SLAV HAS TO SWEAT
Bilic boys going up after a nervy finale
WEST Brom clinched promotion in dramatic style but boy, did they make hard work of it.
The sight of Baggies boss Slaven Bilic screaming to his players that Brentford were losing was a sight to behold.
Bilic was going wild on the touchline, yelling at his men that Barnsley had taken the lead and not to pile forward.
When the referee blew his final whistle, players stayed out on the pitch for a couple of minutes, waiting for the results to come in from elsewhere.
Suddenly the whole place erupted as it filtered through that Brentford had lost and the sign ‘We are Premier League’ flashed on to the big screen.
Promotion is worth £170m and Albion’s dream scenario of getting their noses in front and cruising to a victory with the minimum of fuss took a real jolt 10 minutes before half-time when they fell behind.
Suddenly they were facing the unthinkable as Ryan Manning fired Rangers in front with a low shot from the edge of the box.
Manning seized on a square ball and chanced his arm, only to see his first effort blocked. But when the ball rebounded back into his path, he made no mistake at the
second time of asking. He drilled it wide of Sam Johnstone and was mobbed by his team mates as the ball nestled in the bottom corner.
The shellshocked Baggies didn’t need telling that situation could not be allowed to go on too long and they soon starting to dictate matters.
Rangers started to wobble and a minute before the break, West Brom levelled things up when Callum Robinson shunted a beautifully-weighted through ball into the path of Grady Diangana.
It was a tricky angle but Diangana lined up his shot and fired it through keeper Joe Lumley’s legs from six yards.
They looked to have made the big breakthrough five minutes into the second half when Diangana’s brilliant run and cross gave Robinson the easy task of finishing.
Albion were getting on top but were then hit for a second time when Eberechi Eze scored an excellent goal, taking a long ball from Yoann Barbet and lashing it into the top corner from the edge of the box – ensuring a nervous finale for West Brom.