Carlos Corberan delivers verdict on West Brom game management after 1-1 draw v Blackburn Rovers
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan criticised his side’s bad game management after a costly error from goalkeeper Josh Griffiths allowed Ben Brereton Diaz to rob them of three points in the dying moments of a 1-1 draw at Hawthorns.
The Baggies missed the chance to move into the playoff places in the Championship table after Brereton Diaz smashed in a late free-kick to end his personal goal drought and rescue a point for Blackburn Rovers.
Jayson Molumby who scored the game’s first goal and grabbed a deserved lead gave away the decisive free-kick which allowed their promotion rivals a route back into the game.
And Corberan did not hold back in his assessment of his side’s performance and game management as they gave away two precious points at the death.
Speaking via Birmingham Live [15 February], he said: “It’s clear that we lost two points and only won one. We were very close – after we scored the first goal we were closer to the second than they were to their first.
“Only one action of bad game management would cost us a goal – it was exactly this.
“It’s truly frustrating, we had to manage this action a different way. I think the game management until the last minute was excellent. Excellent, because every moment the team was deep, the team kept insisting to go. We were looking for the second goal, and this is what I want to see from my team. We did it like this.”
Real shame
The late goal conceded by the Baggies against Blackburn Rovers is a real blow to their playoff hopes, as a win would have seen them sit in the top six ahead of their crucial crunch test with Watford on Monday.
Now, Corberan and his men will have to wait to see what those around him do before they can right their wrongs against Watford and Vicarage Road.
Josh Griffiths who came in the team in the place of David Button will have been extremely disappointed at his attempts to keep out Diaz’ free-kick as it cost his team two crucial points.
The late goal was so out of character by the Baggies as it was the first home goal Albion had conceded in more than 13 hours of football since Carlos Corberan’s first game in charge at The Hawthorns in October.
Are there cracks starting to appear in the West Brom rejuvenation following Corberan’s contract extension last week? We’ll see when they visit rivals Watford on Monday.
In other West Brom news, a defender may never feature for the club again after what happened recently and may even leave for free.