West Bromwich Albion’s troubled week continued as Southampton scored in each half to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2005.
Albion were looking to move on from an incident in which four senior players were interviewed by police after a taxi was stolen from outside a fast-food restaurant in Barcelona.
But the fifth-round tie started badly for the hosts when Saints centre-back Wesley Hoedt took advantage of slack defending to guide home James Ward-Prowse’s corner.
Dusan Tadic’s sublime chip seemed to put the game beyond the Baggies, only for Salomon Rondon’s stunning volley to restore their hopes seconds later.
Alan Pardew’s side, who are bottom of the Premier League, rallied as the home fans continued to provide their backing and Ahmed Hegazi’s scuffed volley against the bar almost rewarded their support – despite the circumstances – with a late equaliser.
Southampton will discover their last-eight opponents when the draw is made at 20:00 GMT on Saturday.
Mixed reception for Baggies duo
Albion pair Gareth Barry and Jonny Evans have made over 1,000 top-level appearances between them
West Brom defender Jonny Evans and midfielder Gareth Barry started the tie – just 60 hours after being involved in the late-night incident in the Spanish city on Thursday.
The pair, along with reserve goalkeeper Boaz Myhill and midfielder Jake Livermore, were interviewed but not arrested by police after allegedly driving the taxi back to their hotel without the driver at about 05:30 GMT.
The quartet issued an apology for breaking the club curfew on Friday.
With Myhill on the bench and Livermore missing because of injury, the focus fell on Evans and Barry as Pardew decided to play them against Southampton – though the former was replaced as captain by fellow defender Gareth McAuley.
When their names were read out as being in the starting line-up, they were greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos.
Some frustrated Albion fans booed when Barry sloppily gave away possession at the start of the second half, while a few more jeers were audible when the former England international was replaced after 72 minutes.
But, overall, it would be harsh to criticise the commitment of each player as they tried to win back the faith of their suffering supporters.
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Source: BBC