Southampton made it back-to-back home wins in the Premier League as they beat Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion side 3-0 in a comfortable victory at St Mary's.
James Ward-Prowse scored twice in the first 35 minutes to hand the Saints the advantage at half-time, before Dusan Tadic came off the bench to score for the second time this week.
Ward-Prowse opens the scoring
The home side looked lively from the off as West Brom centre-back Craig Dawson brought down Sadio Mane at the edge of the area in the fifth minute.
England U21 captain James Ward-Prowse curled the resulting free kick into the top left corner from 25 yards out for his first goal of the season and the Saints' first of the afternoon.
Targett threatens down the left
Young Saints left-back Matt Targett was a threat down the channel throughout the first half and as he was released into the area via a Shane Long pass, Dawson’s afternoon got worse as the defender clumsily bundled over the 20-year-old, earning Southampton a penalty which was calmly converted by Ward-Prowse for his second of the match.
Involved again shortly before halftime, Targett made an instinctive run into the area and having been laid off by Mane, would have scored his first goal for the club, had it not been for an inspired clearance off the line by James McClean.
West Brom change things up
At half-time, Pulis made an attacking double change by replacing Jonas Olsson and Darren Fletcher with striker Solomon Rondon and Chris Brunt. Although Rondon was there to provide more of a focal point, there was a lack of connectivity between the Baggies' midfield and attack.
Shane Long was lively all afternoon and produced some splendid link up play with Mane in the second half but both were unable to take their chances. New Southampton striker Charlie Austin was in the stands and will likely have been impressed with the forwards.
Tadic repeats Watford trick
With an hour gone, Koeman introduced Tadic who came on for Mane and it took the Serbian under ten minutes to make an impact. Steven Davis had attempted to play Tadic through on goal just moments before and this time succeeded.
The Serbian international controlled the pass perfectly on the left and was able to finish clinically into the far corner and with 15 minutes to go the game was arguably decided.
Tadic made a similar impact in midweek against Watford as he came on late to score the 2nd goal in Southampton's 2-0 win over the Hornets.
Tactical shift pays off for Koeman
Ronald Koeman opted for a back five of Cedric, Jose Fonte, Virgil Van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand and Targett for the second game in a row and it looks to have certainly installed some more confidence and swagger amongst the defence. Albion rarely threatened the home end and didn’t manage a single shot on target throughout.
A week that has seen two comfortable wins at St Mary's, the Saints move up to 10th in the league and the addition of QPR striker Charlie Austin for £4million has provided promise and excitement on the South Coast, as Koeman’s men enter the second half of the season.
With tough fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal away up next for the Saints, today was a much-needed victory.