Jayson Molumby disappoints in 5/10 display, Cedric Kipre stars with 8/10 – West Brom player ratings v Rotherham United
West Brom returned to winning ways in the Championship with a 2-0 victory at Rotherham United on Tuesday (12 December).
Following back-to-back 2-1 losses, second-half goals from Grady Diangana and Jed Wallace proved the difference for Albion in Yorkshire.
The win solidifies the Baggies’ grip on fifth place ahead of games with Stoke City and Middlesbrough pre-Christmas.
Here, West Brom News rates each Albion player out of 10 for their performances at the New York Stadium, using stats from WhoScored.
Alex Palmer – 6
One of the Albion number one’s quietest games of the campaign, with just one save to make. A first clean sheet in three which Carlos Corberan will no doubt love.
Darnell Furlong – 8 (Off for Semi Ajayi 91′)
Got caught out by Cohen Bramall early on and was rightly cautioned for dragging down his opponent, leaving him walking a tightrope. Recovered well, though, leading the way for both interceptions (three) and and clearances (six).
Kyle Bartley – 7
Bartley also had a very solid evening at centre-back as Albion kept the opposition attackers quiet. Jordan Hugill was surprisingly quiet for Rotherham, but a lot of that was down to the work of Bartley.
Cedric Kipre – 9
Registered a joint-high three tackles with the type of performance we have become accustomed to from Kipre this season. Also led the way for aerial duels won (four) in a solid display that justified the clean sheet.
Conor Townsend – 6
Again, it was a good day’s work from a defensive point of view, but perhaps could have got involved in attacking moves a little more. Attempted just 29 passes all game, which was 15 fewer than Furlong on the other flank.
Okay Yokuslu – 8 (off for Nathaniel Chalobah 91′)
Returned to the side after serving a suspension last time out and put in a great shift in the middle. No player could better his 96-per-cent pass-accuracy rate, while he also got involved high up the pitch with a shot of his own – albeit one that was blocked.
Alex Mowatt – 7
He annoyed Brandon Thomas-Asante by not playing a pass, but he can otherwise be happy with his work, which included winning the free-kick from which Wallace scored.
Grady Diangana – 8 (off for Tom Fellows 66′)
Showed some unbelievable skills at various points in the game and gave Albion the all-important breakthrough with a shot that took a heavy deflection on its way into the back of the net. An absolute pain to defend against when on it, as he was tonight.
Jayson Molumby – 5 (off for Jed Wallace 66′)
Many predicted Molumby would drop out of the side to make way for the returning Yokuslu, but Corberan instead fielded him as the most advanced of the central midfielders. Had some promising moments, but did not register a shot on target or a key pass and was hauled off after just over an hour.
Jeremy Sarmiento – 6 (off for Pipa 79′)
He has stepped up in recent weeks, but he did not offer a great deal in an attacking sense today. Unable to get any shots away and Corberan rightly replaced him in the second half.
Brandon Thomas-Asante – 5
Made some very good runs but was visibly frustrated with the service at times. He may have had a point, but the likes of Wallace and Diangana took matters into their own hands, whereas Thomas-Asante made minimal impact in the final third.
Substitutes
Tom Fellows (on for Grady Diangana 66′) – 5
A couple of poor touches let him down at times and did not really offer enough in his cameo outing to justify a first start of the season against Stoke City next weekend.
Jed Wallace (on for Jayson Molumby 66′) – 9
As far as making an impact from the bench goes, this is the perfect way to do so. Was only on the field for a little over 20 minutes, yet he had a couple of promising moments and scored a sublime free-kick. Welcome back, skipper.
Pipa (on for Jeremy Sarmiento 79′) – N/A
Nathaniel Chalobah (on for Okay Yokuslu ’91) – N/A
Semi Ajayi (on for Darnell Furlong ’91) – N/A
In other West Brom news, Adrian Goldberg has suggested £6million could be enough to prise an Albion player away from The Hawthorns in January.