Friday night’s clash in the Championship between Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion saw two early-season heavyweights in the second-tier do battle.
Indeed, heading into the match, Rob Edwards’ Boro sat pretty at the top of the division on an unbeaten streak of form. At the same time, Ryan Mason’s Baggies happily occupied a spot in the playoff positions.
Both of these statements would still ring true at the final whistle, but depending on results elsewhere on Saturday, West Brom might find themselves slipping out of that coveted top-six after succumbing to a 2-1 loss at the Riverside Stadium.
Aune Heggebo would trudge off the pitch at the end of the defeat with his head held high, at least, with his consolation effort at the death going down as his first-ever goal in England.
However, that can’t be said for all of Mason’s troops, with many others putting in underwhelming displays against the campaign’s initial pace-setters.
West Brom underperformers against Boro
Mason might well have fancied his side’s slim chances away at the league leaders heading into the tense clash, considering West Brom unsettled Wrexham on their own patch earlier on this season.
Unfortunately, a second league defeat is now next to the Baggies’ name instead of a celebratory fourth victory, with first-team regular Jayson Molumby struggling throughout.
Indeed, the usually tenacious and tough-tackling number eight could only muster up a weak two duels won from ten attempts, as per Sofascore, with his midfield teammate on the night, Ousmane Diakité, also struggling in this department, as the Malian only won two duels as well, on top of failing to register a single accurate cross or long ball.
Isaac Price also didn’t look at his best on the road at the Riverside, with the often vibrant number 21 struggling to make much of an impact down the left flank, with zero on-target efforts troubling Solomon Brynn in the home side’s net.
On the contrary, the confident home side managed to pack their shooting boots when cutting the Baggies apart with fast-paced moves, with Price not the only shoddy performer down the wings.
The West Brom star now on borrowed time
Mason has stuck by a consistent starting XI so far this season, but with two defeats now in a row, wholesale changes could be in the offing.
Jed Wallace will be worried about his starting spot moving forward, with the experienced EFL attacker only lasting 62 minutes against Edwards’ men, before being handed his marching orders by his 34-year-old manager.
Minutes played
62
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
36
On-target shots
0
Accurate passes
23/24 (96%)
Key passes
2
Accurate crosses
1/6
Successful dribbles
0
Total duels won
0/1
At first glance, Wallace’s numbers from the 2-1 defeat don’t look absolutely horrendous, with the 31-year-old winger only misplacing one of his passes all night.
Yet, when you delve deeper, it’s clear that the former Millwall man offered very little in attack – away from neatly spraying the ball about – to try and kickstart a comeback, with zero on-target efforts notched up from his hour on the Riverside turf, on top of just one accurate cross being delivered into the danger area to try and catch the table-topping hosts out.
Looking even further doesn’t get any better, either, with Wallace also failing to complete a single successful dribble when attempting to be a thorn in Boro’s side, whilst also failing to win a single duel as a passive performer on the right flank.
This has been a tale of Wallace’s middling season, for the most part, with the Baggies captain fading in and out of contests at an alarming rate, as seen in him averaging just 21.5 touches per Championship contest so far this season.
It could be time for Mason to ditch the seasoned veteran; therefore, with Mikey Johnston offering lots more from off the bench when thrown into the match in Wallace’s place, as seen in the Irishman winning two duels and completing two gung-ho dribbles to push his struggling team up the pitch.
Wallace could still be an option Mason relies on as a substitute, but based on his no-show at the Riverside, his first-team minutes might not be so plentiful in the games to come.