View: Three things learned about West Brom in 2-2 v Nottm Forest
West Brom saw their three-match winning streak come to an end at The Hawthorns on Saturday with a 2-2 draw against promotion rivals Nottingham Forest.
Although Matty Cash’s late equaliser meant that Albion dropped two points, it was still an encouraging performance that proves Slaven Bilic’s men have found their rhythm once again after a worrying spell in December and January.
Callum Robinson’s first goal for West Brom got his new club off to a flyer in the first half before a Kyle Bartley own-goal levelled the scores.
Tobias Figueiredo’s own-goal then put the Baggies back ahead after Jake Livermore’s low cross was turned into his own net by the Forest centre-back.
West Brom appeared to be on their way to a massive three points but an impressive late goal by Cash ruined the chances of that happening.
Here, West Brom News has rounded up three things learned about the four-goal draw:
Consistency the key to team selection
Bilic named an unchanged starting line-up for a third match in a row on Saturday and there were not really any signs that West Brom’s players were struggling. Sabri Lamouchi, on the other hand, made plenty of changes for Forest’s midweek match against Charlton – which they lost – and you would not have said their returning players looked any fresher than Albion’s. Bilic changed his starting line-up to keep things fresh around midweek matches earlier this season but that halted West Brom’s momentum. Even though the match ended in a draw on Saturday, it was clear the momentum of three wins was key to a strong display.
EFL officials take centre stage – again
Keith Stroud had a nightmare at The Hawthorns. Even the most hardened of Albion fan must admit that Livermore was lucky to have not been sent off and there did appear to be a foul on Sammy Ameobi in the build-up to Figueiredo’s own goal. West Brom then had a goal chalked off for offside in stoppage time – even though it really didn’t seem as though Bartley was having any impact on play despite being in on offside position. It’s not the first time that Stroud has been singled out as one of the worst referees in this league. But still, at least we don’t have VAR in the Championship.
Bilic will have headache with Diangana
What does Bilic do when Grady Diangana returns from his injury? The 21-year-old attacker was one of West Brom’s best players this season before a couple of injuries left him sidelined for most of the last couple of months. Robinson has been superb since joining Albion on loan from Sheffield United in January and the new 4-3-3 system with him and Matheus Pereira on either side of Hal Robson-Kanu is working wonders. Diangana could actually struggle to get into this side now – especially with Bilic starting to favour a consistent starting line-up.
In other West Brom news, fans have been raving about this midfielder’s display against Forest.