Ryan Mason shares what was ‘really disappointing’ about West Brom’s defeat vs Middlesbrough
West Brom suffered their first away loss of the season against Middlesbrough and have dropped to seventh in the Championship.
Middlesbrough ran out 2-1 victors over West Brom at the Riverside on Friday night, with Rob Edwards’ men moving four points clear at the top of the league standings.
Aune Heggebo scored his first league goal for West Brom. However, it proved to be no more than a consolation as David Strelec and Kaly Sene had both earlier scored for Boro.
The loss comes after more disappointing injury news surrounding forward Daryl Dike, with further concerns mounting over new signing Krystian Bielik’s fitness issues.
Ryan Mason expressed his disappointment after the match, outlining one moment in particular that changed the game’s complexion.
Ryan Mason annoyed with David Strelec’s goal in West Brom’s second consecutive defeat
After an impressive start to life under Mason in the Championship, the Baggies are now going through their first rough patch of the season.
Despite the loss, the West Brom head coach took both positives and negatives from Friday’s game.
“We know they were in a good moment but, if anything, it’s just reinforced my belief in this squad and in this team that we can perform and we can compete,’’ said Mason, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail.
“My feeling during the game was that it was going to be a moment that dictated how the game went. That was true.”
- Strelec opened the scoring for Middlesbrough in the 26th minute after George Edmundson’s throw-in was flicked on by Luke Ayling
- Sene doubled Boro’s lead just after the hour mark, with Hayden Hackney grabbing the assist
- Heggebo’s 90th-minute goal came too late for Albion to stage a fightback
Boro’s first goal came from a throw-in that found an uncontested Strelec in the box to tap home from close range.
Mason added: “We have to continue to improve. When we won three of our first four games, nobody at the club was getting carried away.
“The last two results haven’t been good and we can’t let them affect us too much. We have another game next week and we have to try and respond as quickly as possible.
“The second goal was a bit of a killer, but so was the first one. To concede from a throw-in is really disappointing.
“We understood it was going to be a tight game and those smaller details can dictate how the result goes. We had a big chance early on from a set-play and then to concede from a set-play is disappointing.”
Fortunately, Albion have a chance to put things right, and a win in their next game would make a bold statement.
Who’s next up for West Brom?
Albion have now won just two of their last six matches in all competitions, but the nature of the Championship means the Baggies can quickly string some impressive results together.
The Boro game showed clear issues with the Albion setup, as George Campbell’s position has been questioned, with Alfie Gilchrist ready to make his debut.
| Opponent | Date | Kick-off time | Venue |
| Leicester | 26 September | 8pm | The Hawthorns |
| Norwich | 1 October | 7:45pm | Carrow Road |
| Millwall | 4 October | 3pm | The Den |
Toby Collyer impressed West Brom fans, as did Mikey Johnston off the bench, who provided a wonderful assist for Heggebo’s late consolation.
Albion have newly relegated Leicester City at The Hawthorns, which will be televised live on Sky Sports this Friday night – a perfect opportunity for Albion to return to the winning column.
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