Brentford did their best to beat Southampton in the Premier League

The Bees hit the Saints with a rehearsed set-up after numerous warnings, Ivan Toni moved down the line from the nod to the near post. Yoann Wissa added a second to stoppage time.

He condemns Ruben Selles’ team to a Saturday visit to Premier League bottom Tottenham Hotspur on a night they could have escaped.

No team has scored fewer Premier League goals this season than the Saints (20) and the problem remains despite £50m being invested in January to fix it.

Many home supporters had already left when seven minutes remained and missed the second, confirming the defeat.

Selles made two substitutions in his side that last played against Manchester United: Moy Elyounoussi and Ibrahima Diallo replaced Theo Walcott and Romeo Lavia.

Both were on the bench, so it was more of a rotation than a forced decision by the Spaniard, who had a good start to his coaching career.

The Saints have failed to score three times in their four games, including a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, but have remained bottom of the Premier League table.

A win here would have taken them out of the relegation zone for the first time since November 5, but things didn’t go as planned.

The Bees threatened corners on the back post from the start, but the Saints got away with it.

Gavin Bazunu, who was confident in the ball from the start, saved from Brian Mbeumo as the Cameroonian was supposed to open the scoring.

That privilege went to captain Tony, who is likely to receive a betting commission ban later this year, with Christian Norgaard rewarding him with a near post corner kick for his 16th league goal.

Charlie Alcaraz came close to equalizing with a shot from outside the box, but the game calmed down when an injury forced Brentford to make his first substitution.

The second half got off to a much better start for the Saints as Che Adams failed to score a goal in the Fifth Division this season, last blocked as he drove through a packed penalty area towards goal.

Selles made a triple substitution – one forced when Walker-Peters stumbled – introducing Lavia, Walcott and James Bree before the hour mark, and shortly thereafter, Paul Onuacha.

The sound the St. Mary’s make when they cross a Nigerian would be worth the price if it weren’t for the club in such a precarious position.

Brentford was so confident they wouldn’t be broken that they had 10 men in the third Saint for their attacking free kick. Goalkeeper David Raya was on the halfway line for cover and eventually took possession of the ball.

Bazun needed to make a strong save in seven minutes of extra time to give Saints a chance, but that chance was squandered when Kamaldin Sulemana completely botched his half-volley attempt and the ball went wide for a throw-in before Adams caught him for offside.

Wissa sped up as Tony punched in the air after defeating Armel Bella-Kotchap as the Congolese ran sideways past Bazunu.

consecrate: Bazun; Lorder-Peters (Brie, 58), Bednarek, Bella-Kochap, Perrault; Diallo (Lavia, 58), Ward-Prowse, Alcaraz (Onuachu, 66); Elyounoussi (Walcott, 58), Camaldin, Adams.

unused subs: Salis, A. Armstrong, S. Armstrong, Mara, Caballero (g/c).

booked: Bednarek.

brentford: Raya; Hickey, Mi, Pinnock, Henry; Norgaard, Jensen (Damsgaard, 79), Janelt (Onyeka, 45); Damage (Wissa, 64), Mbeumo (Jansson, 78), Tony.

unused subs: Dasilva, Zanka, Goddos, Baptiste, Cox (hot oil).

booked: Hiccup, Tony.

refereeStory by: Michael Salisbury.

VARStory by: Neil Suabrick.