Joe Ellis

Wed 6 April 2022 21:51, UK

West Brom got back to winning ways against promotion-chasing Bournemouth after a red-hot start blew the Cherries away at a wet and windy Hawthorns.

Alex Mowatt got the Baggies off to the perfect start with a sublime left-footed finish after eight minutes before Andy Carroll doubled the lead moments later with his own emphatic strike.

Scott Parker’s side tried to get back into the contest in the second half but Steve Bruce’s men held firm to deny the Premier League hopefuls from extending their cushion in the top two.

Sam Johnstone – 7

His shot-stopping was as good as it always is but it was the distribution that impressed the home crowd. No longer was there hoofs to nowhere and Johnstone was able to pick his passes, both short and long, and find his man more often than not.

Semi Ajayi – 6

Slightly above average is probably the best way to sum up Ajayi’s night. He wasn’t overly troubled from the Cherries’ left-hand side so he didn’t have too many occasions where he had to do something extraordinary and what he did have to do, he did with ease.

Kyle Bartley – 8

When he’s in the middle of a back three, Bartley is one of the Championship’s best defenders. He was again immense at the back in clearing all kinds of crosses, both low and high, and his communication was superb too.

Matt Clarke – 5

Things weren’t entirely smooth in defence for the Baggies and a lot of the issues came from Clarke’s side of the back three. He seemed to struggle with the pace of the game at times and he was fortunate to have Ajayi and Bartley on hand to cover any crosses that found their way into the area from his side.

Darnell Furlong – 7

Despite him taking an age to take every single attacking throw-in with the pink towel, Furlong was actually very steady tonight. He got forward well and the Bournemouth left-hand side struggled to know what to do and his crosses were largely on target too.

Connor Townsend – 6

A touch less came down Albion’s left flank which is why Townsend doesn’t rate as highly as Furlong does. He wasn’t overly challenged but the equally didn’t do much to warrant anything higher than a six overall.

Jake Livermore – 6

While Mowatt and Gardner-Hickman were given license to bomb forward when the opportunity arose, Livermore was regimented in his role as the blockade to the back three and he did so with no real issues. Any Bournemouth attacks tended to come out wide which suggests he did his job.

Alex Mowatt – 8

He got the ball rolling after just eight minutes and his confidence grew from there on in. For the first time in a long time, it looked like Mowatt was enjoying being a professional footballer and that shone through in his display, it was excellent.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman – 7

As always it was a game full of energy and tenacity from one of The Hawthorns’ favourite players. Gardner-Hickman was everywhere tonight and never gave the Cherries a second in a really good display of off-the-ball intelligence.

Grady Diangana – 5

Compared to his strike partner for the evening, Diangana didn’t enjoy his best day in a West Brom shirt. For all the running into channels he did, there was little end product to his game and he will be disappointed to not get on the scoresheet when the chance was there to do so.

Andy Carroll – 9 (Man of the Match)

That is how you lead the line. For all the running that Karlan Grant and CallumRobinson do, you cannot find a replacement for a good old-fashioned target man and Carroll is the best of the bunch. He took his good very well and was a real handful for the Cherries defence all evening.

Substitutes:

Jayson Molumby (on for Furlong 68′) – 6

Callum Robinson (on for Diangana 74′) – 4

Dara O’Shea (on for Mowatt 85′) – N/A

In other West Brom news, could this loanee be of use to Bruce next season after he scored for another Championship side in midweek?

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