Chapter 122 - WBA(2)

The West Bromwich Albion coach patted his forehead and shook his head. He felt helpless with Southampton's goal. It was Ridgewell's fault for failing to guard Freddy well, but McAurey also failed to keep Kazuki. However, this was only a manifestation of the difference in the quality of Southampton and West Brom players. Kazuki definitely a top striker, despite Freddy's up and down performance but he had always been Southampton's mainstay on the right side.

West Brom restarted the game. They did the kick-off after Kazuki and his friends finished the celebration. After the game started again, West Brom tried to build-up attacks. But the pressure exerted by Southampton, made the West Brom players uncomfortable in building attacks.

In the 29th minute, Claudio Yacub provided a pass to the right. There was James Morrison who received the ball. However, Benson rose and immediately made a tackle from the front. Benson's tackle was clean, so the referee didn't blow the whistle. Morrison fell while Benson got the ball. Soon, Benson gave the ball to Bennet.

Bennet ran and carried the ball quickly. Ryan moved from the left to the center, Benent immediately gave Ryan a pass. Just then, Kazuki moved to the right so the center back players moved slightly to the right. Seeing a gap in front of him, Bennet immediately ran to the penalty box. Ryan, who saw that, gave him a through ball. Then, Bennett received the ball and shot the ball powerfully. Ben Foster was still strong in saving the ball, he parried Bennet's shot with his hand.

McAurey received the rebound. He then threw it away quickly before another Southampton player grabbed the ball. Southampton's attack failed to break into the West Brom goalpost. However, the attack had managed to make the West Brom's defense felt threatened.

In the 36th minute, West Brom got a second chance. They launched a counterattack. Simone's long shot was caught by Ben Foster. The goalkeeper then throws the ball far forward. Yousuf Mulumbu jumped to duel with Orlando. Their heads clashed to the ball. This time Yousuf managed to head the ball to the right. Morrison quickly grabbed the ball before Benson got it.

Morrison immediately gave a pass towards Shane Long. Okhalo made a body charge, the Irish striker resisted Okhalo's physical confrontation and then provided a through ball towards Lukaku. The 20-year-old used his physique to push Hilton away from the ball, he then got a pass from Shane Long and kicked the ball firmly.

The ball hit the top post and flew high. Lukaku approached trying to guess where the ball fell. But the ball fell close to Dean Smith, so the goalkeeper caught the ball easily.

In the 41st minute, Southampton got a corner kick. Ryan executed the corner kick. This time Ryan kicked the ball slowly towards Benson who was nearby. Then Benson gave a cross into the middle of the penalty box. The crowd of players in the penalty box tried to fight over the ball, but it was Kazuki who managed to head the ball. Too bad his header deviated from the target.

The first half ended with Southampton winning 1-0 over West Bromwich Albion. Statistically, Southampton really dominated the match, even though West Brom actually had several chances. Blocking the area in the middle made it difficult for West Brom to pass the ball from the middle so that the right and left sides became options. Fortunately, the Southampton fullback and the support of the central midfielder were able to stem West Brom's counter-attack.

In the second half, West Brom made a substitution. They replaced Shane Long with Markus Rosenberg. This change was intended to strengthen West Brom's midfield. On Southampton's side they made no substitutions at all. The composition of the players was still in good condition. Even so, George may save a substitution quota for the 70th minute and above.

West Bromwich Albion's second half match against Southampton began with the kick-off of The Saints. In the second half, Southampton tried to control the ball as much as possible. They want to control the rhythm of the game and also minimize the possibility of West Brom's counter-attack.

Bennet did a good job of maintaining connectivity between lines. West Brom who added strength in midfield tried to snatch the ball from Southampton. But very difficult. Southampton players were very compact in possession of the ball. The positioning of players was the key to Southampton's success in controlling the ball.

An attack began in the 56th minute, Bennett moved to the left to attract the attention of Claudio Yacub. Bennet then provided a pass into the middle. Orlando moved forward and received a pass from Bennet. Then he passed the ball to Kazuki. the Japanese player returned the ball back to Simone.

breakthrough pass given to the right by Simone. Rustan chased the ball from the side. He beaten Olsson and received the ball from Simone. Then he sent a pass to Ryan on the left. Ryan provided a cut-back to Bennett. The young player from the Manchester United Academy kicked the ball into the top right corner.

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster leapt to the right. He reached for the ball and pushed the ball away from the goalpost. The ball was pushed off the field. Corner for Southampton. Ryan again executed a corner kick. He gave a short pass to Freddy. Then, Freddy gave a back-pass to Ryan who moved behind him. Ryan sent pass into the left post of the goalpost. Benson came unguarded, he then stuck his foot out and deflected the ball into the net.

Benson's goal put Southampton ahead for the second time over West Bromwich Albion. The Saints were getting closer to their ninth win. Of course, if Southampton win, they will be stronger at the top of the table.

This goal also made George Eastgate did a passionate celebration. This good start to the season certainly made George even happier. He will get a lot of bonuses if he managed to bring Southampton at least to the Champions League zone. How about the champion? For the moment George wasn't dare to think about that. The stronger the desire to win, the burden on the players will increase. George didn't want that to happen.

After the goal, Southampton continued to control the game in the second half. West Brom several times tried to launch a counterattack. However, Southampton's defense this time was quite solid. They could suppressed West Brom attacks. Until the end of the match Southampton continued to maintain a 2-0 lead over West Brom.

This victory made the big media start exaggerating Southampton. The Sun even challenged The Big Six to beat Southampton otherwise the EPL Championship this season would fall into Southampton's hands. Southampton had beaten City as well as Tottenham. Next they will face Liverpool's challenge.. The champions of the Premier League a previous season.