Tony Brown shares who he has been ‘so impressed’ by at West Brom after win vs Stoke
Tony Brown waxed lyrical about West Brom on Saturday after another huge Championship win.
West Brom beat Stoke City 1-0 at the Bet365 Stadium, with Nat Phillips poking home after Viktor Johansson had spilt an Alex Mowatt corner.
Phillips joined West Brom from Liverpool at the start of the summer and has impressed massively at The Hawthorns so far.
Chris Mepham was signed from Bournemouth this week and also started the clash alongside the 28-year-old.
West Brom sold Darnell Furlong to Ipswich in a deal worth around £4million, with George Campbell replacing the full-back on the right of the defence.
Tony Brown lauds ‘unbreakable’ West Brom back-four
West Brom fans were already raving about Phillips following his first appearance against Blackburn, and the defender has only further proved his ability in the fixtures since.
The former Liverpool man was utterly dominant in his box again at Stoke City, making a staggering 10 headed clearances as the Baggies held on for the clean sheet.
And Mepham impressed on debut too, showing his strong ability on the ball by completing all but one of his 46 attempted passes.
| Nat Phillips | Stats vs Stoke City | Chris Mepham |
| 45/54 | Passes completed | 45/46 |
| 13 | Clearances | 6 |
| 5 | Recoveries | 1 |
| 5 | Duels won | 2 |
The home side has started their season in impressive fashion, beating Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, and Southampton, and scoring
But West Brom put a stop to that, with goalkeeper Josh Griffiths ultimately facing just three shots on goal.
Speaking on BBC Radio West Midlands, Tony Brown was in awe of the defensive display from Ryan Mason’s men.
“The back-four played like a unit today and were unbreakable at the back,” West Brom’s record scorer said.
“They deserve the applause from the fans. I’ve been so impressed with them, and the whole side.”
Defence can be the best form of attack for Ryan Mason
After four games of the Championship season, West Brom sit on 10 points, having yet to lose a game under Mason.
Chance creation has looked like a slight issue at times, but as is often reiterated, attack wins games – defence wins titles.
The trip to Stoke marked the Baggies’ second clean sheet of the season, and more are set to follow with the trio of Phillips, Mepham and Campbell forming a defensive force.
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