West Brom player ratings vs Southampton: Three 4/10s and several 5s in humbling play-off defeat

Carlos Corberan’s men were lacklustre in possession and struggled to deal with Southampton’s relentless high press throughout. It was a close tussle in a 0-0 draw between the two sides at The Hawthorns five days ago but tonight’s encounter was far from it as the hosts always looked like coming out on top – and they did, through Will Smallbone’s second-half rocket and Adam Armstrong’s double.

Southampton came out of the blocks eager, fired on by a mightily loud St Mary’s crowd. The tone was set early by incessant Saints pressure and just the occasional breakaway for Albion, who looked nervous.

David Brooks gave the visitors a scare in the 16th minute as the AFC Bournemouth loanee struck the outside of the post from close range. There was then a panicky moment for Alex McCarthy down the other end as Tom Fellows’ hung up cross was tipped over awkwardly, but that was West Brom’s only first-half moment of note.

Southampton danger man Brooks continued to cause problems ahead of the break, often driving at the likes of Cedric Kipre and Kyle Bartley before either spraying the ball wide or taking shots from range. Albion struggled to assert control in possession as even patient passing out from the back resulted in being caught out by the Saints press.

Smallbone made Albion pay for their lack of command, scoring the opener in the 49th minute. Grady Diangana tried to spread the ball to Mikey Johnston but the pass was never on and Southampton broke away on the counter. Smallbone, found by an outside-of-the-boot Brooks pass, opened up his body to net an unstoppable long-range cracker into the near top corner.

Corberan’s side were incredibly fortunate not to concede a penalty in the 57th minute as Kipre’s lunging challenge on Brooks went unpunished. Southampton’s number 36, a decent distance into the penalty area, was clean through on goal but Kipre’s slide denied a clear goal. Referee Tim Robinson sensationally waved play on despite the fact Kipre certainly didn’t win the ball.

There were big chances for the visitors, though, as the Baggies improved in the attacking third. Alex Mowatt’s shot into the ground was unusually stopped by the head of an unaware Taylor Harwood-Bellis, whereas Darnell Furlong’s powerful effort was somehow acrobatically stopped by Alex McCarthy. Adam Reach also attempted the audacious, striking Mowatt’s long ball on the volley but seeing his effort wide.

But West Brom, second-best, had their hearts broken as Armstrong made it 2-0 in the 78th minute. The striker took a giant step toward the Premier League for Southampton with a drilled finish into the far corner, giving Alex Palmer no chance. Albion’s limp and rather non-existent press allowed Flynn Downes to feed Armstrong down the right and Furlong offered no buffer between boot and goal.

Southampton, cheered on by an inspired St Mary’s, made matters even worse in the 85th minute as they were awarded a penalty. It was ironically less of a foul than the earlier Kipre one as Fellows, who had been so solid defensively earlier in the game, slid in and got a slight touch on Ryan Manning. The Saints’ left wing-back was already going down, so it seemed harsh.

Palmer dived the correct way but Armstrong made no mistake from the spot, finding the right side netting to secure Southampton’s ticket to Wembley Stadium. Kipre scored one of the least celebrated goals of all time as he headed in excellently with the last touch of the game; it doesn’t even go down as a consolation.

The jubiliant Saints will face Leeds United in the play-off final next Sunday. The failing West Brom, meanwhile, go home dejected and demoralised, resigned to the Championship for another season.

Here’s how Birmingham World reporter Charlie Haffenden rated the Albion players out of 10.