The West Bromwich Albion side spent the Christmas period in the comfort of their own home, but suffered another bout of motion sickness as they left Swansea empty-handed on New Year’s Day.
Albion were on the right side when the score was 1-0 against Norwich and Leeds at the Hawthorns, but against Middlesbrough and here against South Wales they were on the right side thanks to Liam Cullen’s goal early in the second half.
I was there.
Albion confirmed the news before kick-off that winger Jeremy Sarmiento had been recalled from parent club Brighton & Hove Albion after suffering an adductor problem that forced him off on Friday.
Captain Jed Wallace, who couldn’t shake it off, was also absent.
In the evening we had a fantastic win against Leeds United at The Hawthorns.
It was also a cautious beginning.
Amid dire conditions, bad weather and a sleepy stadium that could induce a few New Year’s Eve hangovers (although Albion were very well supported by their traveling fans), early exchanges saw both sides complain There wasn’t much to say.
We understood each other’s feelings.
Current captain Conor Townsend’s first look at goal in Wallace’s absence was a crisp shot from 25 yards that goalkeeper Carl Rushworth had to tip over.
Opponent Alex Palmer actually had nothing to do other than a soft header from Harry Darling, but Rushworth probably had more to do before half-time.
Brandon Thomas Asante has the best chance.
Tom Fellows deftly turned his back in the middle of the pitch to mount a counter-attack, and his through ball was well received by Thomas Asante, who dropped his shoulder, lost his last defender, and fired a meek shot, which was converted by a rusher.
Worth collected.
Darnell Furlong also tickled Swansea’s heart after his header was blocked and cleared inside the penalty area.
However, Swansea were the better of the two teams at the start of the second half and were able to break through after periods of pressure.
Dahlin, who was a nightmare for Albion in the second leg against The Hawthorns as well, headed home at the back post and the ball fell into the hands of Cullen, who couldn’t get it away from a few yards out.
Albion were particularly exhausted in attack and took the initiative in the final half-hour as they spent a lot of energy trying to pick up as many points as possible in a double-header with the Hawthorns on Christmas Day.
However, Rushworth’s untested shots from Nathaniel Chalobah and Alex Mowat were often blocked or went wide.
They held their breath until the end.
Patched, with no significant attacking alternatives available and unused substitute John Swift still being cared for, Corberan will be joined by Pipa, Adam Leitch to provide a major aerial threat.
, and even resorted to Semi Ajayi, but that failed.
The Baggies have lost five of their last nine away games and are in the play-offs despite a two-week break before the next Championship game.
Here are the player ratings for this afternoon: West Brom player ratings
