Southampton have edged to a slender 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in their Premier League encounter at St Mary's Stadium, thanks to a second-half strike from Adam Lallana.
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Morgan Schneiderlin looked to pull the strings early on when he found Lallana, whose right-footed shot from outside the box was somehow saved at the bottom right corner of the goal.
Jack Cork was the next to threaten for the hosts when he picked up a corner from Steven Davis, but he couldn't keep his effort on target as it swerved wide of goal.
Steven Reid was the first to have a meaningful go for the Baggies, but his effort didn't come until the 27th minute when he sent a direct free kick straight over the goal.
Rickie Lambert looked to give his side the lead going into the final 10 minutes of the half, however, his long-range effort was comfortably saved after he had been played into space by Jay Rodriguez.
Lambert was wasteful again right on the stroke of half time when he spooned his effort over the bar, having been found by Davis inside the box.
Schneiderlin started the second half in much the same fashion as the first, as he saw his header sneak just wide of the post after getting on the end of a cross from Lambert.
Rodriguez sought to give Saints the lead on the counter when he collected a ball on the break, although his decision to shoot from distance proved fruitless as the ball crept wide of goal.
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The hosts finally took the lead that their second-half performance deserved when Gaston Ramirez played in Lallana, who lashed home an effort into the centre of the goal.
Southampton went close to cementing the victory in the final 10 minutes of the game when Nathaniel Clyne found Ramirez, who could only fire the ball over Ben Foster's goal.
Shane Long might have grabbed an equaliser for West Brom late on, but he could only fire straight at the goalkeeper having found himself with space inside the box, leaving the final score at 1-0.
Christopher Dodd
