THE VERDICT: WBA 4 TOWN 2 Bright start fades away as Baggies turn screw
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FANS DESPITE DEFEAT THAT KEEPS TOWN ROOTED TO BOTTOM OF CHAMPIONSHIP
TOWN put in a much-improved first-half performance to lead unbeaten West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the break – but were completely blown away by a second-half onslaught from the hosts and sank to a defeat that keeps them winless and bottom of the Championship.
Strange as it is to say after Town’s heaviest defeat of the season – this is the first time they have conceded more than twice in a game since the campaign got under way – this was also the first game all season to give Town fans any real encouragement, with the first period of Danny Cowley’s second game in charge seeing Town look much more incisive.
Town were noticeably narrower and more disciplined with their positioning off the ball early on, with the benefits of the first full week of training under the Cowleys.
So, too, was there an improvement in Town’s attacking movement, with the midfield getting on the ball higher up the pitch and linking up much better with the front three than at any other point this season.
Part of the key to that was a much narrower approach both in and out of possession that kept Town compact at the back, allowing the midfield to breathe a little more easily when in possession – and get forward with more confidence. It also meant more play went directly up the middle rather than the ball being held in harmless wide positions.
Fraizer Campbell was the fulcrum of that front line, with Cowley last week describing his role as that of an ‘invisible 9’, the same role played by Roberto Firmino at Liverpool – dropping deeper and looking to play in either of the two wider forwards or a midfielder on the burst forward.
It was the latter scenario that played out to delightful effect in the 16th minute as Town took a surprise lead. Lewis O’Brien found Campbell in space after
Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Ferguson, Livermore, Sawyers, Phillips (Robson-Kanu, 82), Pereira, Krovinovic (Diangana, 45), Austin (Zohore, 72). Subs: Brunt, Edwards, Bond, O’Shea.
the forward pulled away from the back line, then received a return ball on the overlap before firing left-footed into the far bottom corner with a smart finish to score his first ever goal for Town.
West Brom hit back within three minutes, with Darnell Furlong putting the ball through left-back Terence Kongolo’s legs on the way to putting in a cross that Matt Phillips side-footed into the bottom corner.
The Baggies continued to give Kongolo a hard time, with Karlan Grant often having to