Kanu (6)

Southampton: Forster (8), Cedric (6), Stephens (7), Yoshida (8), Bertrand (7), Clasie (7), Højbjerg (6), Ward-Prowse (7), Tadic (7), Redmond (7), Long (7).

Subs used: McQueen (6), Sims (6), Reed (6)

Man of the match: Fraser Forster