Chris Lepkowski slams West Brom goalkeeper David Button for ‘terrible’ moment v Birmingham City
Chris Lepkowski has slammed the “terrible” positioning of West Brom goalkeeper David Button for Birmingham City’s first goal in the Championship clash on Friday night (10 February).
The Baggies got off to a slow start in the local derby, and matters took a turn for the worse when Manchester United loanee Hannibal struck home an audacious freekick beyond the Baggies’ keeper.
Whipping a devilish low strike into the bottom corner of Button’s goal, the travelling Baggies fans were caught unaware as the Blues player pulled off the piece of individual magic right in front of their eyes.
With the freekick taking place from well wide of Button’s posts, Lepkowski has suggested via Twitter that the goalkeeper’s positioning was to blame for the goal.
He wrote: “Button positioning was terrible too.”
Nightmare start
If West Brom fans had hoped the side would have reacted quickly to the news that Carlos Corberan had signed a new deal at the Hawthorns until 2027, they were mistaken.
The Baggies were slow out of the traps and looked more than a yard off it in the opening stages, as Birmingham dictated the early stages of the game. The goal, therefore, came as no surprise, but the manner of it will raise a few questions in the changing room after the match.
Button was quite clearly positioned incorrectly, leaving a large portion of his goal open to a quick shot which Hannibal duly obliged to find. It is moments like this that do highlight the importance of Alex Palmer in this West Brom side.
Would the Baggies’ regular No.1 have let this goal sail into the net unopposed? The answer will probably be grim reading for Button, but he can’t hide away from this individual error. It happens in football, and the keeper must put that to the back of his mind and look to get back on track.
In other West Brom news, the manager has been warned that he could be judged very harshly if his decision turns out badly.