Jonny packs Baggies in style
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# SKIPPER’S FINAL FLING
THERE’S not a single person at struggling West Brom who thinks their skipper is Jonny Rotten.
Baggies captain Jonny Evans might be on his way to one of the big boys this month but he doesn’t know how to put in anything less than a shift for his team.
You won’t find him sulking like some of the big time Charlies elsewhere.
He hasn’t moped around, despite seeing a deadline-day move to Manchester City go up in smoke last summer.
Evans scored the opener, made crucial interventions at the back and walked off just before the end to rousing applause.
West Brom fans knew this might be the last time they saw him – the Baggies haven’t got another home game before the window shuts with City and Arsenal in hot pursuit again.
Crashed
Baggies boss Alan Pardew knows he could be losing a gem. “A player can be unsettled by the speculation and it’s easy to come to the conclusion that they don’t really care,” he said. “I’ve never felt that with Jonny. Whenever he’s called upon, he’s put it in for me.
“But how many times are you going to say no to a player? Obviously in the summer he wasn’t going to go and I don’t know what happened there.” What a shame if and when he goes. He crashed a header home after just four minutes to set Albion on their way to their first league win in 21 games and Craig Dawson sealed it with a second set-piece goal shortly after half-time.
Evans’ Northern Ireland team-mate Chris Brunt accepts this might have been the defender’s Hawthorns swansong.
Brunt said: “He’s a top, top player and with the clubs that are being linked with him, you can see that. We all want to see him stay but that’s out of our hands.
“It was a massive win for us. Games run out pretty quickly. There are still 14 or 15 games left and you think there are plenty of points to play for but it comes around very fast.”
How different things might have been had Anthony Knockaert not missed a good chance when he blazed his shot over.
Seagulls skipper Bruno admits this was a damaging defeat.
Bruno said: “It’s about scoring goals – not just our strikers – everyone. We’re not scoring. West Brom treated it like a cup final because they knew how important it was.”
The FA will today investigate a complaint from Brighton’s Gaetan Bong after he reported alleged racist remarks made by Albion’s Jay Rodriguez to referee Martin Atkinson.
Rodriguez was seen to recoil and hold his nose in a touchline clash with the Cameroon international but is said to be “raging” at any suggestion he was racist.
But Bong said: “Some words should not be said on a football field.” WEST BROM (4-4-2): Foster 7; Dawson 7 (Nyom 81), Hegazi 7, EVANS 8 (McAuley 84), Gibbs 7; Phillips 7, Krychowiak 7, Barry 8, Brunt 7; Rodriguez 7 (Livermore 79), Rondon 8. Subs: Myhill, Robson-Kanu, Yacob, McClean. UP NEXT: Everton (a), Premier League, Saturday. BRIGHTON (4-4-1-1): Ryan 6; BRUNO 7, Duffy 6, Dunk 7, Bong 6; Knockaert 6, Stephens 6, Propper 6 (Kayal 76), Izquierdo 5 (March 46, 5); Gross 6 (Baldock 66, 6); Murray 7. Subs: Krul, Goldson, Schelotto, Hemed. UP NEXT: Chelsea (a), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Martin Atkinson 8. YOUR TURN: How many years is it since Brighton last won a league game at West Brom – 9, 49 or never?