Three winners and three losers as Southampton fight back to draw at West Brom

Southampton grabbed a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night on their travels to West Bromwich Albion in the latest round of Championship games.

Going into the game, the Saints had an impressive winning record on their recent visits to the Hawthorns, having only lost two of their last ten encounters when heading up to the West Midlands.

They couldn't quite pull off a win this time around, but it's a draw the South Coast side will likely take, after registering zero shots during a first half performance that was very sub-par.

There were several winners who would return to the St. Mary's with their heads held high when assessing all the individual performances.

But, unfortunately, there were also a number of losers, who haven't managed to breathe life into their disappointing South Coast stays when facing the Baggies.

Winner #1 Sam Edozie

Sam Edozie would surprisingly come into the team for the mid-week clash at the Hawthorns, with Leo Scienza failing a late fitness test.

The ex-Manchester City winger had a quiet first half, but so did most of his teammates.

He would patiently wait for an opportunity to come his way to level the game, after Isaac Price scored from the penalty spot early on for James Morrison's hosts, and he would slot home a chance effortlessly on the 53rd mark.

The number 23 has noted that he has been "working hard" behind the scenes, and all that grinding has paid off, as he was in the right place at the right time to score the equaliser, with Scienza out of the side.

Loser #1 Jack Stephens

Jack Stephens has been near-flawless across recent matches, but there's always a lingering worry that the experienced defender has an error waiting to come the surface.

He would give away a penalty against West Brom in a new calamitous moment from the number five, as he stuck out an unneeded leg to bring down a rampaging Rabby Nzingoula.

Price would calmly slot away the spot-kick to hand the Baggies lead, with Stephens extremely grateful for Edozie's equaliser.

He would bounce back from this error, with five duels and tackles won across the full match, but there would be groans on social media, and rightly so, when the veteran gave away the rash penalty.

Winner #2 Flynn Downes

The second winner I feel is worthy of a glowing mention is Flynn Downes, as the ex-West Ham United midfielder has had injury issues of late, yet started the clash on Tuesday night.

He didn't appear that far off the pace of the back-and-forth game, despite his injury difficulties being well known, with two key passes amassed, and five tackles and duels bravely won.

He is only one yellow card off a ban, with huge games against Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers to come after the international break, so it will be interesting to see if Eckert risks him against Preston North End, or drops him out of the side once more.

Loser #2 Divin Mubama

Divin Mubama is unlikely to start the upcoming clash against the Championship's basement dwellers, as he offered very little up top against the Baggies.

From his forgettable 71 minutes on the Hawthorns turf, he would register zero shots, accumulate just 25 touches of the ball, and win a half-hearted two duels.

With January now on the horizon, it wouldn't be a shock to see Mubama return to his parent employers, Manchester City, as this clearly isn't the best loan fit for the 22-year-old, who has remained stuck on one goal for the Saints since August.

Winner #3 Kuryu Matsuki

The last of the trio of winners is Kuryu Matsuki, who many feared would be out of the starting XI altogether, due to concerns that he was being overplayed.

Instead of being dropped, though, the Japan international was lively throughout, despite being played so consistently at the moment.

Indeed, he would win a tenacious nine duels for his team's cause down the right flank, with Matsuki oozing energy from the get-go.

Additionally, he had one shot blocked as he tried to catch out a busy Max O'Leary, with the number 27 seemingly incapable at the moment of putting in a unenthusiastic performance for Eckert and Co, even when he's judged to not be at 100%.

Loser #3 Lewis Dobbin

Lastly, Lewis Dobbin couldn't haunt his ex-loan side with a decisive goal.

He was only handed 19 minutes of action, as Mubama's late replacement, but he still managed to spurn a big chance in the contest.

One-on-one late on, after being played wonderfully into space by Finn Azaz, the hit-and-miss number 11 ended up just limply hitting an effort at O'Leary, who comfortably saved the weak attempt.

Safe to say, if Cyle Larin was in the team, and he had been played into space like that, he would've buried the chance.

As the Daily Echo's Alfie House put it, "he just simply has to score that" with the South Coast visitors left to feel like they had dropped points at the full-time whistle, instead of securing a well-earned draw, due to Dobbin's horrible miss.

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