Southampton left it late to grab a deserved win at West Bromwich Albion after dominating for large spells of the game.
Rickie Lambert continued his storybook week by slamming home the game-winner from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.
The Saints controlled large portions of the match and just couldn’t find a way to break West Brom down until late on. While West Brom struggled to get hold of the ball, as the Saints took all three points on the first day of the season.
Southampton impressed early on, with Lambert having a shot blocked in the 19th minute as they continued to knock the ball around nicely. The England international turned and hit a volley goalwards but West Brom’s defense somehow cleared their lines.
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It was at times an end to end game but Saints were on top for most of the first half.
Southampton thought they had scored after 33 minutes but their strike was ruled out for offside. Adam Lallana tapped in at the back post after Lambert headed a cross over, but the linesman flagged for an offside. There was some debate over the decision, as goalscorer Lallana was definitely onside. The Saints certainly felt hard done by.
Southampton dominated the first half, with West Brom having just one shot on goal and the Saints had 63 percent of possession.
The second half continued in the same vein, as the Saints pressed for the opening goal. Jay Rodriguez went close and plenty of chances were spurned by the away side.
Then Lambert struck late on from the penalty spot, as Shaw was pulled down by Mulumbu. The 31-year-old forward has had a dream week, after the birth of his third child was followed by his first-ever England call up and then he scored the game-winner for the Three Lions against Scotland with his first touch.
His heroics continued at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
Yet Southampton also had goalkeeper Artur Boruc to thank, after a tremendous point-blank save from Billy Jones shot in stoppage time to seal the 1-0 win and send the Saints fans home happy.
Lineups
West Brom: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Morrison, Mulumbu, Yacob, Dorrans; Anelka (Rosenberg 83) , Long (Vydra 83). Subs not used: Myhill, Brunt, Dawson, Berahino, Popov.
Southampton: Boruc, Chambers, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse (Cork 90), Lallana (Ramírez 70), Rodriguez (S. Davis 78), Lambert. Subs not used: K. Davis (GK), Clyne, Mayuka, Hooiveld.