Samuel Edozie's second-half equaliser earned Southampton a hard-fought point at The Hawthorns to preserve their unbeaten start to the campaign. The 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night leaves Tonda Eckert's side fifth in the Championship table with 23 points from 13 games, a record of eight wins, three draws and two losses. Their recent form of three wins and two draws from the last five matches has stays.
West Brom dominated the opening period and deservedly led at half-time through Isaac Price's 22nd-minute penalty. The hosts could have been ahead even earlier, with Jimmy-Jay Morgan blazing over when one-on-one with goalkeeper Daniel Peretz after just five minutes. The penalty was awarded after Rabby Nzingoula was brought down by Jack Stephens' challenge, and Price sent Peretz the wrong way for his fifth goal of the season.
Southampton failed to register a single shot in the first half but emerged transformed after the break. Their pressure told eight minutes into the second period when Edozie found the net to level the scores. Both teams had chances to win it in an entertaining finale. Callum Styles saw a header cleared off the line by Stephens, while West Brom substitute Tammer Bany Odeh rattled the post late on.
Manager reaction
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert acknowledged his side's slow start. "Two very different halves," Eckert said. "Take the first half, it's a quick turnaround and I think we've given them too much respect in the first half." His counterpart, West Brom's James Morrison, felt his team could have secured more. "Two very good teams," Morrison said.
The result extends Southampton's unbeaten run in the league to five matches, a sequence that includes three wins and two draws. They now sit five points behind leaders Middlesbrough with a positive goal difference of 15, having scored 28 goals and conceded 13 this season. Their top scorer, C. Larin, has contributed seven goals in 11 appearances. Attention turns quickly to a trip to Deepdale on Saturday 7 November to face a Preston North End side who are currently bottom of the standings. This latest draw follows a 4-1 victory over QPR and a 3-2 win at West Ham in their recent fixtures.
Manager Tonda Eckert was booked for dissent during the 1-1 draw with West Brom on November 3. The result leaves Southampton sixth in the Championship with 24 points from 14 games. The Echo's Alfie House noted the team missed several chances to win, with Flynn Downes, Lewis Dobbin and Finn Azaz all wasting good opportunities.
