James Morrison admits draw with Southampton felt like a defeat after late goal

West Brom interim boss James Morrison admits their late 1-1 draw to Southampton feels like a defeat after they conceded in stoppage time at the Hawthorns.

The Baggies looked on course for a first league win in 2026 when Jayson Molumby bundled the hosts in front, which gave them a deserved lead at the break.

But Cyle Larin levelled late in the piece which extended West Brom’s winless run to 13 matches and kept them in the relegation zone while Southampton missed the chance to close the gap on the play-offs spots to just a point.

Morrison is still waiting for his first win since taking over as interim boss but insists if his side perform like that until the end of the season, they will avoid relegation.

He said: “Mixed emotions. Gutted to concede last minute because I thought the lads were excellent.

“It feels like a defeat but I’ve got to be upbeat, I’ve got to look at the positives. I’ve said to the lads that’s the performance required from now until the end of the season.

“I think if we keep that level, we’ll be OK. I know it’ll be tough, physically that took a lot of out of us. We will keep going forward positively.

“I think the goal could maybe be a different outcome. The header hits the bar, the post and goes in, it’s tough to take.

“They’re feeling it. They’ll be disappointed tonight but tomorrow we come back in, look at the positives and get ready for Saturday because it could turn out to be a good point.”

Despite conceding late, West Brom have now drawn back-to-back games and are putting points on the board in their fight for survival.

He added: “I’m happy. I might not sound it but deep inside I asked for a performance and got one. It’s just the last bit of seeing it out.

“They (the fans) turn up week in week out and I’ve said to the lads what the minimum requirement (is) and what they expect, and the last two performances have shown the fight.

“They can see the effort the lads are putting in.”

Southampton extended their unbeaten run to nine matches and boss Tonda Eckert was happy his side managed to claim a point after a below-par performance.

He said: “Important we managed to dig deep towards the end, the subs were very good when they came on. We have played better games this season but compliments to West Brom the way they defended today.

“I think that point can be very important come the end of the season.

“We never got the game to the rhythm we needed to. I think West Brom did a good job today.

“We had a big game on the weekend and wanted to be strong today. It was not the best game for us, we have played better in other games but important we managed to get something.”