West Bromwich Albion 2 - Oxford United 0

Date:	Saturday 22nd February 2025
Competition:	Sky Bet Championship
WBA: 6.9	(4-2-3-1) Wildsmith 6.3, Furlong 6.2, Ajayi 6.7 (Holgate, 41 6.5), Heggem 7.2, Styles 6.7, Mowatt 7.3, Molumby 6.5, Fellows 6.6 (Diangana, 77 5.4), Price 7.3 (Swift, 77 6.4), Johnston 7.4 (Bany, 90 6.6), Armstrong 6.5 (Lankshear, 77 6.1) Unused subs: Griffiths, Dike, Diakité, Cole Manager: Tony Mowbray 6.6
Oxford: 4.3	(4-2-3-1) Cumming, Kioso (ter Avest, 87), Helik, Brown, Bennett, Matos (Vaulks, 63), Brannagan, Placheta (Dembélé, 74), Goodrham, Phillips (Mills, 63), Romeny (Harris, 87) Unused subs: Ingram, Long, El Mizouni, Rodrigues
Scorers:	Swift (101), Mowatt (11)
Referee:	Sam Allison 4.6
Attendance:	25,951 Home Fans 6.1 Away Fans 5.6

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Ratings submitted so far: 19

Brendan Clegg:

The starting lineup was probably fair enough… you could say it was harsh in Diakite but on home against a team we’d likely dominate the ball against it made sense.

Elsewhere you could feel Spring was arriving with the warmer weather, intermittent and that old tradition of Matty Phillips appearing on the Hawthorns pitch after his body comes out of winter hibernation.

We were totally on top from the off and looked threatening. After a spell of pressure Mowatt, who had remained high up having pressed aggressively, was played in after 2 incisive passes from Molumby and Price and made no mistake.

We stayed totally on top but Oxford played to keep it 1-0 and didn’t come out. Still we tried and we had some nearly moments, and if anyone had been brave enough to shoot left footed from 20 yards we might’ve made it count.

The only blot was the injury to Semi. A real blow not just in the game but to our play-off hopes.

Second half was tougher but we still had control. Oxford went longer and tried to load the ball on Styles but he stood up well.

We huffed and puffed and had some half chances and I don’t think Oxford called Wildsmith into action.

We made subs later than normal and Oxford waited for the last few minutes to have a go. Our defence stood strong and Swift, Diangana and Bany combined well to score a second on the break with the last kick of the match.

It was must win and a good job we did as so did the teams around us. We’ll have to be a lot better against Leeds to have a chance of getting anything, and Bartley and Diakite have to come in.

Wildsmith - 6 Nothing to do
Furlong - 6 Solid enough
Ajayi - 7 Big blow as he was playing well and carrying or moving the ball forward quickly.
Heggem - 7 stood tall when Semi went off
Styles - 6 stood his ground well
Fellows - 6 looked after it but is coming inside a bit too often. Still has to start.
Molumby - 7 good energy and passed it well
Mowatt - 7 ran the show on the ball
Price - 7 a lot to like. Covers ground, passes and tackles well. I’d have him over Grady or Swift because he properly grafts. Best game.
MJ - 7 Always causing problems. A little wild with end product but creates space for others.
Armstrong - 7 Movement and touch were quality.

Holgate - 6 Came in and did a job
Lankshear - 6 Put himself about
Swift - 6 Won defensive headers before his goal. Fair play.
Grady & Bany - 6 contributed.