West Bromwich Albion 0 - Leeds United 0

Date:	Saturday 17th August 2024
Competition:	Sky Bet Championship
WBA: 6.4	(4-2-3-1) Palmer 6.0, Furlong 6.4, Ajayi 6.7, Bartley 6.3, Molumby 7.0 (Diakité, 93 5.1), Heggem 7.1, Mowatt 7.2, Grant 5.9 (Wallace, 75 5.8), Swift 6.3 (Diangana, 85 5.6), Fellows 6.5, Maja 5.5 (Dobbin, 85 4.9) Unused subs: Wildsmith, Taylor, McNair, Frabotta, Cole Manager: Carlos Corberán 5.8
Leeds: 5.6
Referee:	Sam Allison 5.1
Attendance:	25,329 Home Fans 7.3 Away Fans 6.5

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Ratings submitted so far: 20

Brendan Clegg:

A very solid point that, especially looking at their squad. You have to think they'll be up and amongst it this season.

Understandably no change and we were rewarded with a very good first half. We dominated possession with Mowatt running the show and Swift and Molumby also performing very strongly. Mulumby steaming into 40-60s and winning them, Mowatt also being aggressive, Swift dropping deep and interchanging with Mowatt and those two linking up really well.

We kept Leeds at bay and you have to say the back 4 just looks really strong. Quick, tall or very good in the air and we moved it forward quickly especially with Ajayi striding out and committing people and, even if the odd pass is a bit ropey, we're getting up the pitch quicker.

All that was missing from the first half was that bit of quality to fashion a decent chance. I think a couple of moments came to Grant who once again put in a real shift and did a great job of pressing and stretching but, being super harsh is just that half a second too slow in seeing things or executing, and lacks that upper end quality. He got in behind once from a long ball and his first touch took him away from goal when he was arguably in and goal side, and then on another occasion got in out wide but couldn't delivery a cross quick enough and in the end hit his first man.

Elsewhere it seemed that Fellows and Grant had been switched from QPR so that Fellows could cover Dan James and whilst the clean sheet vindicates that it did mean we were not quite as direct or creative. The only cross of note of the half was by Maja, who was neat and tidy dropping deep, but we needed him in the box.

Applauded off at half time and with one eye on the bench looking a little stronger than last week, I felt upbeat.

Early on in the second half we probably had our best spell and one Fellows burst down the left found Swift in box. he shifted it, twisted and I think he should've just had a wallop with his left foot from about 10 yards as it opened up but instead he laid it backwards and wide to Molumby who hit it straight at the keeper from the edge of the box.

Leeds did come into it a little bit more and we tired. I thought Swift had done a great job first half but he played a lot higher 2nd half and we went more direct which didn't really suit us and was a bit percentage football.

Our final big chance arrived after some good pressing and Molumby doing brilliantly to drive forward having nicked the ball. He laid it wide to Grant and the redemption arc was curving towards cult-heroism with it being on his right foot and him being a top quality 'thumper' but alas the only arc we saw was the ball into the Brummie road in what was a misconnected disappointing effort.

As the game got flatter and Leeds made changes, Carlos brought on Jed for Grant and he showed a bit of energy without a cutting edge.

Grady, Dobbin and Diakite came on and there was a half chance airshot for Grady but other than that the highlight of the rest of the game was Bartley chasing a ball over his head 40 yards backwards, clattering the ball and the player and then celebrating with the crowd like he'd scored a goal... and the crowd reciprocating.

In the end both sides and coaches were happy. A draw was probably fair and for us there was a lot to like. If we can somehow find 2-3 players better than that 11 today (A striker, a winger and a centre midfielder) in the rest of the window then we could over-achieve this season and I think the play-offs would be over-achieving.

