Tony Brown wowed by West Brom ace Alex Palmer who ‘did really well’ v Sunderland
West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer did “really well” to keep out a superb strike from Sunderland’s Jack Clarke on Sunday (23 April), according to BBC Sport pundit Tony Brown.
The Albion number one produced a fantastic one-handed save to push away Clarke’s long-range strike in the 39th minute at The Hawthorns.
The save kept proceedings goalless before West Brom attacker John Swift made it 1-0 to the Albion just before the half-time whistle.
Unfortunately for Palmer, he couldn’t do much about Sunderland’s two second-half goals as the Baggies lost 2-1.
“That was well on target but Alex Palmer did really well there, getting across and palming the ball away,” Brown said on BBC Radio WM, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“It was Karlan Grant-esque from Jack Clarke, cutting in from the left and forcing a good save.”
Important stop
It wasn’t just an impressive stop from Palmer, but a very important one, with the goalkeeper keeping his side in the game before they made it 1-0 shortly after
The 26-year-old shot-stopper needed to be at his very best to keep out Clarke’s curling effort, with the goalkeeper springing to his left with a strong wrist before pushing the ball to safety.
His defence were very grateful for the smart save, with the same to be said for his attackers as they combined to give the Albion a first half lead not long after.
Palmer had been quiet in the early stages of the match at The Hawthorns and so needed to have kept his concentration high at all times as the first half went on, and he showed that with the flying save.
Having missed a large chunk of the campaign, Palmer is now back between the sticks and looks set to be a key player for Carlos Corberan in the weeks to come as the Baggies chase a play-off place.
In other West Brom news, one pundit believes the Albion stand a “good chance” of reaching the Championship play-off spots at the end of the season despite the injury to Daryl Dike.