Eckert: We kept pushing for "deserved" equaliser

The hosts took the lead from a scruffy opening goal on the stroke of half time shortly after Saints had lost Leo Scienza to injury.

Playing their third away match in succession, with another to come at Championship leaders Coventry on Saturday, Saints struggled to find their usual fluency, but substitutes Samuel Edozie and Cyle Larin combined for the striker to head home the winger’s cross and deny the Baggies a first league win of 2026, extending Saints’ unbeaten run to 11 games in the process.

“I think that we had a good start to the game, but we broke the rhythm a little bit with the injury in the first half,” Eckert reflected.

“I think West Brom played an outstanding game against the ball. It’s not so easy to come here – we needed to move the ball a little bit quicker in some moments, but in the end it’s not that you just go through the Championship and every game comes easy.

“It was very important that we kept pushing towards the very end, and it was very well deserved that we got that goal.

“You can see that today there were not too many sparks in that game, but the supporters pushed all the way until the end, and it’s just so important to score in front of the away end today.”

Goalscorer Larin was introduced at half time in place of Ross Stewart, while Edozie was summoned midway through the second period in a double change alongside Cameron Bragg.

“All of the ones that came on today were very good, and that’s what we need with so many games coming up,” Eckert added.

“Cyle was top today. He works so hard for the team. If we don’t have the ball, he has so much quality that we can play off him, and I think he played a very good second half.”

The head coach said Scienza and Stewart will need to be assessed over the coming days, while James Bree, who was substituted late on, needed stitches in his head at half time following a nasty aerial clash.