Tony Brown calls Alex Palmer lucky after what happened in West Brom defeat v Middlesbrough
Tony Brown labelled Alex Palmer “lucky” as West Brom survived a first-half scare from Middlesbrough before going on to lose 1-0 at The Hawthorns.
The Albion stopper has kept four clean sheets in the Championship this season but could not repeat the feat over Michael Carrick’s side, conceding his first home league goal of 2024-25 to Hayden Hackney on Tuesday (1 October).
The Boro threat could have come to fruition earlier, as Riley McGree passed up a golden opportunity after Palmer had kept out Finn Azaz’s attempt.
Speaking live on BBC WM [1 October], Albion great Brown said: “The shot was fired in well by Finn Azaz after good work from Ben Doak.
“But the follow up is a gift, he has to bury that, Alex Palmer is lucky there that he is still yet to concede at the Hawthorns this season.”
West Brom defence can still improve under Carlos Corberan
West Brom maintained a defensive record which helped steer the club into the play-offs last season and again have not allowed too much under the mat, despite this frustrating reverse.
The Baggies remain in considerable company in terms of relatively decent defences this season, and will want to return to the reliable level of last season having shown several solid displays already.
Carlos Corberan deserves credit – as do the team themselves – for adjusting after defensive talisman Cedric Kipre left on a free transfer and Conor Townsend was sold over the summer, as others have stepped up to the plate.
Luckily for Albion, Palmer, Darnell Furlong and Kyle Bartley have remained in the West Midlands and have been joined by Torbjorn Heggem, while Semi Ajayi has carved out a regular starting place.
There will be a teething period where contests like the Middlesbrough game happen, and perhaps clean sheets are not kept when they would have been last season, but it is a process from which Corberan and his team will be hoping to emerge even stronger in a bid for automatic promotion.
It’s a bad night. But in the bigger picture, so far certainly not a bad season.
In other West Brom news, a famous Albion pub may be preparing to host a stream of Bayern Munich fans.
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