Southampton Sees Off West Brom to Progress to Quarter-Finals
Southampton beat West Brom 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Saturday to progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
The Saints took a 2-0 lead with goals from Wesley Hoedt and Dusan Tadic, before Salomon Rondon halved the deficit, but it wasn't enough as the away side saw off a late fight-back to earn the victory.
It was the away side who began the better of the two, and it didn't take them long to open the scoring.
In the ninth minute, James Ward-Prowse whipped in a brilliant corner, and the ball fell to Hoedt who found himself free in the Baggies box. The Dutchman subsequently tapped the ball home for his first goal for the Saints.
The away side continued to threaten from set-pieces, and they should have grabbed their second of the game just minutes after the opener. Again, it was Ward-Prowse from a corner, but this time Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg latched onto the cross and if not for Craig Dawson's heroic goal-line clearance than the Saints would have doubled their lead.
The Baggies lacked creativity in the first period and didn't create any chances of note, and as the referee blew his half-time whistle the home fans let their feelings show with a chorus of boo's as the players walked back into the dressing room.
Michael Regan/GettyImages
The Baggies came out fighting in the second period, and they could have leveled the scoring just minutes after the restart, as Dawson latched onto a James McClean corner; but his header was easily tipped over the bar by Alex McCarthy in goal.
The home side continued to push on, but in doing so left spaces at the back and they were soon punished for over-committing in attack, as the Saints broke away and after a clever flick from Guido Carrillo, the ball fell to Tadic who delightfully chipped the ball over the onrushing Ben Foster and the Saints extended their lead to two.
Despite conceding the Baggies continued to go forward, and within two minutes of going two down, they halved the deficit from a beautiful left-foot volley from Rondon. The goal lifted the home side, and they began to create more chances, most notably when Ahmed Hegazi hit the bar, and moments later Rondon's shot was blocked off the line by Ryan Bertrand.
The result see Southampton through to the quarter finals, as they aim for their first FA Cup triumph since 1976.
