Sessegnon Sparkles For Baggies

Pic: Getty

West Bromwich Albion recorded their first home win of the season in a typical encounter between two sides managed by Tony Pulis and new Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce.

Although certainly not a game for footballing purists, there were some promising features to take out of the game for West Brom fans as the Baggies look to press on and climb higher up the table.

Firstly, my, and indeed the seemingly unanimous, man of the match was Stephane Sessegnon. Brought in from the cold by Baggies boss Tony Pulis, Sessegnon injected some much needed creativity into a side accused of being negative by anxious fans and neutrals alike. He certainly improved the contest proving the point that he can be one of the most delightful dribblers of a football in the league when he puts his mind to it and created all sorts of problems for a Sunderland side that struggled to contain his pace.

That said, for all of Sessegnon’s flair, the Baggies were certainly lacklustre in securing the win with only one shot on target during the 90 minutes, that being the winner and a controversial one at that. A cross in from the left looked to be caught by Black Cats’ ‘keeper Costel Pantillimon until he spilled his catch under pressure from striker Saido Berahino, whom duly poked home the winner from five yards.

Although events on the field were dull, off it they were far more explosive. At full time, the Albion winger James McClean celebrated vociferously in front of the Sunderland fans, who had given him grief all game. The away end erupted, with stewards and the police at full stretch to contain the Sunderland fans incensed at McClean’s reaction. Whether he will face retrospective action from the FA remains to be seen although he is likely to have won over some Baggies fans with his impassioned display.

The Baggies third win of the season sees them up to 12th in the table and five points clear of the relegation zone at the time of writing. A tricky away fixture at Carrow Road in Norwich awaits next week and it will be interesting to see if Tony Pulis sticks with his creative experiment or reverts to his defensive default against a Norwich side that will be looking to bounce back from their 6-2 mauling at the hands of Newcastle at St James’ Park.