Bournemouth v West Brom: Mason Holgate shockingly poor as FA Cup footage emerges
Mason Holgate had a performance to forget as West Brom were defeated 5-1 by Bournemouth in their FA Cup clash on Saturday.
Despite Caleb Taylor opening the scoring with a fine header on 11 January, the Cherries ran riot at the Vitality Stadium, knocking Chris Brunt’s side out of the tournament in devastating fashion.
Justin Kluivert netted the equaliser before Dango Ouattara bagged a first-half brace, with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison sealing a convincing win on the coast.
While the entire Baggies team failed to impress against Premier League opposition, letting their fans down in the process, Holgate is one player who will be having nightmares after his performance.
Having also picked up a yellow card for his troubles, the 28-year-old centre-back never looked close to protecting Joe Wildsmith in between the sticks, and his spot in the lineup could now be at stake.
Mason Holgate to face West Brom axe after dismal Bournemouth display
After missing the cross into the box for Kluivert’s equaliser, the Jamaican international was then turned by Ouattara, who proceeded to slot home past the Baggies ‘keeper.
This was a running theme in the FA Cup clash, having won just 50 per cent of his ground duels and zero per cent of his tackles, even making two fouls during the 90 minutes [FotMob].
Here, Holgate is already on the backfoot against the Cherries’ forward, allowing him to turn into the penalty area before striding past the defender and towards goal.
Before the defender has a chance to react, Ouattara has already slotted the ball under Wildsmith, leaving Albion one goal behind despite Taylor’s opening goal.
While Holgate managed to make one block, one clearance and two recoveries [FotMob], his defensive intervention was clearly not enough to save the Baggies from a thrashing, leaving his goalkeeper susceptible on multiple occasions.
With the defender now ranking in the bottom 40 percentile for tackles, as per FBref, it is no surprise to see him struggling against Premier League opposition, even despite being on loan from Everton.
The finger of blame can also be pointed at the loanee for the fifth and final goal, losing an aerial duel, of which he won zero per cent [FotMob], leaving an enormous gap for the attacker to run through.
Jebbison, obviously, obliged as he ran straight through the defence and slotted a fifth goal past Wildsmith, who was left without any protection for large parts of the FA Cup defeat.
If his performance against Bournemouth is anything to go by, he could be facing a long spell on the bench for the coming weeks once Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley return to full fitness.
In other West Brom news, Jed Wallace may seek a January exit as Blackburn Rovers news has now emerged.
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