Romeu’s rocket is a timely reminder for Southampton
on the day Southampton wrapped up the signing of a new central midfielder, oriol romeu picked a good time to steal the show. a spectacular and rare goal from the Spanish anchorman put the seal on a thoroughly satisfying afternoon for manager ralph Hasenhuttl. three points to make it successive wins and clean sheets, Southampton getting off the mark for the season at home, two goalscorers easing the burden on Danny ings and ibrahima Diallo’s £12million capture from Stade Brestois completed. Moussa Djenepo got Southampton on their way with an eye-catching goal before romeu’s volley wrapped up victory. romeu is more renowned for doing the ugly and unnoticed work in midfield than hitting the net and this was just the eighth goal of his career. Hasenhuttl said: ‘He’s one of the most professional guys i’ve ever seen. Sometimes he is under the radar because he makes the work nobody wants to do: closing the gaps, closing the space, winning duels, being everywhere — and when he is in the moment he can score, it is unbelievable for him.’ it was also a timely contribution with France Under 21 midfielder Diallo’s arrival confirmed and potentially more midfield additions before tomorrow’s deadline. West Brom had already conceded a league record 11 goals from their first three games. only goalkeeper Sam Johnstone prevented their goals against column showing significantly more than 13 shipped from four games. their lack of cutting edge was also clear and Slaven Bilic is determined to increase his firepower, with Huddersfield’s Karlan Grant his top target. Johnstone repelled ryan Bertrand early on before preventing a Semi ajayi own goal and che adams scoring from the followup. But the best of the lot from Johnstone was a plunging save, low to his right to turn ings’ header behind. He could only keep Southampton out on his own for so long, though, and Djenepo produced the first bit of quality required to beat him, fooling two defenders with a cruyff turn and finding Johnstone’s bottom corner. Southampton didn’t create as freely after the break and had to wait until the final quarter before romeu provided the second. He had plenty to do when Stuart armstrong lifted a hopeful ball into a dangerous area. But he charged into a gap he spotted in the area, forcing adams out of the way, before meeting the ball perfectly in mid-air and directing a volley past a helpless Johnstone. Bilic said: ‘the three games we have seen so far, i have seen a lot of positives but we need some quality to boost our squad and i expect that to happen.’ SOUTHAMPTON (4-2-2-2): McCarthy 6; WALKER-PETERS 8.5, Vestegaard 6, Bednarek 6, Bertrand 6; Romeu 8, Ward-Prowse 6; Armstrong 7, Djenepo 7.5 (Redmond 55min, 6.5); Ings 6, Adams 7 (Long 84). Subs not used: Forster, Stephens, Obafemi, Valery, Smallbone. Scorers: Djenepo 41, Romeu 69. Booked: Djenepo, Walker-Peters. Manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl 8. WEST BROM (4-2-3-1): Johnstone 8; O’Shea 6, Bartley 6, Ajayi 6, Townsend 6; Sawyers 6.5 (Krovinovic 64, 5.5), Livermore 6; Pereira 5.5, Edwards 5 (Field 46, 6), Diangana 6; Robinson 5 (Robson-Kanu 60, 5.5). Subs not used: Button, Furlong, Harper, Ivanovic. Booked: Livermore. Manager: Slaven Bilic 6. Referee: Chris Kavanagh 8.