Albion boss is playing the NUMBERS game!
WEST Brom claimed a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in their first pre-season game of the 2022 summer, thanks to goals from left-backs Conor Townsend and Zac Ashworth in the Portuguese sun.
Albion led 1-0 at the break courtesy of Townsend’s early strike following good work out wide by captain-forthe-day Matt Phillips.
The Baggies broke in numbers after Adam Reach wriggled away on the left and then Alex Mowatt spread the ball out wide to Phillips, who delivered a wicked cross.
Townsend did the rest.
That was after an even earlier opportunity – for Orient. George Moncur grabbed the ball after Semi Ajayi was adjudged to have handled it, but David Button pulled off a smart save down to his right to ensure the score – at that point – remained goalless.
There were glimpses in the first 45 of Daryl Dike, who combined once with partner Kenneth Zohore, while Townsend caught the eye.
There were quieter outings for Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Jayson Molumby, although the latter almost helped to create another goal.
It was always in manager Steve Bruce’s mind to make 11 changes at the break. Kyle Bartley wasn’t involved, neither was fellow recovering defender Kean Bryan nor goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
Jake Livermore sat as the deepest of the midfielders, playing alongside John Swift, while Callum Robinson, Jed Wallace and Grady Diangana operated behind last season’s top scorer, Karlan Grant.
Despite their attacking prowess, Albion’s second goal came from the same position as the first – left-back.
Diangana created space for Swift, whose smart back-heel was fired powerfully from range into the roof of the net by Ashworth. West Brom were in control until the dying embers of the game. Complacency?
Maybe, but Cedric Kipre’s own goal involving young keeper Josh Griffiths showed neither in a particularly good light.
Here are the things we spotted in Lagos on Monday night.
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Swift and Wallace, introduced as part of Bruce’s wholesale changes at the break, enjoyed their first run-outs. Wallace is still getting up to speed but Swift impressed immediately.
The former Reading midfielder opted for the number 28, while Wallace wore the 17 shirt on the right wing. Neither Swift’s 10 at Reading, nor Wallace’s seven at Millwall, are available at Albion.
Dike switched from 12, which he wore last season, to 15, and Ashworth has been elevated to 24.
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Shirt number hint Robbo’s role
It was more of a 4-3-3 in the second half as Bruce experimented and explored the options at his disposal.
Interestingly, that meant a number eight-ish role with plenty of attacking licence for Robinson.
Last year he played as a ten, as a nine, as a winger, and the latest outing saw him deeper, ahead of Livermore and alongside Swift.
With Wallace, Diangana and Grant ahead of them, there was attacking impetus aplenty on the pitch.
Bruce is on the look-out for a new midfielder, despite snuffing out the links with former loan favourite Okay
Yokuslu, but it was interesting to see a player such as Robinson operating in an area of the pitch you would not have previously associated with him.
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There were one or two faces in the Orient squad that many seasoned football fans would have recognised.
Darren Pratley, formerly of Swansea among others, now plies his trade in London with the O’s, as does Moncur – previously of Luton and Barnsley.
There was also a recognisable figure on the touchline – Paul Terry. The brother of John was previously loans manager with Albion but left the club earlier this year to rejoin Richie Wellens after he had landed the Orient job. Terry could be seen catching up with former colleague and Albion coach James Morrison before kick-off.
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Touch of class
At the end of the first half, with his 45 minutes up, Dara O’Shea – after receiving some advice from Bruce, who had rushed onto the pitch to discuss something with him – made for the touchline.
Now, we were technically behind closed doors but there were one or two spectators in the stand alongside us at Estadio Municipal de Lagos, including a young man donning last season’s Albion top.
By the time he left the ground at the end of the evening, he had bagged this season’s shirt, too – courtesy of O’Shea, who offered the youngster his brand new 2022-23 jersey.