please log in to view this image The joys of a trip to the West Midlands, in recent seasons, a ground where we have come a distant second in the last four visits, scoring a solitary goal in the process, hard to think which of the last four visits were the worst, we were pants last season but think the honour goes to a 2-0 defeat under Lowe in a night game. Good news is, yearly fat test today, so having abstained from cheese, chocolate, crisps and cake for about the last six week, by Saturday I'll be back on real food again. Anyway I digress https://www.wba.co.uk/ MANAGER Ryan Glen Mason (born 13 June 1991) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. A midfielder, Mason progressed through the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur and made his first team debut in 2008. He was loaned to Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Lorient and Swindon Town, and played his first Premier League match for Tottenham in 2014. After establishing himself in the Tottenham first team squad, he made his full international debut for England in March 2015. Mason moved to Hull City in 2016 for a club record fee, where he suffered a fractured skull in January 2017 in a match against Chelsea. After a prolonged treatment and on the advice of medical specialists, he retired from professional football in February 2018. Mason was interim head coach of Tottenham in 2021 and 2023, becoming the youngest coach in Premier League history, at 29. He was appointed Head Coach of West Bromwich Albion in June 2025. please log in to view this image FORM GUIDE please log in to view this image WBA 6 PNE 12 WE GOT SOME IN, WE GOT SOME OUT please log in to view this image T'OTHER FIXTURES AND TABLE please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Team News please log in to view this image Heading into a six-day period with three games, manager Paul Heckingbottom is aware there’s an element of managing some of his players' fitness. All six of North End’s international players are back, having all featured for their countries, and they’re all expected to be available on Saturday. Jordan Thompson has stepped up his recovery throughout the break to take part in non-contact parts of training, although he is still some time away from being back in action. Brad Potts, Pol Valentín, Robbie Brady and Will Keane remain out. The Hosts please log in to view this image Sat seventh in the Championship at this early stage, West Brom have made a promising start to life under Ryan Mason, in his first role as a senior head coach. Their star man so far this season has been Ali McCann’s international teammate Isaac Price, who tops their goalscoring chart with three goals, while he’s also a key source of creation for the Baggies. They went into the international break following a disappointing 3-0 away defeat to Millwall, so they’ll be wanting to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible. Match Officials please log in to view this image Referee: Andrew Kitchen Assistant Referees: Shaun Hudson and Hristo Karaivanov Fourth Official: Matthew Russell Andrew Kitchen will take charge of Saturday’s fixture at The Hawthorns, which will be his first North End match since February 2025. So far this season, Kitchen has taken charge of eight matches, showing 20 yellow cards. We’ve Met Before North End’s last win at The Hawthorns came back in January 2022 when Cameron Archer scored on debut.
please log in to view this image Attendance: 24,068 (1,998 PNE fans). Referee: Andrew Kitchen. please log in to view this image Close but bo cigar although not fully convinced we deserved anything from the game, the match could be split into three sections the first 20 we were the better side, next 40 minutes or so, Albion were the more imposing side and the last 20 minutes or so we looked in the ascendency. Cat and mouse early stages wasn't a lot of goal mouth action, game sprung to life after Price's double miss, the first is a great save by Iverson, the rebound should have been scored but Price's second effort was tame. Then Os one on one with the keeper, denied by Griffiths leg. We had a possible call for a penalty, notseen the replay and being 100 yards down the other end, couldn't tell. For 20 minutes it was give the ball to Mikey Johnston, he was inspired and topped it off with a great shot into the top left corner to give Albion the lead, the goal had been coming. Second periid, Albion doubled the lead as soon as Whiteman lost the ball in midfield, the only place were it was going was into the back of the net, Price this time top right. Quadruple substitutions from us, Mads soon after and we had momentum, Mads to Jebbison, Smith from 12 yards game on. Couldn't quite get a second, Griffiths witha top save at the end from Jebbison. HECK Paul Heckingbottom couldn’t fault his side for their performance and endeavour as they were beaten 2-1 by West Brom. It was a tight affair at The Hawthorns, in which the Baggies went two to the good thanks to great strikes from Mikey Johnston and Isaac Price. Substitute Michael Smith got one back for his side in the 78th minute and from that point it was all North End as they kept pushing for a leveller, but the hosts hung on to take three points. Hecky said: “I’m pleased with the performance, the effort and the endeavour. It was a very, very tight game. Both teams were going for it end-to-end. “They've scored two real