West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance25,911.
Saturday 3 February 2018 18:39, UK
Southampton came from behind to beat West Brom 3-2 at The Hawthorns and earn their first Premier League win in 13 matches.
Ahmed Hegazi headed West Brom in front (4) but Saints scored two goals in three minutes before the break to take control.
Mario Lemina's stunning 25-yard strike brought them level (40) before Jack Stephens headed in his third goal in eight days (43).
James Ward-Prowse extended Southampton's lead with a low free-kick (55) before Salomon Rondon reduced the arrears with 18 minutes remaining, but the visitors held on to secure a vital three points and ease the pressure on Mauricio Pellegrino.
Southampton's first league win since November moves them out of the relegation zone and up to 14th while West Brom remain rooted to the bottom, four points adrift of safety.
The Baggies wore special shirts to commemorate Cyrille Regis and the club honoured one their greatest players prior to kick-off with a 45-minute tribute inside the ground and the home side made the perfect start.
Stephens failed to clear Chris Brunt's inviting corner, and Hegazi rose highest to plant a firm header beyond Alex McCarthy for his second goal of the season. But Southampton recovered from the early set-back to come close to equalising through Dusan Tadic.
Tadic pounced on a mistake by Brunt to cut inside and shoot onto the roof of the net via a deflection, before Guido Carrillo met Ryan Bertrand's low cross to force Ben Foster into a smart save around the near post.
But West Brom were pegged back from the following corner as Sofiane Boufal picked out Lemina 25 yards out and the former Juventus midfielder fired a venomous shot into the top corner beyond the dive of Foster.
The hosts had barely gathered themselves before Saints completed the turnaround as, from the next corner, Ward-Prowse's cross was flicked into the net by Stephens at the near post.
Ward-Prowse heaped further misery on the hosts with a well-struck free-kick 10 minutes after the restart that flashed beyond Foster. Rondon then rose to meet Brunt's cross to halve the deficit and give West Brom hope.
Jay Rodriguez appeared to be barged in the back by Bertrand with 10 minutes remaining but referee Michael Oliver waved away the protests.
Alan Pardew: "It was a tough game for us. Their midfield were technically better than us. It was a good start but we couldn't build on it.
"We've conceded from two set pieces today which is not like us. We just couldn't find the energy. We were just a yard off the pace."
Mauricio Pellegrino: "It's massive for us the three points, especially for belief and confidence. Most of my players now are fit and physically ready.
"I think we showed a good level and we played with our natural strength to dominate them. But it's just one game, we still have to do a lot of things."
Paul Merson: "West Brom next play Chelsea and that's the Monday night game so they could be seven points adrift. When it went 3-2, they never had another opportunity. They never got a head of steam.
"Alan Pardew will come out and say they should've had two penalties, and one of them is stonewall - Bertrand on Rodriguez. But you've got to ask questions of the performance They just weren't good enough."
A recent win over Brighton remains West Brom's solitary Premier League victory in their last 24 games, and the chief conspirator behind their latest downfall was Ward-Prowse.
The midfielder has been Southampton's stand-out performer during a disappointing season, and he will hope to grab the attention of England manager Gareth Southgate in the coming months.
Ward-Prowse has been directly involved in four goals in his last two away Premier League appearances (three goals, one assist), as many as in his previous 28 combined. His second-half free-kick proved decisive.
West Brom are next in action on Monday Night Football when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on February 12, while Southampton host Liverpool on Super Sunday next weekend.
