West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Southampton

West Brom manager Alan Pardew reflected on a "special day but not a special result" after the club paid tribute to their late former striker Cyrille Regis before losing against relegation rivals Southampton.

"It's a painful one for us," said Pardew, whose side remains bottom of the Premier League. "It was a shame because it was a special day in a lot of ways but not a special result.

"No matter how much we huffed and puffed we just couldn't get back into it."

Despite falling behind early to Ahmed Hegazi's header, Mauricio Pellegrino's Southampton fought back to end a 12-game winless run and move out of the relegation zone.

The Saints deservedly equalised when Mario Lemina smashed a 20-yard strike into the top corner in the 40th minute before Jack Stephens them in front with an excellent looping header from James Ward-Prowse's corner.

Ward-Prowse added the visitors' third 10 minutes into the second half by firing in a low free-kick from 20 yards but West Brom pulled a goal back through Salomon Rondon's header.

The Baggies - who handed Daniel Sturridge a full debut following his loan move from Liverpool - pushed for an equaliser but Southampton held on for a first Premier League win since 26 November.

West Brom remain bottom of the table, four points adrift of safety.

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A big win at the bottom

Southampton's long wait for a victory had seen them fall to 18th despite taking draws in five of their last seven matches.

Pressure had begun to grow on manager Mauricio Pellegrino but victory sees his side climb four places to 14th, two points clear of danger.

"We needed this victory, for many reasons, but most important one is to believe what we can do on the pitch," Pellegrino said.

The win was a deserved one, with the visitors showing greater composure on the ball, particularly in midfield, and creating the majority of the game's best chances.

"Southampton looked like they had a little more energy and fresher players in the middle which showed," Pardew said.

"We had players who had been playing two games in three days and looked a little leggy."

The Saints' failure to convert more of the openings could have been costly, but they defended well in the final 15 minutes to deny the Baggies any meaningful chances.

The result is a desperate one for West Brom, who started the game with a three-point gap to 19th place and now see that increase by a further point.

They have now dropped 18 points from winning positions this season and have only won once in 12 league games since Pardew took charge.

New boys start but are not decisive

England striker Sturridge, on loan at the Baggies until the end of the season, was not the only key January signing to make a full debut in the game.

Southampton's record signing Guido Carrillo, a £19m arrival from Monaco, had made substitute appearances in the Saints' two previous games but the striker was given his first start at The Hawthorns.

Both Sturridge and Carrillo were lively before being substituted in the second half but it was Argentine who had the only shot on target from either player and could claim the better display.

He produced an excellent near-post run to meet a Ryan Bertrand cross with a header bound for the bottom corner before Foster intervened with a fine save.

Sturridge's best chance came in the first half when he was played in behind by Chris Brunt but he fired over.

In his 62 minutes on the pitch the 28-year-old showed some good link-up play with strike partner Rondon, but at times lacked sharpness - perhaps unsurprising since this was just his sixth league start this season.

Pardew even admitted afterwards that Sturridge is "not quite on it at moment", but it is clear he will be crucial if the Baggies are to avoid a first Premier League relegation since 2009.

"We've seen enough in training and bits today," Pardew added. "If we had everyone available he may not have started, but it was a juggling act with the players today."

Still a 'special day' for the Baggies

The game was West Brom's first at home since Regis' death last month.

Regis was a pioneer for black footballers in the game when he played alongside Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson at The Hawthorns in the 1970s and 80s.

He scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for the club and was the third black player to be capped by England at the highest level, after his team-mate Cunningham and Nottingham Forest defender Viv Anderson.

Before kick-off a host of former West Brom players and managers, including Ron Atkinson and Bryan Robson, as well as other notable players such as Ian Wright, Andrew Cole and Dion Dublin, joined Regis' son Robert and his nephew, ex-West Brom striker Jason Roberts, on the pitch.

Following a number of speeches, a video of Regis' career highlights, accompanied by Frank Sinatra song The Impossible Dream, was shown.

"It's a pity we couldn't get the result to match it and make the big man proud," West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt said. "It's been a tough week for everyone at the club and such an unexpected thing to lose Cyrille. For the football club he's an icon."

Man of the match - Mario Lemina (Southampton)

BBC pundit Danny Murphy on Match of the Day: "Mario Lemina was superb for Southampton. I criticised him at Wembley against Tottenham recently, when he was poor and maybe not fit.

"He looks fit now. He showed skill and endeavour. He made tackles. I liked the way he was trying to be progressive with the ball. He was powerful. It was the best game I've seen him play for Southampton."

West Brom's dismal run - the best stats

• West Brom have picked up just one win from their last 24 Premier League games (D11 L12).
• Southampton secured their first Premier League win in 13 attempts, having previously lost five and drawn seven.
• Since his Premier League debut in August 2008, Chris Brunt has provided 31 assists from set plays, more than any other player.
• Mario Lemina, who scored his first ever Premier League goal, is the third player from Gabon to score a goal in the competition after Daniel Cousin and Didier Ndong.
• Ahmed Hegazi scored his first Premier League goal since netting on his debut in the competition back on the opening weekend versus Bournemouth, ending a run 24 games without one.
• Jack Stephens has scored in consecutive league games for the first time in his career.
• James Ward-Prowse has been directly involved in four goals in his last two away Premier League apps (three goals, one assist) as many as in previous 28 combined.
• Alan Pardew - who managed 64 games for Southampton in all competitions between August 2009 and August 2010 - lost his first home league match against the Saints as a manager (P6 W3 D2 L1).

What's next?

West Brom's next league fixture sees them travel to Chelsea on Monday, 12 February (20:00 GMT) while Southampton play Liverpool a day earlier (16:30 GMT).