West Brom reporters stunned by ‘bizarre’ incident v Stoke City
West Brom reporters Steve Madeley and Joseph Masi couldn’t believe what they saw with one key incident in the first half against Stoke City.
The anticipation built up by the creditable victory over Bournemouth during the week (6 April) was quickly dampened at the Hawthorns, when an early Potters free-kick lead to the opener in the form of a Jake Livermore own goal.
The Baggies captain could only poke the ball into his own net in the 16th-minute, through the legs of his keeper Sam Johnstone, after across from Lewis Baker.
The Athletic’s Steve Madeley wrote on his personal Twitter account of the incident: “Bizarre, poor goal for Albion to concede as Smith threads a free-kick to Baker, whose cross from the right is turned into his own net by Livermore. Not a lot of communication between him and Johnstone.”
Masi from Express and Star wrote on his own Twitter account: “It’s a shocker. Stoke take a free-kick that gets Baker away. He sends in a low cross which Livermore stabs through the legs of Johnstone and in…”
Typical swing
True to form, Steve Bruce’s men went from a dismal display in the Birmingham defeat, to a highly encouraging win over 2nd-placed Bournemouth, then dropped their levels again today.
The unpredictability of this team is one of the most frustrating aspects of a side that clearly has ability.
Bruce will be particularly frustrated, as every time his team provides a platform to build from they fall off it.
The playoffs appear to be out of reach barring a pretty spotless record for the remaining fixtures and a drop off from teams above.
The first-half showing against Stoke doesn’t provide a massive amount of hope in that regard.
Just as the four-game unbeaten run that preceded the derby loss had brought some hope and was instantly wasted, the first half here shows this side needs to be able to raise their game against lower-ranked sides.
In other West Brom news, Bruce recently announced some crucial summer plans to deal with an unusual schedule.
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