good goals in terms of the finishes. We felt we could have done better with the first and got out to them quicker, though. Then when we have moments, we have to be more ruthless and take our chances in these tight moments. We didn't and obviously they scored two really good goals. “Then we need decisions to go our way. Obviously the big one’s the penalty. We know it's a penalty, but if we focus on what we can do, in the second half, they started brightly. Jordan [Storey] made a great header at the back post. “But other than the goal, Dan [Iversen] had nothing to do. We’re pushing and pushing but couldn't open them up enough, we huffed and puffed, had the possession, had the territory, took risks and obviously they looked a threat on the counter. “It’s just one of those days where I can't be critical of the players. There’s always things we want to be better at, whether it's for the goals or whether it's to get more control of game, but coming away to a difficult place and being more than a match for the opposition, you can't be critical.” It was an entertaining clash at The Hawthorns between teams who started the day fourth and seventh in the Championship after promising starts to the campaign. There was plenty of action at either end, with Iversen coming up with a few big saves – notably a double stop to deny Price in the first half – while Josh Griffiths prevented Daniel Jebbison from scoring a 99th-minute leveller. Hecky said: “I'd rather win a rubbish game of football against a very good side. You have to get better at doing this as a manager, even a player. The result is the be all and end all, but it can't be the be all and end all if you're trying to improve and if you're trying to get better all the time. “We should never get used to that feeling in there now. That's what drives you on, it's the worst. But if I'm looking at the performance, coming here against a very good team, especially at home, we’ve been more than a match for them. “I have to pay respect to the players and make sure we emphasise that and understand why we were good but also where we can be better. “We have to keep them positive. There's a way we want to play, there's a way we want approach every game, and if we do it we'll win more than we lose and that's it. We've got two more huge games at home and we're looking forward to them.” MASON Ryan Mason hailed two moments of brilliance following his team’s 2-1 triumph over Preston North End at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon. Sensational individual efforts from Mikey Johnston and Isaac Price helped secure a first home win since the opening day of the 2025/26 term. The boss believes it’s incredibly important to have genuine matchwinners in his side and says the pieces of quality were the difference in what was a “tight” Sky Bet Championship encounter. Please login or create an account To view this media you need an account, please login or register. Login Register Mason said: “We’re happy tonight. We’re happy with the result and it’s been far too long since we won at home. Our last win here was the opening day of the season which is incredible really. “We’re pleased to get over the line today. It was a tough game against good opposition, but we scored two really good goals and I think we had some really good moments during the game. “The nature of this league means a single goal can change the feeling and the momentum of a game and we had to hang on at the end. It was incredible that we had to play nine minutes of added time – I’m not sure where that came from. “The lads stuck with it, got through it and we enjoy the feeling of winning. “It’s important to have players like Mikey Johnston and Isaac Price because in tight games sometimes you need a moment of brilliance. We had two of those moments today. “Pricey’s finish is excellent and Mikey’s strike is outstanding. Before Mikey’s goal we had a few passages where you could feel momentum building because a lot of the ball was in the final third. We were trying to make that count, but it was a moment of brilliance and we’re happy for Mikey. Ryan Mason celebrates on the touchline at The Hawthorns after beating Preston “We’d love him to score more tap-ins, and that’s certainly the challenge for Mikey, but if he can score a few more of them this season then we’ll all be really happy. “Josh Griffiths had a couple of big moments today, along with some of the defenders. In the last ten minutes the ball was coming into the box a lot, like it normally does. Everyone stood up together and it was a real team effort. We’re pleased with that and we enjoyed the result inside our stadium with our fans. “It’s important to start the busy week with three points and it’s important with the situation at home to feel victories here. We’ve played really well at home in the majority of games so far this season, but we haven’t got the results we’ve deserved. “Today, in a tight game, we’ve edged it. It’s so important to win games at home to build the feeling that this is a tough place to come. We want our fans to feel part of it too, which they certainly were today. “The fans have been amazing all season and we really needed them today. I thought they really stood up in the last ten minutes or so and then in stoppage time, certainly after their goal went in. The fans stood up and helped us. We could feel that and they were amazing. We’re super grateful for that.”
