Tony Brown hails ‘conquering’ Ryan Mason after what he did in West Brom win vs Wrexham
Ryan Mason deserves some praise after a hectic start to life at West Brom.
West Brom celebrated a 3-2 victory against Wrexham at Racecourse Ground on Saturday, 16 August.
This comes after Derby County knocked the Baggies out of the Carabao Cup on penalties earlier this week. Mason is new to life as a head coach, and his pre-season showings have been indicative of that.
But after West Brom’s slim 1-0 win against Blackburn Rovers on 9 August, another victory is just what the doctor ordered. And Mason may have proven himself to be the right man to guide Albion forward.
Tony Brown praises Mason’s substitutions
Two goals from Isaac Price and another scored by Jed Wallace sealed the game for West Brom on Saturday.
Sam Smith may have thought there was more to it after scoring a late goal for Wexham. But the Baggies fought well and fought off their advances until the end.
There were several aspects of Albion’s win against Wrexham where Mason could be praised. But Tony Brown believes that man-management was one of his standouts.
On his substitute decisions, Brown said via The BBC on 16 August: “Hail the conquering manager!
“The substitutions couldn’t have worked any better, an excellent finish from Wallace. Brilliant substitutions.”
- Wallace came on in the 74th minute and scored the goal which won West Brom the game – in hindsight
- West Brom now have back-to-back wins under Mason
While emotions are still high from their dramatic win on Saturday, Mason will only have eyes for the Baggies clash against Portsmouth next week.
What improvements do West Brom need ahead of Portsmouth
The confrontation against the Red Dragons indicated that Albion can score goals, but they can also unnecessarily concede them.
West Brom were stronger than the opposition on several attacking fronts, scoring more goals and creating more chances. But defensively, they were dominated in multiple aspects.
| Wrexham | Defensive Statistic | West Brom |
| 12 | Tackles won | 8 |
| 55 | Duels won | 42 |
| 31 | Ground duels won | 25 |
| 24 | Aerial duels won | 17 |
| 3 | Successful dribbles | 7 |
Wrexham won more duels and tackles than Albion and were better in the air.
Part of this can be explained by the attacking intensity West Brom demonstrated. But as the Red Dragons missed chances reveal, it was an issue of their finishing as much as it was the Baggies’ attacking prowess.
As a result, Mason has a few things to think about before West Brom take on Portsmouth on Saturday, 23 August.
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