Report: Saints bag a big three points at West Brom

Saints showed no ill effects from seeing their 25-match unbeaten run come to an end at Bristol City three days earlier, as they deservedly beat an Albion team that had won its past five league games at The Hawthorns.

They did so via two goals of enormous quality, both in the set up and the finish, as Ryan Fraser’s cushioned volley put them ahead on 13 minutes before substitute David Brooks scored his first for the club and sealed the points by capping a sensational team move in the second half.

The win took Saints back above Leeds and into the automatic promotion places, ahead of their visit to Plymouth at the weekend, as they edged a point clear of them having now played the same number of games.

Martin made four changes from the side that lost at Bristol City, as Jack Stephens, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Fraser and Sékou Mara came into the starting line-up, with Ryan Manning, Joe Rothwell, David Brooks and Sam Edozie dropping to the bench.

Jack Stephens came into the team as one of four changes (Photo: Matt Watson)

Among the substitutes was also Joe Aribo, after he returned from reaching the Africa Cup of Nations final with Nigeria.

Rather than shift Walker-Peters to the left side of defence, Saints kept him on the right and instead lined up with Stephens as a direct replacement for Manning at left-back.

And it was Walker-Peters who had the first opportunity of the night, as he received a Stuart Armstrong pass and drove into the right side of the area before firing a shot from an angle over the bar.

Shortly after, one of the stranger moments of the season arrived, as West Brom manager Carlos Corberán was shown a red card for touching the ball while it was still in play, for some reason sticking out a foot and diverting it slightly as it rolled along the touchline by the technical areas.

It started what was almost a terrible two minutes for the hosts, as they then nearly gifted Saints a goal, making a mess of playing out from their own area, allowing Mara to poke the ball back to Adam Armstrong on the edge of the box, but, as he turned to shoot, West Brom keeper Alex Palmer was just quick enough to close him down and make the save.

No matter, though, as Saints only had to wait until the 13th minute before gaining a well-deserved lead.

Fraser had gone close seconds earlier with a shot across goal that deflected narrowly wide, and from the resulting corner he made no mistake from an almost identical position. It started with Shea Charles playing the set piece back to Stuart Armstrong about 30 yards out, and he whipped a first-time delivery to the back post, where Fraser was waiting to hit a beautiful side-footed volley into the far corner.

Ryan Fraser puts Saints into an early lead (Photo: Matt Watson)

Saints were well on top, and they went close to doubling the lead only three minutes later, as a slick move saw Walker-Peters slide a low pass into the area to Adam Armstrong, whose first-time ball across the face of goal was only just out of the reach of his namesake Stuart, with a slight deflection on the way helping take it away from his teammate.

The visitors continued to push, and they almost unlocked the Albion defence again on 21 minutes, as a stunning Jan Bednarek pass from deep looked like it might put Mara in, but he couldn’t control the ball well enough with his chest and had to drift too wide to get a shot away.

Adam Armstrong was next to have an effort, firing wide from 18 yards, as Saints exerted their dominance further, but without quite being able to add the second goal.

Adam Armstrong takes a shot during the first half (Photo: Matt Watson)

It wasn’t until the 34th minute that West Brom managed their first shot of the game, and even that was an effort from outside the box by Okay Yokuslu that was well blocked by Bednarek.

That signalled the start of a much better spell from the hosts, who went within inches of equalising on 42 minutes when John Swift hit a glorious, long-range strike that swerved just wide of the post.

West Brom then made a big appeal for a penalty as the game entered two additional minutes at the end of the half, when Darnell Furlong met a cross at the back post and struck a shot that was heading goalwards only for the ball to hit the arm of Jack Stephens and loop behind. Despite the protests, however, referee Sam Allison and his assistant were satisfied Stephens’s arm was in a natural position and there was nothing he could have done about it.

From the resulting corner, Saints’ captain then made a more traditional clearance, as a flicked header at the near post headed towards the far corner, only for him to brilliantly lift the ball over the bar from a yard out with his left foot before Brandon Thomas-Asante was able to bundle it in.

There were no changes in personnel from Martin at half time, with the second period starting in far more even fashion than the first did.

Saints did create an opportunity five minutes after the restart, as a Stuart Armstrong corner was flicked on by Bednarek and then headed goalwards by Mara, only for it to be straight at Palmer, who grabbed it out of the air.

At the other end, West Brom got a sight of goal when Jed Wallace was judged to have been fouled 25 yards out by Will Smallbone – who was booked as a result – but Swift’s free-kick curled a yard over the bar.

Joe Aribo made his return after the Africa Cup of Nations (Photo: Matt Watson)

Saints’ first changes then followed, as Aribo and Edozie were sent on for Charles and Fraser.

Edozie was quickly into the action and soon teed up Stuart Armstrong in space on the edge of the box, but his low shot was blocked impressively by Alex Mowatt.

Martin made another switch as the game reached 68 minutes, with Brooks replacing Adam Armstrong.

It paid huge dividends only five minutes later, as Brooks capped a stunning team move with his first Saints goal.

Stephens started it by winning the ball high up the pitch and getting it to Smallbone. He found Aribo to his left, who moved it to Stuart Armstrong on the left edge of the area. His first-time pass inside picked out the run of Edozie, who in turn played a square ball to Brooks near the penalty spot, and he took a perfect touch with his left foot to move the ball past defender Callum Marshall before sliding a shot into the far bottom corner.

David Brooks gets set to double Saints' lead (Photo: Matt Watson)

Saints then needed Gavin Bazunu to keep the two-goal cushion intact on 76 minutes, as he made a spectacular save to keep out a powerful header from Yokuslu.

But that was to be the last real threat from the hosts, as Martin's side saw out the game with aplomb, controlling the final 15 minutes and completing what will surely go down as one of the best nights of the season.

West Brom: Palmer, Furlong, Kipre, Pieters, Townsend, Swift (Marshall 64), Johnston (Reach 64), Mowatt, Wallace (captain) (Diangana 64), Yokuslu (Chalobah 81), Thomas-Asante (Fellows 46).

Unused substitutes: Griffiths, Pipa, Ajayi, Weimann.

Yellow cards: Thomas-Asante, Yokuslu.

Red cards: Corberán (manager).

Southampton: Bazunu, Stephens (captain), Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Walker-Peters, Charles (Aribo 58), Smallbone, Stuart Armstrong (Rothwell 81), Fraser (Edozie 58), Adam Armstrong (Brooks 68), Mara (Kamaldeen 81).

Unused substitutes: Lumley, Manning, Dibling, Amo-Ameyaw.

Goals: Fraser (13’), Brooks (73’).

Yellow cards: Smallbone.

Referee: Sam Allison.

Attendance: 25,066 (1,970 away)