Dominant Saints put Baggies to the sword

  • Southampton 3 West Brom 0
  • Ward-Prowse nets two first-half goals
  • Tadic nets Saints' third after half-time
  • Saints record second straight win
  • Baggies winless in last three matches
Match summary
James Ward-Prowse netted two first-half goals, both from a set piece, to give the Saints a two-goal advantage heading into the half-time break.
Dusan Tadic added his name to the scoresheet after the half-time break as the hosts claim a comfortable win on home soil.
Full report
The Saints came flying out of the traps and claimed the lead after just five minutes of play, Ward-Prowse finding the top-left corner direct from a free-kick following a foul on Sadio Mané just outside the penalty box.
West Brom hit back with two chances of their own, but Craig Gardner failed to find the mark on both occasions.
Baggies goalkeeper Boaz Myhill was called into action on the half-hour mark, comfortably snapping up Shane Long's long-range effort in the centre of goal.
However, there was nothing he could do to deny Southampton a second goal in 35 minutes, with Ward-Prowse netting his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot following Craig Dawson's foul on Matt Targett in the danger area.
That was the last action of note in the first half, however, as goal-scoring chances dried up at both ends of the pitch.
West Brom made two changes at the half-time break, with Salomón Rondón and Chris Brunt replacing Jonas Olsson and Darren Fletcher.
The change in personnel certainly had the desired effect for Baggies boss Tony Pulis as the visitors clawed their way back into contention.
Early efforts from Victor Anichebe and Stéphane Sessegnon failed to find the mark, though, while at the opposite end of the pitch, Cédric Soares and Mané also squandered good chances.
Just when it seemed that West Brom could perhaps pull one back Southampton struck again in the 72nd minute to put the result beyond any doubt. Tadic collected a pass from Steven Davis before firing into the bottom-right corner from a tight angle.
The Baggies had one more chance to net a consolation, but Brunt fired wide of the right-hand upright on 86 minutes, and Southampton easily saw out the remaining to minutes to claim a comfortable victory.

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