Adam Armstrong continued Southampton’s reputation as the Championship’s late kings as his 79th-minute winner clinched a 2-1 victory over promotion rivals West Brom.
Will Smallbone had put Saints ahead early on before Kyle Bartley levelled things, with West Brom almost leading when Darnell Furlong hit the crossbar.
But Armstrong coolly prodded in his ninth goal of the season to grab the league-high eighth goal Saints have bagged in the last 15 minutes of their matches.
It extended Southampton’s unbeaten run to eight matches while halting West Brom’s three-game winning streak.
As they had in the previous seven games, Saints scored first.
Stuart Armstrong cut back to Adam Armstrong from the byline in the fifth minute. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to Smallbone to slam in from close range.
Conor Townsend thought he had cleared off the line but the goal-line technology confirmed West Brom had conceded the first goal in a match for the first time since September.
The hosts took hold of the game without testing Alex Palmer’s goal again, until the 28th minute.
Kyle Walker-Peters was released down the right, he stepped over to beat his defender before passing to Smallbone, via Kamaldeen Sulemana, but his snapshot had too much elevation and cleared the crossbar.
The Baggies rallied, found a powerful press and came knocking for an equaliser in the last 10 minutes of the first half.
Nathaniel Chalobah may have slipped when recording his side’s first shot but showed the intent.
Brandon Thomas-Asante’s shot was scuffed but was destined for the bottom corner had it not been for Taylor Harwood-Bellis throwing himself at the ball to head behind.
Turkish midfielder Okay Yokuslu then fired over from the corner of the box as Southampton were relieved by the whistle.
Mason Holgate had returned to the starting eleven in place of the suspended Jan Bednarek. The former West Brom loanee had a few nervy moments in the first half but grew into the game with a vital block to deny Thomas-Asante.
Still, the Baggies pushed without end product and in the 63rd minute Matt Phillips showed his directness to jinx off his flank before his curling shot bounced just wide.
There was no surprise when two minutes later the away side levelled.
Thomas-Asante powered a header from Jed Wallace’s cross, with centre-back Bartley following up to bundle over the line for his second goal of the season.
The momentum continued when Townsend’s wicked cross was attacked by Darnell Furlong and crashed into the crossbar.
It woke Saints up and with 11 minutes left, they went straight up the other end and scored.
Adam Armstrong calmly pulled Ryan Fraser’s cross down at the back post and slotted in his ninth goal of the campaign. It was Saints’ only shot on target in the second period.
Gavin Bazunu produced a stunning stoppage-time save to deny Jayson Molumby and hold on to the three points.
Dream debut: Dixon shines with goal, assist on debut for Charlton U21s in 3-2 win over Watford
Reggae Boy Kaheim Dixon was on the scoresheet in his debut for Charlton Athletic U21s in a 3-2 win over Watford at Vicarage Road on Friday.
Charlton took the lead after just two minutes through a goal from Henry Rylah before Watford got their equalizer through Mamadou Doumbia a minute later.
The 19-year-old Dixon, who joined the League One club from Arnett Gardens in August, then capitalized from a defensive mistake by Watford to put his team up 2-1.
Charlton then went two goals clear thanks to Mile Leaburn, who was assisted by Dixon.
Doumbia got his second goal of the game to finish the scoring at 3-2.
Charlton U21s now have 19 points in seven games in the Professional Development League.
The win strengthens lead atop the table to six points.
They will next take on Brentford U21s on October 1.
Alcaraz beaten on Laver Cup debut with Zverev in doubles
Carlos Alcaraz suffered defeat on his Laver Cup debut, as he was beaten in straight sets alongside Alexander Zverev in doubles by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
Team Europe put up a strong fight but struggled to match Fritz and Shelton, who won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev made a slow start to the match, losing their serve in the fourth game as the Americans went on a three-game winning streak, but they pulled it back to level the tie, only to lose the tie-break.
Team Europe looked to have found their groove in the second set but failed to convert four break points in the fourth game as Fritz and Shelton levelled the score at 2-2.
A three-game winning run at the end of the set, including one more break, was enough to get Team World over the line, pulling them back to 2-2 at the end of day one.
Francisco Cerundolo had originally given Team World the lead with a shock win over Casper Ruud before Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov's wins had put Team Europe 2-1 up.
Walter proud of 'courageous' Hull after comeback win
Tim Walter says he is proud of his "courageous" Hull City side after earning his first win in charge, beating Stoke City 3-1.
Narcis Pelach led the Potters out for the first time on Friday and saw his side take a 1-0 lead through Ben Wilmot into half-time.
However, Hull came out fighting in the second half to claim three points for the first time this season.
Kasey Palmer saw a penalty saved just after the hour mark but turned in the rebound before goals from Regan Slater and an own goal from Wilmot completed their late turnaround.
It is a win that propels the Tigers from 19th to 13th in the Championship, above Stoke, and Walter believes it has been a long time coming.
"It's hard to describe because I never had this feeling before. I've never not had a win in five games, so for me, it's a new situation," Walter told Sky Sports.
"But I also knew the whole time that we can win. Today we did it and that's the reason I'm really proud of my boys. They deserved to win.
"I'm happy because they always believed they can win and that's important.
"After conceding the goal, we were better. We were more courageous. We showed more bravery and that's the key to the result."
Pelach succeeded Steven Schumacher as Stoke's manager following his shock sacking earlier this week, having won two of the five matches under the Englishman at the start of the season.
Stoke managed 14 shots against Hull, but only two efforts on target, with both of those coming in the first 45 minutes.
Despite starting with a defeat, Pelach is looking for the positives after such a short time with the squad.
"It's a pity we couldn't win the game," Pelach told BBC Radio Stoke.
"We wanted to take the points, but I think the lads tried to put a new style of play in place.
"But in the second half, we lost control and ran out of energy. We should have pressed more, but we will try to explain this tomorrow and keep working on the defensive style.
"There is some things to work on mentally and we will do it. We will take the positives, and we will improve."
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