IT IS UBER AND OUT
Just rank for Pards and the taxi joy riders as Baggies are dumped out by the Saints
WEST BROM 1 SOUTHAMPTON 2
GARETH BARRY, Jonny Evans and pals ran out of road as goals from Wesley Hoedt and Dusan Tadic saw the Saints beat the sinners.
West Brom looked shellshocked, hungover even, during the first half, with the home players appearing to be feeling the effects of an eventful week.
On Tuesday, Baggies owner Guochuan Lai sacked chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman.
On Friday, senior stars Barry, Evans, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill admitted they were the quartet involved in an alleged incident involving a stolen taxi in Barcelona in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Club captain Evans – stripped of the armband by boss Alan Pardew in favour of Gareth Mcauley – and Barry were given a chance to get back on the road to redemption immediately.
But Barry in particular was struggling to go the pace for much of the game.
The Baggies fell behind when Hoedt was given space in the area to convert James Ward-prowse’s corner. And things got worse after the break when Guido Carillo’s cross from the left found Tadic, who dinked a lovely finish over Ben Foster.
Salomon Rondon halved the deficit within two minutes with an absolute screamer on the volley.
But despite letting the handbrake off after their goal, West Brom were unable to find the equaliser they needed.
They went closest when Ahmed Hegazi’s looping effort hit Alex Mccarthy’s crossbar and Rondon’s follow-up was cleared by Ryan Bertrand.
Southampton held on, and will now be away at Wigan or Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino (below) said: “It was important for us. We go to the next round in one game and also because we had wanted to give opportunities to players not playing too much. And we wanted to improve the spirit ahead of the next Premier League game.
“It was a really tight game, we were focused. Now the most important thing is to believe in our job and our way.”
Things did not look like they were going to fare well for West Brom after Hoedt struck early on. James Mcclean’s effort from 30 yards was crisp but wide – and chances were proving hard to come by.
And when Tadic doubled Southampton’s lead on 56 minutes, Pellegrino’s men looked certain to progress.
Rondon hit his ‘worldie’, however, to keep the tie alive and the Baggies were unlucky when Hegazi hit the woodwork.
A rueful Pardew said: “Missed chances have been the story of our season really, particularly since I’ve been here.
“In the first half we looked a bit edgy and
Now the most important thing is to believe in our job and believe in our way
Southampton did well. In the second we were a lot better and showed more confidence, guile and energy.”
Livermore was absent injured, and Pardew said he played Barry and Evans because he wanted to give them a chance to redeem themselves. He added: “Obviously, I was furious with what happened.”