Darnell Furlong dominates in 8/10 masterclass – West Brom player ratings v Swansea City
West Brom continued their Championship unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory against Swansea City at The Hawthorns on Saturday (31 August).
The Baggies made a brilliant start to the first half and their dominance continued for much of the opening 45 minutes before Jayson Molumby struck the first goal in stoppage time.
Swansea were much-improved in the second half and threatened to open the Baggies up on several occasions, but Alex Palmer and his defenders stood firm to help Albion hold on to the win.
West Brom News rates the performance of each player out of 10.
Alex Palmer – 7
Punched any and every cross into his box well away from danger, but had little to do in the early stages and commanded his box well when he did. Rushed off his line to smash a clearance and diffused another chance early in the second period, either side of making a confident save after Swansea opened up the Albion defence.
Darnell Furlong and Tom Fellows outstanding in West Brom victory
Darnell Furlong – 8
Got forward at will in the early stages and the link-up with Fellows almost produced a goal in the opening two minutes. Drilled in dangerous crosses aplenty with he and Fellows having total control of the right-hand side. Went on the attack early in the second period too, dragging a 20-yard drive just wide of the far post, and wasn’t shy in defence either, forcing a corner after Swansea poured numbers down the left on the counter-attack.
Kyle Bartley – 6
Lack of communication with Bartley almost allowed Eom Ji-Sung to burst into the box before Palmer cleaned up, before a loose back-pass forced Palmer into a rushed clearance. Improved in the second half and slid in to prevent a close-range Swansea shot from finding its target. Almost added a second at the other end with a glancing header from a corner, but flashed it wide.
Semi Ajayi – 5
A loose 20th-minute touch saw the ball pinched from under his feet by Eom Ji-Sung, and Ajayi was booked for the immediate challenge. Excellent defending to shield the ball from a goal-bound Swansea forward early in the second half, allowing Palmer to collect, and remained a threat from set-pieces throughout.
Torbjorn Heggem (off for Gianluca Frabotta, 82′) – 5
Beaten by Swansea winger Ronald out wide and was booked for the reckless challenge which followed, but did show composure to beat the Brazilian to a loose ball on the turn and pass his way out of trouble.
Jayson Molumby (Off for Uros Racic, 66′) – 7
Stole possession high up the field from a goal-kick and saw his low shot towards the bottom corner saved, but just a few minutes later slid in wildly and was yellow-carded for a which injured Matt Grimes. Glorious one-two in the box with Maja looked like coming to nothing, but Molumby slid in to make it 1-0 right on half-time. Continued well in the second half until picking up an injury in the act of ducking out of another yellow card-worthy challenge, and had to be taken off.
Alex Mowatt – 6
Dropped deepest of all Albion’s midfielders and looked to hit Fellows and Grant with diagonal balls whenever possible, and kept things ticking over in the middle of the park, sparking a late counter-attack which almost opened Swansea up.
Tom Fellows (off for Jed Wallace, 74′) – 7
Could have opened the scoring inside two minutes after being released down the right by Furlong. Gave Josh Tymon a torrid time in the first half and saw a close-range effort blocked in the aftermath of a corner, as well as a cutback which skewed across the face of goal in the first half alone. He and Furlong continued their combination in the second period, but Fellows missed a guilt-edge chance to make it 2-0 by firing over the bar after being put clean through on goal and was taken off afterwards.
John Swift – 7
Pulled the strings early on in midfield and tried a few attempts at goal – one was lashed into a crowd of bodies and the other sent high and wide with a scissor-kick volley. A second-half header from a Fellows cross was looped wide of the target, as Swift remained dangerous in the final third.
Karlan Grant (off for Callum Styles, 82′) – 7
Made the left wing spot his own once again and could have had two assists in the first 10 minutes; finding Maja with two cut-back crosses which saw headers saved from the striker. Maja then turned provider as a blocked shot from the striker fell to Grant, but he couldn’t finish, and the ex-Huddersfield man remained dangerous in the second period before being taken off.
Josh Maja (off for Lewis Dobbin, 74′) – 7
Linked up brilliantly with Grant twice in the opening stages, but saw successive close-range headers somehow clawed out of the goalmouth by Lawrence Vigouroux. Could have gone for goal himself late in the first period but an excellent lay-off allowed Molumby to slide in the opener, and he continued to lead the line well in the second half before being withdrawn.
Substitutions:
Uros Racic (on for Jayson Molumby, 66′) – 7 – The Baggies debutant had the chance to make a dream start to his Hawthorns career after being teed up by Grant, but just missed from close range, and then saw another late effort palmed away from the bottom corner.
Lewis Dobbin (on for Josh Maja, 74′) – 6 – Switching between the left wing and central positions, the Aston Villa loanee was involved whenever Albion threatened to break forward on the counter.
Jed Wallace (on for Tom Fellows, 74′) – N/A
Callum Styles (on for Karlan Grant, 82′) – N/A
Gianluca Frabotta (on for Torbjorn Heggem, 82′) – N/A
In other West Brom news, the Baggies missed out on signing an in-demand Premier League striker to one of their local Championship rivals.
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