MX23RW : Monday, November 25 17:12:28| >> :120:27820:27820:

Match Analysis: Southampton 1-0 West Bromwich Albion

Sports Mole looks back on Southampton's 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium.

Adam Lallana scored the only goal of the game as Southampton inflicted a 1-0 defeat on West Bromwich Albion in Keith Downing's final game in caretaker charge of the Baggies.

Newly-appointed Albion boss Pepe Mel, who takes charge of first-team duties next week, was in the stands at St Mary's Stadium to watch the home side's skipper slot the ball under Ben Foster on 66 minutes.

Artur Boruc ensured that the Saints won for only the second time in 10 Premier League games with a crucial reflex save from Shane Long late on, as Mauricio Pochettino's men recorded a slender victory.

Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action on the South Coast.

Match statistics

Southampton
Shots: 18
On target: 5
Possession: 62%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 11

West Brom
Shots: 4
On target: 2
Possession: 38%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 17

Was the result fair?

Southampton were dominant throughout without ever converting their possession into sustained barrages on the West Brom goal. They were comfortably deserving victors.

Southampton's performance

The Saints certainly weren't at their best today, but they did enough. Their passing was neat and quick but often not in the right areas, and all of their first-half attempts were from distance. With three men in the centre of the park, they won the midfield battle but then struggled to get enough bodies forward in support of Rickie Lambert, until Gaston Ramirez came on for the more defensive-minded Jack Cork. The return of Boruc in goal is a massive boost and the Pole showed his worth to the team with an 89th-minute heroics to thwart Long. Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin were both very good, while Lallana took his goal with great confidence.

West Brom's performance

Incoming boss Mel has a lot of work to do. Not until the final five minutes did the visitors pose any sort of attacking threat. Long, usually such a willing runner, and the wandering Nicolas Anelka, showed little purposeful movement, while the younger, hungrier Saido Berahino and Matej Vydra were more keen to impress. Mel may look to those two and Victor Anichebe to lead his Baggies line in the future, but there is not a great deal wrong with them at the other end, although Stephen Reid was exposed by Morgan Amalfitano's poor protection as Shaw ran him ragged down the Albion right. It was not one of Youssouf Mulumbu's better days, but the midfielder was outnumbered in the centre of the park and Downing may have been better off going with Claudio Yacob alongside him and James Morrison, rather than 4-4-2.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Luke Shaw: The full-back attacked with pace and purpose, and defended with strength and composure. Amalfitano barely had a kick all game and spent most of the match chasing Shaw down the Southampton left, from where his service was generally pretty good. He's a real physical specimen at such a young age, as well as being technically gifted. Another standout showing from the 18-year-old.

Biggest gaffe

Boruc should be given great credit for his wonderful reactions when saving from Long late on, but the former Reading striker should undoubtedly have scored. He directed his six-yard shot towards the only part of the goal that Boruc could reach. From that distance, had he gone high or found the corner, it was a goal and a point for the Baggies.

Referee performance

This was one of Howard Webb's quieter afternoons in recent weeks. The only big call he had to make was whether or not to send off Jonas Olsson for his forceful, high-footed challenge on Lallana midway through the second period. He showed the Swede a yellow card when it could and probably should have been red.

What next?

Southampton: The Saints will be hoping to make up further ground on their rivals for European qualification when they travel to Sunderland next weekend. Then Yeovil Town await in the FA Cup.

West Brom: Mel will make his Premier League managerial bow when the Baggies host impressive Everton next Monday evening. They then travel to Aston Villa for the West Midlands derby.

ID:129767: cacheID:129767:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8038:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Southampton's English midfielder Adam Lallana (L) celebrates scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion on January 11, 2014
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Southampton 1-0 West Brom - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!