West Brom pay classy tribute to Mark Townsend ahead of game v Middlesbrough
A classy gesture was paid to Mark Townsend before the West Brom versus Middlesbrough game following the lifelong fan's tragic passing.
X user @DAWS_ON posted an image on the site before kick-off for Tuesday's (1 October) Championship game showing a shirt with 'TOWNSEND 57' on the back laid across a seat at The Hawthorns.
Townsend, aged 57, sadly passed away following a medical emergency in the away end during Albion's match at Sheffield Wednesday on 28 September, with Carlos Corberan and Shilen Patel paying tribute.
The X user said: "In the ground early tonight and there's already a shirt on a seat in memory of Mark Townsend."
West Brom pay tribute ahead of emotional night at The Hawthorns
Townsend's tragic passing has brought the Albion family together, and the club's pre-match tribute to the 57-year-old is clear evidence of that.
A packed-out Hawthorns rose in unity to pay their own tributes to Townsend with pre-match applause as well as the planned minute ovation in the 57th minute, that time chosen for obvious reasons.
There will undoubtedly be an onus on Corberan and his players to bounce back from an awful week on and off the pitch for the club, having lost their first league match of the season at Sheffield Wednesday.
Responding with a win devoted and in tribute to Townsend would be the perfect response from the Baggies.
Every fan inside Albion's spiritual home is there for the football, but with Townsend in mind, fans, players and coaches will all know what the most important thing about the match is.
In other West Brom news, a pub near The Hawthorns is set to be inundated with fans after what Bayern Munich did.