West Bromwich Albion vs Coventry City (2-1): Baggies Secure Crucial Victory
In a pivotal Championship encounter at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion emerged victorious with a 2-1 win over Coventry City.
The Baggies celebrated the completion of their takeover by American businessman Shilen Patel, who concluded his ownership of the team, with goals in the first half from Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana.
With the remainder of the weekend still to come, the outcome puts West Brom seven points ahead of Norwich in eighth.
Despite a late goal by Haji Wright in the second half, Coventry is still four points outside of the play-off spots.
Johnston scores once more as West Brom wins
Johnston scored the first goal after just six minutes thanks to a superb solo move in from the left that gave him the room to bend the ball into the top corner and render Ben Wilson in the Coventry goal absolutely useless.
It was two minutes later. Diangana’s beautiful pass from Tom Fellows’ ball in from the right was the source; from six yards, he steered the ball just inside the post.
When Wright, a replacement, fouled Kasey Palmer in the area deep into the second half, Cedric Kipre gave Coventry an unusual lifeline. Wright converted the penalty.
Nevertheless, the Sky Blues’ hopes of finishing in the top six were dimmed, and there would be no equalizer.
Manager’s Points of View
Carlos Corberan- West Brom
“For this reason, we have targeted (Johnston) from the start. He is capable of playing several roles for us. On certain days, he is a playmaker inside, while on other days, he can play wide. Finding someone who can do both roles is difficult.
“We played a very strong first half overall. We located areas where we could attack and advance with the ball. We expected them to apply more pressure in the second half. We were unable to advance through the pitch because we lost a lot of balls in the midst of it.
“We were not enough in control of the game. I told my guys that the outcome at the end of the game, not the score at halftime, was what mattered. We played better in the end.”
Mark Robins- Coventry
“We lost control of the game in the first half. We didn’t do enough to engage. Without a doubt, I set up the team incorrectly. They are a formidable team with extensive championship experience.
We would have performed much better if we had been more assertive and able to contribute a little bit more. Simply put, for the first half of the game, we were nonexistent.
“We played a lot more actively, had a lot of the ball, and produced some excellent opportunities in the second half. At the time, our use of the shots was a little hasty. We appeared to have the momentum after pulling a goal back, but we lacked clinicality when we were in strong situations.”
