Diagne must discover the killer touch
MBAYE Diagne got off the mark in West Brom colours against Manchester United and, in truth, should have been celebrating a hat-trick at The Hawthorns.
The Senegalese international, on loan from Turkish Super Lig outfit Galatasaray until the end of the season, was on target within 90 seconds on his home debut when he forced Victor Lindelof out of the way and arrowed a header beyond
David De Gea.
The second half was a different story where Diagne spurned two excellent opportunities.
The first was of his own making. Harry Maguire was wrestled out of the way but De Gea denied him.
Then, before the end, another crucial opening was passed up. Substitute Darnell Furlong burst forwards and fizzed a ball across the face of goal but Diagne, unattended, poked it
over the bar.
“The cross from Darnell wasn’t a half-chance, it was a golden chance. That was a chance we’d have expected and he’d have expected to have scored,” said head coach Sam Allardyce.
“I must say that for his goal, I thought the defender was favourite all day long, and then ‘bosh’ – all of a sudden he’s in there, diving header, and we’re 1-0 up.
“That really lifted us and came at the right time for us.
“We knew they’d have to push on to try and win the game, and we knew that we’d have to defend very well, which we did, and then the chances came our way, at least three of them.
“The first one was a misplaced pass by Ainsley (Maitland-Niles), the other two I’d have hoped that big Mbaye would have done better, but he didn’t.
“I was very pleased with his goal.”
With a crucial quartet of fixtures on the horizon, Albion need more of the same – plus the polished finishing touch, of course.