Baggies Notch First Win Under Irvine, Defeat Southampton 1-0 - gbasalmon's Blog

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Baggies Notch First Win Under Irvine, Defeat Southampton 1-0

Posted on January 2, 2015 at 11:25 AM.

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West Brom's debut under Alan Irvine was not very impressive as they fell in defeat to Sunderland, who in all truthfulness will be hard pressed to avoid relegation this year. There was already a bit of pressure on Irvine to put together a starting XI that would create more offense. The result was not exactly an offensive explosion, but Irvine can be properly hailed for subbing out the underachieving Saido Berahino for Silvestre Varela.

Varela's inclusion in the lineup was made almost definite for the Baggies' next match as his 33rd minute goal was positively breathtaking. He took the ball from right back Andre Wisdom and jetted down the right wing, blowing by three different Southampton defenders en route to beating keeper Fraser Forster on the short side of the goal.

Other than Varela's wonderstrike, the West Brom effort was fairly pedestrian. They picked up three yellow cards in the first half with Sebastien Pocognoli, Chris Brunt, and Youssouf Mulumbu all finding their way into the book. The match was very evenly contested with neither side really asserting themselves and taking hold of control.

The Baggies' next match takes them to Swansea's Liberty Stadium to take on Swansea City. The Swans have had little luck thus far this season, falling to Manchester United 2-1 on Opening Day and only managing a draw versus the newly promoted Burnley in their last match. The West Brom defenders will have to pay special attention to striker Wilfried Bony, who has notched 2 of Swansea's 3 goals thus far this season.