It's unusual, but the EFL Cup has kickstarted the brand-new 2026/27 season for all 24 Championship clubs.
Southampton travelled to Essex and managed to get the better of a tough Colchester United side 2-0, while the likes of West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers - who will be in the second tier promotion conversation next to the Saints - made light work of both Portsmouth and Port Vale.
West Bromwich Albion, who will be aiming to look up the division this season rather than down, after a relegation scare last campaign, got off to an emphatic start themselves, with a confident 4-1 win over Rotherham United.
They managed to secure such a straightforward victory in South Yorkshire due to the debut goalscoring heroics of Jimmy-Jay Morgan, as the one-time Saints youngster helped himself to a blistering brace at the New York Stadium.
JJM's blistering West Brom start
Three years on from deserting Southampton at youth level, to move to Chelsea, Morgan now finds himself situated in the same intense division as his ex-employers.
A prolific goalscorer at youth level for the Saints, it just never worked out for Morgan in the senior fold at Stamford Bridge, and after a 14-goal loan stint at Peterborough United last season in League One, he's now on the books of the Baggies in the league above.
He has instantly fit in at the Hawthorns, unlike never making the first team cut at the Blues, with five goals put away in pre-season, now followed up a brace being fired home with ease against the Millers in the EFL Cup.
A super header to secure our spot in round two. 👊@JimmyJayMorgan | #WBA pic.twitter.com/vpZf69cpHv
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 9, 2026
James Morrison's men returned back to the Midlands with a confidence-boosting 4-1 win in tow due to their brand-new attacker's heroics, who will be looking to break his Championship duck immediately, when West Brom face off against Norwich City on the opening day of the second tier campaign.
If he continue to be so potent in front of goal, Morrison and Co. could have an outside shot of promotion, with the Baggies potentially breathing down Southampton's neck in the promotion race.
The Saints must wish they could turn back time to when Morgan left St. Mary's as a very exciting youngster, and somehow convince him to stay, as he would fix some major problems currently on the South Coast...
Southampton must wish they could turn back time
Tonda Eckert shocked the Southampton away army, packed into the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when he decided to start Ben Brereton Diaz as his lone striker.
He offered very little, which is worrying, considering Eckert and Co. were playing a League Two outfit, with the Chilean ending the match with zero shots registered on target.
In stark contrast, Morgan was lively throughout his breathless 65-minute runout in Yorkshire, with three shots on target making him a constant nuisance for the Rotherham defenders to contain.
Morgan + Brereton Diaz's goalscoring numbers (last two seasons):
Stat (last two seasons) | Morgan | Brereton Diaz |
|---|---|---|
Games played | 39 | 44 |
Goals scored | 16 | 8 |
Cyle Larin, thankfully, bailed the wasteful Saints out second half with an instinctive finish, but it's clear that when Larin isn't starting and firing on all cylinders, Southampton seriously lack a deadly back-up figure.
Just imagine if Eckert could fall back on the Baggies number 11 as a sprightly option to complement the electric Canadian, but, alas, he's West Brom's player now, three years on from his St. Mary's youth connection sadly ending.
Add us as a preferred source on Google