Adam Reach absolutely has to start West Brom v Sunderland after what he did on Wednesday
Adam Reach put in arguably his finest performance of the season as West Brom earned a comfortable 2-0 victory against Rotherham on Wednesday (10 April).
The Baggies claimed an important three points at The Hawthorns against the side rooted to the bottom of the Championship table and already relegated to League One.
Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before John Swift converted from the spot on the stroke of half-time, albeit in incredibly controversial fashion.
It leaves Carlos Corberan’s side nine points clear of seventh-placed Coventry City, who have played a game less.
West Brom supporters will now feel as if they have one foot in the play-offs with just four league games left to play, and three points against Sunderland at The Hawthorns on Saturday (13 April) would all but confirm their place.
Corberan made a host of changes against Rotherham, with the most surprising inclusion being Reach, who started at left-back.
In the end, it proved to be a stroke of genius, with the 31-year-old leaving Corberan with a decision to make ahead of the clash with Sunderland.
Carlos Corberan must start Adam Reach when West Brom host Sunderland on Saturday
Reach has not been a regular for the Baggies this season.
Having missed the first four months of the campaign with a thigh injury, the Englishman made his first Championship appearance of the season in a 1-0 win against Leeds United (29 December 2023).
He has since made just five Championship starts, and having featured as a left-back twice previously, Reach was played in that position once again on Wednesday.
His previous two outings as a full-back didn’t exactly go smoothly, as he gave away a penalty in the 2-2 draw with QPR (6 March) while he lost both of his ground duels and won just one of his four aerial duels (Sofascore) in the 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town a few days later (10 March).
Reach’s start against Rotherham was his first since that win over the Terriers, with his performance a significant improvement.
He played one key pass which led to a big chance being created, a chance which was converted by Thomas-Asante, handing Reach his first goal contribution of the Championship season.
He also completed 84 per cent of his passes and 100 per cent of his dribble attempts, but it was his display going the other way which would have most pleased Corberan.
Reach’s defensive contributions helped his side earn their first clean sheet in four matches, as he won 100 per cent of his aerial duels, seven of his eight ground duels, and made four tackles, three clearances and two interceptions.
It was a display which saw Reach voted Man of the Match by West Brom supporters via the club’s official X account (10 April).
Following that performance, Corberan has been left with a tough decision to make ahead of the weekend.
In other West Brom news, Shilen Patel has joked about banning himself from The Hawthorns.
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