West Brom: Tony Brown hails ‘brilliant’ Alex Palmer after bailing out teammate v Sunderland
Tony Brown has hailed West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer, calling him “brilliant” in the Baggies’ 1-0 defeat against Sunderland on Saturday.
Carlos Corberan’s side were reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time as Brandon Thomas-Asante was dismissed for two bookable offences and Sunderland got their only goal of the game shortly after as Pierre Ekwah turned home following a corner.
However, Palmer did his utmost to keep his side in the game and bailed out team-mate Alex Mowatt after the midfielder’s poor backward header, rushing off his line to deal with the danger.
Brown, speaking to BBC Radio WM [04:37pm, 13 April], said: “Brilliant, Palmer.
“Brilliant play by Palmer, he’s read the situation, he’s read the danger there and he’s raced 20 yards out of his box to redeem the situation there.
“Poor header back [by Mowatt] – brilliant [from Palmer], well done.”
Alex Palmer helped keep West Brom in the game
Palmer has enjoyed a steady season between the sticks for West Brom in 2023/24.
He has prevented an impressive 2.28 goals on average across the season with his 98 saves [FotMob], helping the Baggies record the third-best goals conceded tally in the Championship with 42 in 43 games – only Leeds United (34) and Leicester City (38) can boast a lower total.
But he has also made important interventions that do not show up in those numbers, such as this one against Sunderland.
His proactivity in coming off his line to sweep up danger in behind when the Baggies employ a high defensive line has been crucial for Corberan.
The 27-year-old was unable to prevent his side from slipping to a disappointing home defeat against the Black Cats, but there is no doubt that he deserves some credit for helping West Brom get into the playoff places. They will need him both to stay in the top six and make a strong charge for promotion.
In other West Brom news, Brown has accused a Sunderland defender of “timewasting”.
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