West Brom’s search for their first Championship win in 2026 extended on Wednesday night, as they were pegged back late against Southampton.

Cyle Larin’s goal in second-half stoppage time extended Tonda Eckert’s side’s unbeaten streak and helped them close the gap on sixth-placed Wrexham, who were defeated by Hull City the previous day.

However, the Baggies have now gone 13 games without a win in the Championship, a drought that has spanned three managers and has resulted in James Morrison’s team plummeting into the bottom three following wins from Oxford United and Leicester City.

With nine games remaining, despite small improvements in the last two outings under James Morrison, the fear of relegation has never been higher, and with their two immediate relegation rivals seeking to find form at the appropriate time, these gains must be translated into results.

And if the results are to come, West Brom simply need to finish games and cling onto situations in which they are leading, or at least drawing, moving into the final moments to gain those points.

West Brom is one of the poorest teams in the last 15 minutes of games in the Championship this season.

There have been several irritating parts of West Brom’s season thus far, both on and off the pitch.

The dreadful away record in 2025 under Ryan Mason, being one of three teams this season to fail to break the Sheffield Wednesday backline in a goalless draw in November, and the off-the-field decisions that have contributed to their current condition have all been sources of dissatisfaction at the Hawthorns.

Above all, one issue that has appeared to plague West Brom, regardless of who has been in charge, has been their failure to close out games in the closing 15 minutes.

Wednesday night marked the third time this season that the Baggies were leading or drawing games entering the 75th minute but ended up leaving the field worse off, whether by allowing the opponent to equalise late or scoring a late winner.

They have now lost 10 points in the final 15 minutes of games, which is far from ideal, but it is not the worst aspect of the situation.

Both Wrexham and Leicester have allowed more points slip through their grasp right at the end, but they compensate by picking up points late on, whilst West Brom rarely does so. The Baggies’ 1-1 draw with Sheffield United last Saturday was only the third occasion this season that they came back to win late.

So far this season, James Morrison’s squad has lost six points after the 75th minute, a statistic only matched by Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday, and worsened by no other team.

West Brom need to finish games better to stay in the Championship.

When you consider that this doesn’t even include the 3-2 loss to Middlesbrough in Eric Ramsay’s first game in charge (West Brom were already behind heading into the last 15 minutes), the Baggies’ post-75-minute figures are likely even worse than previously stated.

Not only do West Brom need to work harder to keep their points, but if they are going to be behind or equal in the late stages of games, they need to replicate what they did at Bramall Lane last weekend to battle back and gain points.

As the run-in intensifies, teams near the bottom frequently find tiny bursts of form that we haven’t seen this season to pull away from danger. Oxford is going through it right now, and Leicester has endangered it with their midweek win over Bristol City.

West Brom must break out of their current slump before others ahead of them begin to pull away, and being the side that can get a lift late on, rather than one that concedes points, will go a long way toward doing that.

Then, and only then, would they be able to retain their Championship status for the next season.