That was a slight let down; we were nowhere near our recent performances, which is a shame as this was a vital game and if we won we would have secured a spot in the playoffs. It’s a good job we got those three points against Southampton as I would have been a little more frustrated than I am. Nevertheless, we took something from the game, and it is great that we are actually putting up a fight against teams above and around us. A point still separates fifth and sixth, with other teams now able to close the gap too. It’s certainly going to be some battle at the end of the season, with only two seats vacant in the top six.
Rosenior did not make any changes to the starting line-up that won in midweek, save for Tyler Morton replacing Regan Slater. That meant we lined up as follows, in a 4-4-2 formation: Ryan Allsop, in goal; Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, Jacob Greaves and Ryan Giles as the back four; Tyler Morton and Jean Seri in the middle of the park; Jaden Philogene and Anass Zaroury down the flanks and Fabio Carvalho and Omur leading the pack.
From the off, we were in complete control: pinging it around neatly; moving it forward; having a high press and looking more determined. It was quite similar to the way we played against Southampton; however, we did not capitalise on the mistakes they were making. For example, their keeper had the ball at the back and whenever one of our players ran towards him, he just booted it out of play or made the wrong pass. We seemed short in energy and did not react quick enough.
It was the visitors who had the first slice of the pie in the 20th minute; a quick and effective break allowed them to get the ball to Tom Fellows on the right, who drove into the box before pulling it back to Jed Wallace who dug his foot under the ball and struck it onto the crossbar, which came out to Alex Mowatt who walloped it on target, forcing a save from Allsop, who had to react quickly.
Then, not long after, we responded well and Anass Zaroury had our first decent chance; Seri drove with the ball down the middle and released it to Carvalho who passed it to Zaroury on the edge of the box and he was able to beat his man and smash the ball goal bound, however, it was parried away by Palmer, their keeper.
Not to worry, though, as in the 35th minute we took the lead; a short corner allowed Zaroury to quickly play it to Giles for him to release it to Carvalho, who, from the same position as Zaroury a few minutes earlier, made the necessary adjustments from the latter’s effort and fired it into the top-left corner of the net. This has to be one of the best goals we have scored at home. It is also good to see Carvalho come out of his shell and get two goals in two games.
Alas, after all our hard work and a great goal, The Baggies equalised moments later; in the 43rd minute, a corner was swung in by Wallace and met by a header from Furlong, who headed it down towards goal, which trickled into the back of the net. I think defending set pieces is an area for concern as we have conceded a few from them this season—our last opponents at home (Swansea) won the game from one.
I do not understand why we suddenly switch off and we should have pushed for another goal, just like we did against The Saints. I mean, West Brom looked quite lacklustre, and we could have easily been ahead going into half-time. Nonetheless, we were not losing, and it was all to play for in the next 45 minutes.
The second period did not live up to its expectations, so I will not dwell on the details for too long. The half did mirror that of the first, except the goals, which saw us dominate in possession and play some neat football. However, annoyingly, it took until the 79th minute for either team to have a real chance at goal; it was us. Philogene had the ball on the edge of the box, held it for a bit, before passing the ball to Giles on the left, who quickly gave it back to the former, who had more space and shot outside the post which smashed the post before coming back out to an unmarked Carvalho, who put it over the bar. Gallingly, Tufan was free in the box and if he used him, we could have regained our lead.
Then, on the 82nd minute mark, West Brom should have taken the lead; Reach had a shot from the edge of the box, which beat Allsop and was bound to hit the back of the net, however, it struck the post and came out to Johnston, who followed up, but Allsop’s right boot directed it off target and we were able to clear it. A tense, but entertaining end to a tedious half.
At the end of the day, we earned a point, which the visitors would have been happier with than us. The good news is that Coventry dropped points to Preston on Friday night, so that is one less team on our tails and, just as I am writing, Blackburn equalised against Norwich to prevent them from getting any closer. We have a three point gap and only need the team above us to slip up somewhere. The bad news: we have Preston away next week, which I am going to, and then our next five games are against Birmingham, home; Leicester, home; Coventry, away; Stoke, home, and Leeds away. Two of those teams are first and second and another two are chasing us for the sixth spot.
We have a difficult run coming up, but if we can keep playing the way we are, we’ll only get better and have more confidence. Let’s hope nothing goes wrong.
You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.