Molumby shines, 4/10 teammate rubbish – West Brom player ratings v Watford
West Brom fell to a 2-1 defeat against Watford on Sunday afternoon with the Hornets leapfrogging them in the Championship table.
The Baggies failed to use the momentum gained from their previous 2-0 win against Coventry with what was a fairly lacklustre performance against Tom Cleverley’s Watford.
West Brom lacked control in the game and Carlos Corberan’s decision to drop Alex Mowatt proved detrimental as The Hornets secured all three points on 15 December in a game that lacked creativity from the visitors.
West Brom News rates the performance of each player out of 10.
Alex Palmer – 5
Palmer could do next to nothing about either of the goals conceded with those in front of him largely at fault. Made several important stops that would be expected of him.
Darnell Furlong – 6
Looked to get forward for the Baggies but lacked the quality in the final third to make anything of the advanced position he found himself in. Was solid enough defensively but could have done more to prevent the crosses into the box from that flank. Had an excellent chance to equalise in the dying minutes but fired a header straight at Daniel Bachmann.
Mason Holgate – 5
Was a standard performance at large from Holgate. Played a crucial role in playing the ball out from the back but will perhaps be disappointed to have lost out in several of his defensive duels.
Kyle Bartley – 6 (Off for Frabotta 65′)
Seemed to be carrying an injury for a large part of the game but made an outstanding block at the hour mark to deny Watford a third and was the strongest part of the Baggies defence until his withdrawal having won all of his duels defensively.
Torbjorn Heggem – 5
Heggem was suspect in Watford’s opening goal, allowing Vakoun Bayo far too much space to convert a header in the box. Arguably looked the most vulnerable in the backline but a slight tweak in formation saw an improvement in the second half.
Callum Styles – 6 (Off for Johnston 45′)
Was perhaps harshly hooked at halftime for Mikey Johnston after what was a solid first-half performance. Constantly looked to get forward and into the right positions but to no prevail.
Jayson Molumby stands out for West Brom v Watford
Uros Racic – 6 (Off for Mowatt 65′)
Won the majority of his duels in midfield while keeping things ticking over for the Baggies but failed to influence things in an attacking sense.
Jayson Molumby – 8 (Off for Wallace 78′)
An experienced display in midfield which saw him score the Baggies’ only goal of the game, reacting first to a deflected effort from Mikey Johnston. His passing was on point throughout the encounter and his general performance was impressive in what was a poor team display.
Karlan Grant – 5
Missed an excellent chance to equalise for the Baggies at the end of the first half but he reacted far too slowly to a loose ball before the chance diminished. Outside of that, he looked dangerous in spells without having much of an influence in a creative sense.
Tom Fellows – 7
If West Brom were to do anything, it looked like it would come through Fellows. Put several decent balls into the box which no one was able to get on the end of and constantly looked to make something happen against the Watford defence.
Josh Maja – 4 (Off for John Swift 65′)
Was starved of service throughout the clash but never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. His halftime hooking against Coventry was warranted as was his 65th-minute withdrawal against Watford. West Brom need to see more from him if they are to end this run of form.
Substitutes
Mikey Johnston (On for Styles 45′)
Changed the game for West Brom with his willingness to drive at defenders with the ball. His deflected effort started the move for Molumby’s goal and he caused a threat after coming on.
Alex Mowatt – 5 (On for Racic 65′)
Added a touch of creativity to the midfield but didn’t do as much as he is capable of.
John Swift – 6 (On for Maja 65′)
Played a key role in the second half when the Baggies were chasing the game but couldn’t quite make enough of a difference. His forward thinking led to some dangerous passages of play but the majority fizzled out to nothing.
Gianluca Frabotta – 6 (On for Bartley 65′)
Had very little influence for West Brom with the Baggies playing most of the game in the Watford half after his arrival.
Jed Wallace – N/A (On for Jayson Molumby 78′)
Came on with 12 minutes to go.
In other West Brom news, Tony Mowbray could return to full-time management.
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