Southampton PL2 1 Albion PL2 0

ALBION’s under-23s suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Southampton in a Premier League 2 Division Two game at St Mary’s Stadium, bringing an end to their six-game unbeaten run.

The home side made a strong start and fired a couple of warning shots to the young Baggies inside the opening 10 minutes as both Callum Slattery and Thomas O’Connor saw efforts go wide.

Alex Palmer kept out Jonathan Afolabi not long after, with Will Smallbone then hitting the wall from a free-kick on the 30-minute mark.

Albion were fortunate not to concede six minutes before the break when Saints defender Christoph Klarer headed past the post.

But on the hour Southampton did go in front through Marcus Barnes after he…