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West Brom Fan View: Late goals are killing us

Yet another late goal denies The Baggies.
Yet another late goal denies The Baggies.

West Brom went into their game on Tuesday knowing that a good result could be vital in their battle for Premier League survival, as they played fellow strugglers West Ham United at The London Stadium.

Playing just 48 hours after their battling 1-1 draw against Arsenal, The Baggies fielded a strong team which included most of the players who were involved in the game at The Hawthorns. This would eventually come to bite Alan Pardew in the backside, but initially anyway, thing’s started well for the new Head Coach.


After a great display first-half, West Brom got the goal they deserved when James McClean scored his first PL goal of the season, even if the shot got a huge looping deflection, I’m sure McClean will take that!

James McClean put Albion ahead with a deflected effort.
James McClean put Albion ahead with a deflected effort.

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This goal and confident performance got West Brom fans dreaming again, could they finally get that win that would give them a new found belief and confidence? Could this be the turning point in their fight against relegation? Just as Baggies fans were beginning to dream, the physical and mental tiredness kicked in, and Pardew’s men fell apart.

First, Jay Rodriguez failed to close down left-back Aaron Cresswell, allowing him to whip in a lovely cross for the onrushing Andy Carroll, who simply does not miss in that position. Then Pardew’s team seemed to try and take the game to their opponents, pushing forward and trying to go for the winner.

The Albion players were clearly struggling, and when the game opened up, becoming an end-to-end contest, there was only going to be one outcome. With the Baggies pushed forward, West Ham launched a counter-attack in the 92nd minute, with Marko Arnautovic crossing for an unmarked Andy Carroll to win the game from a tight angle.

Kieran Gibbs was caught upfield for Andy Carroll’s winning goal.
Kieran Gibbs was caught upfield for Andy Carroll’s winning goal.

Kieran Gibbs, who’d played 90 minutes against Arsenal just 48 hours before, was caught upfield and couldn’t get back, leaving Carroll on his own to win the game.

The FA Cup game with Exeter will give the fans a nice break from PL football, but that loss will still be hard to forget.