Campbell the star as Bilic’s nervy leaders stumble again
AS HiS side’s 16th and final shot of the match soared into the Black Country night sky, Slaven Bilic could have been excused for wondering whether a blip has turned into a wobble.
the West Brom manager had just watched his side dominate in every area except the one that counts.
Bilic’s team are still top of the Championship but failed to capitalise on a glorious opportunity to open up a four-point gap to Leeds. it is six games without a win now and the chasing pack can surely sense an opportunity to catch up.
‘Mini-crisis, yes, but we are still top of the table,’ said Bilic. ‘We had 16 shots and only two on target and that showed the lack of quality in the final third. We are top of the table and that sounds funny now. First half we were very nervy. Not enough bravery, not enough confidence, but the guys gave everything in terms of effort.’
Credit must go to Stoke, not so long ago a rag- bag bunch of relegation candidates. they stood tall at the Hawthorns to protect the early lead given to them by tyrese Campbell, the son of former Everton striker Kevin.
the 20-year- old striker, making his third successive start, limped off with a hamstring injury after scoring.
He was in the right place at the right time to knock in tom ince’s pass as West Brom’s defence were caught on the hop by a fabulous pass from Nick Powell. Ahmed
Hegazi’s weak attempt at a clearance summed up the surprising ineptitude at the back.
Stoke boss Michael o’Neill revealed that Campbell’s injury was not as bad as first feared as he praised his players.
‘it’s a bit early to say but he’s optimistic. it’s a bit tight but we will assess that,’ he said. ‘Fair play, bodies on the line, it was that type of game. it wasn’t pretty at times. We showed resilience to keep them at bay. it’s a big win for us.’
there was more misfortune for Albion as Grady diangana pulled up suddenly and left the field shaking his head. He had only just returned after a back injury.
West Brom did have one let-off, though, when Matheus Pereira threw an elbow at Joe Allen but referee tim robinson missed it.
Pereira, having escaped a red card, looked the one player with the ability to unlock the game, too. He forced Jack Butland into a snap save and was also the guilty party for that final, wayward 16th shot.
As the game wore on, the urgency in West Brom’s play increased but the shots were too wide, too high, too weak. And Butland, back on form, was up to any real threat.