Share

West Brom in Saints stalemate

West Bromwich - Saido Berahino returned to the West Brom squad on Saturday after his transfer request was rejected last month but had little impact in a 0-0 draw at home to Southampton.

Berahino, who had vowed never to play for Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace again after the club blocked a move to Tottenham Hotspur, received a mixed reception at The Hawthorns after coming on as a 55th-minute substitute for Rickie Lambert.

Baggies manager Tony Pulis handed defender Jonny Evans his debut following the Northern Irishman's arrival from Manchester United while Virgil van Dijk started in Southampton's backline after joining from Celtic.

West Brom saw a penalty appeal waved away on the quarter hour after Callum McManaman went to ground somewhat theatrically while Jay Rodriguez missed a chance to end his long goal drought when he nodded wide from a Dusan Tadic cross down at the other end.

Rodriguez's last Premier League goal came in March 2014, just before the England international suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for 16 months.

Tadic represented the biggest danger for the home defence although the Serbian spurned an opportunity to shoot midway through the second half in favour of cutting the ball back for James Ward-Prowse with the England Under-21 international firing over.

Graziano Pelle nearly broke the deadlock with 70 minutes gone but the Italian couldn't quite stretch far enough to make contact with a pass from Steven Davis.

Sadio Mane was brought off the Southampton bench as the visitors sought to snatch a winner late on but the Senegalese steered wide after being put through by Pelle with both sides forced to settle for a point.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2250 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE