Pranav Shahaney

Fri 6 October 2023 21:58, UK

West Brom succumbed to a 3-1 defeat against Birmingham City despite taking the lead at St Mary’s on Friday, 6 October.

The hosts scored three goals without response, including a controversial penalty that was conceded by Cedric Kipre.

Carlos Corberan’s side find themselves in seventh place after this result and a win would’ve seen them making the play-off spots.

Here are our ratings from the game:

Alex Palmer – 5

Made a brilliant save late on to stop it from being 4-1 but he really could not do any more with the penalty and free kick goals. Even the second one was more of bad defending than a goalkeeping howler and hopefully, conceding three does not demoralise the keeper.

Cedric Kipre – 4

Did look a tad shaky in the opening stages and the record books will say that he was the one who conceded the penalty. However, it’s hard to blame him for that as it was a shocking decision. Throughout the game, he appeared to be on the wrong side of referee James Linington’s books. However, he still made some schoolboy errors during the contest and it clearly wasn’t a good performance.

Kyle Bartley – 5

Looked tidy in possession and his pass accuracy was among the highest in the Baggies side. He even played a number of accurate long balls – a couple of which started counter attacks. One cannot fault him for any of the goals and it was a decent display from the centre-back.

Erik Pieters – 1

Had a mare in the first half and was rightly taken off at half-time. Fans would’ve been surprised how he started over Semi Ajayi in the first place. Him leaving also saw the Baggies change their shape and they looked a much better side without him in the team. He could’ve arguably done more to prevent the concession of the goal as well. Undoubtedly his worst performance of the season.

Darnell Furlong – 3

Had an incredible chance to equalise at 2-1 in the 59th minute and it looked harder to miss than score from that position. Despite not being renowned as a goal scorer, he’ll be fuming with that effort. He struggled to be creative in the final third either and perhaps could do with some time out of the eleven.

Okay Yokuslu – 6.5

Was undoubtedly one of the best players on the pitch and his class showed at times. It seemed like the Turkish midfielder was getting into the game and controlling the tempo before Corberan decided to bring him off for Nathaniel Chalobah.

Alex Mowatt – 7

Another quality performance from the 28-year-old who always looked to play with his head up and helped the Baggies threaten from central areas. He also took a few set pieces and his delivery more often than not, threatened the Birmingham defence. He also linked up really well with Swift on numerous occasions.

Matt Phillips – 7

Had a good game for West Brom and caused constant problems down the left flank. The Birmingham defenders often had a hard time dealing with his trickery. He completed two take ons, made some crucial passes in the final third and also put in a number of pin-point crosses into the box. It’s fair to say that he was on the Man of the Match.

Grady Diagana – 3

Despite being credited for an assist for the goal, it wasn’t a performance worth writing home about. He had a number of moments where he failed to look the part and his ball striking was underwhelming. Corberan certainly needs to demand more from him or axe him from the side.

Jed Wallace – 5

Had a decent game but did not get as involved in proceedings as he or the manager would’ve liked. He completed just nine passes during his time on the field of play. He even failed to register an effort on goal.

John Swift – 6.5

He’s been working on his finishing and it certainly paid off with a brilliant goal to give his side the lead. He’s been getting in the right positions for West Brom and the manager will undoubtedly be pleased with his efforts. His chemistry with Mowatt was commendable and that certainly will have impressed Corberan.

Subs

Conor Townsend – 5

Nathaniel Chalobah – 4

Brandon Thomas-Asante – 4

Tom Fellows – N/A

In other West Brom news, a football expert has been left stunned after behind-the-scenes news has emerged at Hawthorns over the past few months.