West Bromwich Albion 2 - Sheffield Wednesday 1

Date:	Saturday 8th February 2025
Competition:	Sky Bet Championship
WBA: 7.1	(4-2-3-1) Wildsmith 7.3, Furlong 5.6, Bartley 5.3, Heggem 7.1, Styles 6.6, Molumby 7.6, Mowatt 6.9 (Diakité, 80 5.8), Diangana 5.3 (Fellows, 67 7.2), Price 6.7 (Lankshear, 67 6.5), Grant 5.6 (Johnston, 66 6.7), Armstrong 7.8 (Wallace, 80 5.2) Unused subs: Griffiths, Swift, Frabotta, Cole Manager: Tony Mowbray 6.7
Sheff W: 5.2	(4-2-3-1) Beadle, Valery (Ugbo, 86), Ihiekwe, Bernard (Johnson, 45), Lowe, Charles, Chalobah (Ingelsson, 55), Gassama, Armstrong (Valentin, 55), Windass, Smith (Paterson, 86) Unused subs: Charles, Lowe, Kobacki, Otegbayo
Scorers:	Armstrong (74), Molumby (96); Paterson (93)
Referee:	Tom Nield 5.1
Attendance:	25,452 Home Fans 6.9 Away Fans 6.8

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Ratings submitted so far: 23

Brendan Clegg:

It used to be like this under Mowbray last time. What chaos but what a win!

Eyebrows at the lineup. I’d have gone with Griffiths, Bartley a plus, Armstrong a no-brainer and good to see Price. Out wide though with Grady and Grant I would’ve gone with Fellows and MJ - rumours they were ill all week though.

We totally bossed the first half and were all over them but ended it frustrated. A few half chances but their keeper only made one save… the same as Wildsmith. We looked good but it felt like we needed a Mikey or Fellows to open them up.

Second half was more balanced. We created situations but also Wednesday were better and Wildsmith was needed. I thought they edged it until we made changes.the ball wasn’t sticking, Price looked gassed and they were finding gaps to get at us, and we relied on an offside call to keep us level.

The first 3 subs to get our two wingers and the big lad from Spurs on were absolutely right.

Back the game went in our way. The opener was great, Lankshear doing well to release Fellows, a quality cutback and an exquisite finish from Armstrong.

I thought the next subs were wrong though… there was no need for them. Maybe put Diakite on for Armstrong only, go 5 in midfield and see it out, but Wallace didn’t make sense. Without Mowatt we lost control of possession.

We invited them on and it didn’t take much to get in behind and score, despite Heggem’s one man army attempts to stop it. It’s worrying how easy it was for them when they did apply pressure.

But then when it felt like they would maybe even nick it, a late MJ run and shot got us a corner and at about the 20th set piece attempt of the day Molumby stole in to flick home at the front post. Cue the limbs, the wild celebrations and then eventually the silliness and lack of composure that got Bartley sent off. 3 games without him is going to be a problem… no question.

Overall I felt like we got away with it but there was promise there. We absolutely have to tighten up, have to start MJ and Fellows and it’s almost certain we’ll need to score twice to win any game. Buckle up!

Wildsmith - 7 Did better than I thought he would. Big saves.
Furlong - 6 Their winger was decent but he stuck to it.
Barts - 6 Looked vulnerable to balls in behind like the goal. Silly red although I think he was trying to break things up.
Heggem - 7 Solid, I thought he looked a bit leggy. He’s played a lot.
Styles - 6 Generally good and tidy.
Grady - 5 Flashes but overall didn’t work hard enough or get at them enough.
Molumby - 7 All action all game and another goal
Mowatt - 7 was really good, passed it really well
Price - 6 Really bright first half with energy and drive, faded in the 2nd quite dramatically.
Grant - 5 Tried. The touch and technique just not quite there.
Armstrong - 7 A threat all game and an unbelievable finish. Can’t believe we’ve got him and if we play him alongside Maja it’s going to be frightening.

Fellows - 7 Direct, made the opener through it.
MJ - 7 Gave them problems
Lankshear - 6 Thought he did really well. A big handful, exactly the option we needed.
Diakite and Wallace - 5 Difficult to get into it.

Ancient Baggie:

Well that didn't do my heart any good, what a finish. I thought we did more than enough first half to have been at least a couple of goals up but just didn't get that bit of luck in front of goal. As the second half went on the game got a bit more stretched and we lost a bit of control. Price who I thought looked really good for an hour did tire but I think he will definitely improve us as he gets up to speed. Great approach play and finish for the first goal and I can see the Fellows, Armstrong combination being a powerful weapon going forward.

We defended poorly after going in front, Bartley and Furlong looked really shaky down our right side and it wasn't a great shock when they nicked an equaliser in injury time. I was getting ready to go home and kick the cat and we get corner and Molumby pops up with a winner, Brilliant!

Must give a shout out to Wildsmith who I thought had really solid game under the circumstances and made two or three key saves. I was very pleased with the transfer window and it looks like we've done some good business. I was a little surprised however that we didn't look at getting some cover/competition for the right back spot as It looks to me like an area where we could get exposed.

3pts Wednesday would be nice COYB