Palmer - 6 Little to do, some slightly ropey kicking/slowness.
Furlong - 7 Solid all game and raided forward when he could.
Ajayi - 7 His pace is a huge asset and most of his passes were good.
Bartley - 7 Strong showing and big personality.
Heggem - 7 Looked to be under instructions not to get forward but was solid and horrible to play against.
Mowatt - 8 Just so comfortable on the ball and probably only made one poor decision all game.
Molumby - 8 He loved it. Smashing into 50/50s, passing it sensibly and winning the majority of 2nd balls.
Grant - 6 Cannot fault the effort - gave it all for the team both ways.
Swift - 7 Got through a lot of great work in 60 minutes and covered a lot of ground before tiring. Some sublime touches. Wish he'd shot with his left foot though.
Fellows - 7 Some very good moments. Disappointed he didn't go at their fullback a lot more once he was on a booking.
Maja - 6 Won some good fouls and linked it well but was probably frustrated with the service.

Wallace & Grady - Tried to make things happen.
Dobbin & Diakite - Not on long but if Dobbin is played through the middle it makes you wonder whether Carlos rates Cole at all.

Ancient Baggie:

My first thought is this was a bit of a missed opportunity. Leeds were awful and although we were neat and tidy in possession we didn't really ask many questions in the final third.

Heggem has made a great start and looks up for the battle, he'll soon become a fans favourite if carries on like this. My biggest gripe was playing Fellows for 90 minutes on the left wing. He's probably one of our most dangerous players when he's one on one with a defender on the right, so to not give him 20 minutes there in a game when we struggled to create a chance was strange.

Lots of OK performances but we looked like we were playing with the handbrake on. Hopefully we can get some creativity in before the window closes. COYB

Kev Buckley:

Whether or not you consider Corberan to have kept an unchanged side, or made eleven changes for the second game in a row, for the visit of Leeds, the sight of Fellows and Grant, lining up on the left and right, respectively, might have suggested some super subtle tactical insight as regards how to exploit some prior to, unnoticed, flaw in Farke's game plan, but if anything, it felt more like another part of some early season "let's see who can do what" episode, akin to that witnessed in mid-week's training exercise up at Fleetwood.

The opening ten minutes were certainly played at a fast pace, by both sides, though perhaps too fast a pace for just the second game of the season, in that most of the final through balls were either picked off, didn't stick, or were simply wayward.

Albion probably had the better of the next ten minutes, although, chances were few and far between, before the next twenty minutes didn't really produce a winner - neither figuratively nor in the sense of what might, as it turned out, have been the only goal of the game.

Indeed, the closest we came to a goal was in the last five minutes of the half, when a Leeds player headed goalwards, but saw the deflection off Ajayi go close enough to the post to raise a few "oohs" and "aahs".

Someone on the BOING mailing list, had asked, following the League Cup exit earlier in the week, whether Corberan had leant anything from that game, and I think we can now say, categorically: "NO".

Up on the Fylde, after seeing wingers, Cole and Dobbin, not really affect the game in the slightest in the first half, the manager swapped them over at half time, yet here, he continued with Grant on the right, and Fellows on the left.

The second half did though produce a few more chances, with Molumby shooting straight at the keeper about five minutes in, and Leeds having a near-post chance, that went a-begging, some ten minutes later. As sixty-five passed, Molumby stole the ball on the left side of midfield, drove forwards and teed-up Grant, just inside the box and level with the edge of the six-yard area, and with a clear sight of the whole of the goal: sadly, Grant's effort was not even close.

Ten minutes later, although slightly later than last season's usual timing, and it was time for the substitutions to begin. First up, we saw Wallace on for Grant, and then Diangana and Dobbin, for Swift and the almost anonymous Maja, some ten minutes later, meaning that for the last five minutes of normal time we now had four wingers on the field.

With the game seemingly headed for a draw, Leeds broke away down our left, but Bartley showed an incredible turn of pace to catch up to Gnonto and snuff the opening out, after which we witnessed the bizarre swapping of Molumby for Diakite with 30 SECONDS OF STOPPAGE TIME remaining. Who knows what Corberan had seen that led to that being required one, but, given that referees allow thirty seconds for each substitution, it can't surely can't have been an attempt time-wasting?

Oddities like Grant and Fellows never swapping sides; four wingers being on the pitch at the same time, and a substitution with just half-a-minute to go, aside, the main take-away from this one will be that both sides will probably play worse and win comfortably, and I suppose that, and the point, means that the manager can be said to have gained something from this one.