West Bromwich Albion 1 - Brentford 1

Date:	Monday 3rd December 2018
Competition:	Sky Bet Championship
WBA: 6.5	Johnstone 6.2, Adarabioyo 5.8, Dawson 6.8, Hegazi 7.2, Gibbs 7.1, Phillips 7.2, Livermore 6.5, Morrison 6.9, Robson-Kanu 5.7 (Gayle, 45 5.8), Rodriguez 5.3, Barnes 6.8 Unused subs: Myhill, Brunt, Mears, Barry, Hoolahan, Harper Manager: Darren Moore 4.8
Brentford: 5.1
Scorers:	Barnes (77)
Referee:	Darren Bond 5.5
Attendance:	20,949 Home Fans 5.8 Away Fans 5.1

Ancient Baggie:

A really disappointing result that you could almost see coming after the first ten minutes. The misses in the first half were criminal but we played some really good football at times to create them. You just can't miss that many sitters and expect to win at any level.

There were some really good individual performances but when we finally got the breakthrough I thought we were tactically naive and unfortunately that's down to the management. The subs bench didn't inspire me but it was loaded with players to see out a game and none of them were used. I thought the midfield 3 had all done really well but Morrison in particular was running on fumes at the end.

It's easy to be critical but that's what the management team are paid the big money for. It's a point but definitely feels like 2 thrown away. Not sure Mr Li will be inspired to get the cheque book out after that. Anyway let's hope we've got the shooting boots dusted off for Friday. COYB!

Brendan Clegg:

Frustrating result after what was a decent performance for long periods.

We utterly dominated the first half and should've been out of sight but we spurned opportunity after opportunity. Brentford remained surprisingly open for the whole half so it was really an opportunity that we didn't at least take the lead - it was a bit of a horror show from Jrod and HRK in finishing, such that our best efforts that actually drew saves were from Phillips outside the box and he also hit the bar.

Second half was different - Brentford tightened up and the loss of HRK to injury left us without anyone to hold up the ball and build the play.

It was quite bitty and I don't think it helped having Gayle so wide when he's probably the best finisher/goalscorer in the league. I think there were some poor decisions on the bench again with no Sako, Burke, Edwards or Leko as an option out wide and once again 4 central midfielders. Daft.

It looked like were were running out of time and we were a bit punched out, so when Barnes finally broke the deadlock with a bit of magic/quick reactions the feeling was relief.

I thought the obvious thing to do straight after the goal was go 4-5-1 with Gayle up top on his own and pack the midfield to see the game out.

It didn't happen an, worse, with Morrison out on his feet, Barnes switched off and Phillips also disappearing from things with 15 to go, Brentford began to push up and we started losing 2nd balls and getting outnumbered. chances started to come their way and great save from SJ kept us ahead.

It was crying out for change - Morrison especially given that he's also likely to get injured when tired. I think this especially true in a 3 which places big demands on the midfielders and I thought it said a lot that Phillips looked shagged too.

The changes didn't come and as Brentford stretched us one last time out on our left, Morrison couldn't get across quick enough to cover, the ball was swung over and we were caught flat-footed for the only time in the match with Dawson and Tosin leaving the Brentford forward to head home totally unmarked.

Darren Moore has proven a relatively quick learner so far in his short managerial career so I hope he reviews he bench options from this. I can feel for him in that there was nothing he could do about the first half chances we created and how well we played for long periods - but as a coach you have to react to what's happening in the now and his reluctance to change things probably cost us a point.

Big game against the Villa. Difficult to call but I think it might be prudent to have another formation change ready (That keeps 4 at the back!) because teams scouting us are learning how to play against us in this system a bit and Villa have an excellent coach,

SJ - 6 A good save but some poor kicking. The cross for the goal was a long time coming. Could he have claimed it?
Tosin - 7 I thought he was good apart from the goal. Strong, quick, solid.
Daws - 7 Another decent game. Dealt with most things. One silly change gave them a freekick in a dangerous position.
Hegazi - 7 Also won most things and was good on the deck.
Gibbs - 7 Don't think he was beaten once and got forward well.
Phillips - 7 Brilliant in the first half, he did drop off a bit in the second and lost influence.
Livermore - 7 Charged about well all match, looks much better with Mozza beside him. Still hard running after 95 minutes.
Morrison - 7 Another really good performance for 60 minutes, setting our tempo, nicking the ball and playing it safely but he was gone by 70 minutes.
HRK - 6 Caused them problems but marked down for finishing.
JRod - 6 Played quite well for periods but another who should've scored a couple.
Barnes - 7 Better than recent weeks, largely due to the space Brentford afforded him, took his goal really well but possibly guilty of poor decision-making a couple of times and put his slippers on after the goal.

Gayle - 6 Looked lively and worked hard but we needed him in the box.