Blackpool v West Brom round-up: Heggebo debut verdict, Mason reacts
West Brom fell to defeat against Steve Bruce’s Blackpool in their second pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Ryan Mason’s side travelled to Bloomfield Road on 19 July following their first match in Austria, which saw them draw 1-1 against Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv.
But the Baggies found themselves 2-0 down after 24 minutes, courtesy of goals from Niall Ennis and Jordan Brown.
Ousmane Diakite rose highest to head in Alex Mowatt’s corner and get one back, but it was not enough to overturn the 2-1 result.
Here, West Brom News rounds up all the talking points from a slight setback for Mason’s team.
Phillips impresses against Blackpool
Nat Phillips was West Brom’s first signing of the summer, arriving from Liverpool in a deal worth an initial £1million.
The defender spent nine years on the books of the Premier League champions before moving to The Hawthorns, and his quality is already evident.
After scoring against Dynamo Kiev, Phillips looked confident and strong against Blackpool, almost adding another goal after meeting Tom Fellows’ corner.
Heggebo enjoys first minutes
West Brom fans would have been pleased to get the first sight of Aune Heggebo as a Baggies player.
The 23-year-old was signed from Brann in a deal worth around £4.75m, and looked lively on his debut for Mason’s team, receiving a “big cheer” from the away fans, according to Lewis Cox (July 19).
West Brom fans will hope for more of the same in the coming weeks, with Heggebo set to start the season up front.
West Brom struggle with new tactics
Among Mason’s demands for his new players is the need to build up from the back.
That was a point of struggle for West Brom against Blackpool, with their opponents retrieving the ball in dangerous areas on several occasions.
They were not punished for it but Mason will hope his side can shake the mistakes before the start of the season, with Championship opponents unlikely to offer the Baggies a reprieve.
Mason makes admission
Mason will not be overly concerned about his side’s performances in pre-season – they are called friendlies for a reason.
But the Englishman admitted there is a lot of work to do before the start of the season.
“Obviously there’s a lot of work to do, we knew that. I thought the first half, they were better than us,” he said.
“They were very aggressive and we didn’t quite figure out what we had to do, but I thought as the game went on, we grew into it.”
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