Southampton see off West Brom thanks to James Ward-Prowse double (original) (raw)

This was the kind of complete performance that will reassure Southampton’s supporters that the side whose fearless zest made them so thrilling to watch last season are back for good – and it was a day for Ronald Koeman to cherish given that Charlie Austin was in the stands at St Mary’s after completing his move from Queens Park Rangers before kick-off.

Having blown hot and cold on too many occasions during a difficult winter, Southampton simply blew a tired West Bromwich Albion away here, rising into the top half of the Premier League table thanks to a resounding 3-0 victory.

Austin will be a bargain at £4m if he stays fit, and the striker must have appreciated watching his new team-mates play their stylish football.

Already buoyed by Wednesday’s restorative victory over Watford, Southampton’s mood was further lifted by the news of Austin’s arrival, and they rarely looked like a side that had recently gone on a run of one win in 10 matches. They were determined to secure consecutive victories for the first time since the start of November, after what should have been a shot-in-the-arm thrashing of Arsenal on Boxing Day was followed by the grogginess of two straight league defeats, an early exit from the FA Cup, and misgivings over the attitude of certain players.

Southampton began with the urgency of a team that still had a point to prove and the piercing quality of the first of James Ward-Prowse’s two goals, in the fifth minute, was an emphatic sign of their returning belief.

West Brom could not have anticipated the damage would be so severe when Craig Dawson fouled Sadio Mané on the left. The wide position of the free-kick made shooting a low-percentage option; the big men trotted up from the back in anticipation of a cross and Boaz Myhill stepped to his left, diligently covering the far post, but leaving a large gap at his near post. Ward-Prowse used his corkscrew of a right foot to whip the ball high to Myhill’s right and the West Brom goalkeeper had far too much ground to make up.

“We had total control in the game,” Koeman said. “The second one killed the game a little bit. We had a very good team performance. They didn’t create a lot of chances.”

Southampton puffed out their chests. They passed the ball crisply, pressed high and pinned West Brom back. The visitors were enterprising in their previous match, a commendable 2-2 draw at Chelsea; here, though, they were decidedly second best.

Koeman’s 5-3-1-1 system gave his wing-backs freedom to attack and Southampton earned the cushion of a two-goal lead when Shane Long slipped a clever pass inside Dawson, who blundered again, tripping Matt Targett.

Ward-Prowse sent Myhill the wrong way from the spot and Southampton were denied a third when James McClean blocked Targett’s shot on the line.

Craig Gardner sent a header wide and had a strong claim for a penalty turned down, but West Brom were wretched, and Tony Pulis made two changes at half-time, Chris Brunt coming on for the injured Darren Fletcher, and Salomón Rondón joining the hitherto isolated Victor Anichebe up front after replacing Jonas Olsson.

However, Fraser Forster remained untroubled in the Southampton goal and West Brom’s mediocrity was captured by their failure to muster a single shot on target.

“We didn’t have any sparkle at all,” Pulis said. “It would be interesting to see how many teams have played their second game away from home this weekend and how many teams have won.”

Southampton were always comfortable and wrapped up the points when Dusan Tadic stepped off the bench and whipped a shot past Myhill in the 72nd minute, after fine work from Steven Davis, who reversed the ball into the Serbian’s path.

A fortnight ago, Koeman seethed after Southampton lost 1-0 at Norwich City, benching Mané for turning up late to a team meeting and criticising Victor Wanyama for a foolish red card. But grudges have been forgotten. Mané was a menace behind Long, and Wanyama shielded his back-four unselfishly after returning from his suspension. Unity has returned.