Wildsmith has 3/10 shocker, 8/10 defender stars – West Brom ratings v Sunderland
West Brom saw their playoff hopes take another dent as they lost 1-0 at home to Sunderland at The Hawthorns.
Trai Hume profited from some poor Joe Wildsmith goalkeeping to give Sunderland the lead in the 35th minute of Saturday’s Championship clash.
Albion saw plenty of the ball in the second half as they went in search of a winner, but they struggled to truly test Anthony Patterson in the opposition goal on another day to forget for Tony Mowbray‘s men.
West Brom News rates the performance of each home player out of 10.
Wildsmith at fault in West Brom defeat
Joe Wildsmith – 3
Made an horrendous mistake for Sunderland’s goal and that ultimately proved the difference between the sides. Not only should Wildsmith have done better for the goal, he also looked shaky at other moments, albeit he did produce a good save late on.
Darnell Furlong – 7
Missed a big chance in the second half, but did at least prove a threat in the opposition half with a couple of dangerous passes as well. Had less defending to do in second half as Sunderland sat back.
Kyle Bartley – 8
Albion’s best player on the day. Was solid defensively, even if he will be angry at the manner of the goal conceded, and registered a team-high three key passes at the other end.
Torbjorn Heggem – 5
Not as strong as Bartley alongside him, being turned a couple of times. Taken off with 10 minutes to go.
Callum Styles – 4
Very quiet game by his standards and his reaction to being booked late on summed things up for the full-back.
Grady Diangana – 7
Looked the only player who would offer any real attacking threat, making Mowbray’s decision to take him off all the more surprising.
Jayson Molumby – 4
Offered little in an attacking sense and was way off it in terms of his shooting ability. Left exposed in midfield at times but no excuse for his lack of impact.
Armstrong and Grant struggle v Sunderland
Alex Mowatt – 5
The occasional bright moment but simply not enough from the midfielder. Decision to take him off left Albion exposed in the middle.
Mikey Johnston – 6
Had some poor moments in terms of a wayward shot and a terrible cross, but was another rare spark in the final third and, likely Diangana, was unlucky to be taken off.
| Mikey Johnston | v Sunderland |
| Shots | 6 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Key passes | 0 |
Adam Armstrong – 4
Pretty telling that he managed just one shot, which in his defensive was partly down to a lack of attacking support alongside him.
Karlan Grant – 4
Plenty of running and some good movement off the ball, but Mowbray needs far more from his attacking players. Could have done with the absent Isaac Price.