West Brom player ratings v Preston: Alex Palmer poor, Karlan Grant superb
West Brom added a 10th draw to their Championship record against Preston North End on Saturday as the game at Deepdale ended 1-1.
The Baggies were the dominant side throughout most of the clash and, thanks to a delightful dink from Karlan Grant in the 13th minute, Carlos Corberan’s men found themselves in the lead.
The second half was much of the same aside from the opening 10 minutes or so when Preston got the better of the Baggies and netted themselves an equaliser.
Unfortunately for Corberan’s men, Preston’s attacking efforts were too much for them to handle with both teams sharing the points at Deepdale.
Here, West Brom News rates the performance of each player out of 10.
Alex Palmer – 4
It started as a fairly steady game for the keeper but as time went on, more cracks started to show in his performance. Almost found himself red-faced after sending a pass to Alex Mowatt that was slightly short and was one of the worst players for West Brom on the day.
Darnell Furlong – 6
Found himself continuously involved throughout the clash in both defence and attack with most of his progressive passes helping to open up Paul Heckingbottom’s team.
Kyle Bartley – 5
Much like Furlong, he played a couple of near-perfect forward passes to Tom Fellows throughout the clash and was also surprisingly effective in attack. Failed to close down Emil Riis quickly enough which led to Heckingbottom’s men getting an equaliser.
Mason Holgate – 7
Started the move which led to Karlan Grant’s opening goal and was defensively solid throughout despite conceding. The Everton loanee did make a goal-line clearance in the 34th minute after the Baggies found themselves on the back foot for a moment in the first 45 minutes.
Torbjorn Heggem – 6 (Off for Callum Styles 67′)
Shifted back to his usual left-back role after having a stint in centre-back due to the injury crisis Carlos Corberan’s men have been through recently and seamlessly slotted back into position. Failed to offer much in attack but helped solidify the Baggies’ defence.
Uros Racic – 6 (Off for John Swift 84′)
Helped hold down the fort in the centre of the park and rarely put a foot wrong, decent defensively and made some good forward passes throughout the game. Had a good opportunity with a free kick in the 66th minute but skied it over the bar.
Alex Mowatt – 6 (Off for Jayson Molumby 67′)
Calm and composed throughout the game, he held his own when given a questionable pass by Palmer and managed to wriggle his way out of a pickle. Seemed to push forward a bit more in the second-half which allowed Preston to find a gap to create their goal out of.
Tom Fellows – 8 (Off for Mikey Johnston 74′)
Played a perfect ball to send Grant through on goal which split Preston’s defence in two. Found himself on the end of a fair few passes and helped progress play well throughout. Even showed his hand defensively to try and help keep the Lilywhites at bay.
Karlan Grant was the catalyst for West Brom at Deepdale
Lewis Dobbin – 6
Had a strong start to the game and always looked ready to take an opposition player on, he wasn’t the strongest of all the attackers on the day, but he certainly showed moments of class.
Karlan Grant – 8
Carried on his form from the Stadium of Light and was probably the most effective of the two strikers that started. He scored the Baggies’ opener with a delicate little dink over the head of David Cornell but did get himself a needless yellow card after kicking the ball away in frustration after a counter-attack broke down.
Josh Maja – 8 (Off for Jed Wallace 84′)
His touch from Holgate’s initial pass was weighted perfectly and was key in ensuring the Baggies got the opening goal of the game. Consistently found himself involved in West Brom’s attacks but was outshone by his striking partner on the day.
Substitutions
Callum Styles – 6 (On for Torbjorn Heggem 67′)
Helped offer a new outlet for West Brom to attack from with the width of his play, created a couple of chances and didn’t stop running.
Jayson Molumby – 6 (On for Alex Mowatt 67′)
Instantly added some much-needed energy into the centre of the park for West Brom and helped turn the tables in the Baggies’ favour when he came on.
Mikey Johnston – N/A (On for Tom Fellows 74′)
Jed Wallace – N/A (On for Josh Maja 84′)
John Swift – N/A (On for Uros Racic 84′)
In other West Brom news, Alex Crook revealed the key reason behind Leicester City choosing to end their pursuit of Carlos Corberan.
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