Report: West Brom 4-1 Bristol City It was a night to forget at The Hawthorns as City fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of West Brom, who returned to the top of the Sky Bet Championship table. It all started through an unlikely scorer in Kieron Gibbs, before Matheus Pereira struck a sublime free kick into the top corner to send Slaven Bilic’s side into a comfortable half-time lead. City started the second half brighter, Ashley Williams seeing a goal ruled out for offside, before Famara Diédhiou halved the deficit with ten minutes to go. It gave hope to the 1,300 travelling supporters of a late comeback, something City have been known for in recent times, but it was not to be as the Baggies pressed on. Hal Robson-Kanu swept home West Brom’s third of the night two minutes later, while substitute Charlie Austin rounded off the scores, somewhat fortuitously, with five minutes to go. City had not won at The Hawthorns in their last five league attempts, that being a 1-0 win in December 1993, so judging by the historical records, it was never going to be an easy contest. please log in to view this image Korey Smith returned for the latest clash though, to make his first appearance of the season having recovered from injury which had ruled him out since April. The midfielder was joined by Kasey Palmer as Head Coach Lee Johnson made two changes from Saturday, the pair replacing Tommy Rowe and Diédhiou who were named on the bench. Callum O’Dowda starred in the left wing-back role, a position he had worked on over the summer. There was another notable milestone for Josh Brownhill but it was his error on his 150th club appearance, which led to the Baggies opener. His header inside the 10th minute was a moment to forget when the aerial pass towards Bailey Wright was pounced on by Slaven Bilić’s side. Grady Diangana, who looked incredibly impressive on the night, raced through before back-heeling the ball for Gibbs and the former Arsenal left-back tucked the ball home, despite the best efforts of the recovering Nathan Baker. It could have been two-nil shortly after with Diangana looking to go from creator to scorer but his shot rolled inches wide of Dan Bentley’s post, while at the other end Brownhill saw sight at Sam Johnstone’s net but couldn’t curl his effort on target. please log in to view this image Things got worse for City when Pereira’s sweetly struck free kick picked out the top corner. The set piece came after Palmer was robbed of possession, with West Brom captain Jake Livermore feeding Diangana who was tripped by Bailey Wright. There really is no saving these kinds of strikes, with the shot from the edge of the area leaving Bentley rooted to the spot, as the ball narrowly avoided the crossbar and rippled the back of the net. O’Dowda, who picked up a knock earlier, would be replaced by Rowe before the break and it was nearly three with minutes of the first half remaining. City captain Wright sliced a clearance allowing Robson-Kanu to pick out Diangana’s run but Bentley was down to smother his low shot. It had been a half to forget but in fairness to the visitors, City did improve after the interval. please log in to view this image Niclas Eliasson and Diédhiou came in for Wright and Palmer at the break and City were soon threatening with new faces and a change of shape. In fact they would have the ball in the back of West Brom’s net within four minutes of the restart, only for Williams’ goal to be disallowed for offside in the build up, before the Welshman went close to meeting an Eliasson corner moments later. It was the encouraging start Johnson’s men needed if they were to find a way back into the contest but the hosts had weathered the storm before getting on top once again. However, they were soon creating chance and the Robins had the recovering Pedro Pereira to thank when he cut out a Matt Phillips cross with Robson-Kanu ready to pounce. Pereira, often looking for the overlap, then saw a cross take a double deflection which forced a quick reaction save from Johnstone, though the Baggies were quickly up the other end themselves, this time Bentley showed smart reactions to deny Robson-Kanu at the far post. please log in to view this image But City would get on the scoresheet thanks to Johnson’s half-time substitutes, with Eliasson’s corner ten minutes from time causing West Brom problems. With the ball static inside a crowded penalty area, Diédhiou eventually stabbed the ball beyond Johnstone to much delight from City supporters to the left of the goal. However, their cheers were short-lived as the Baggies quickly restored their two-goal cushion. Phillips was quick to intercept a Bentley pass towards Ádám Nagy, racing up the pitch and picking out Robson-Kanu to sweep home the third. The drama wouldn’t end there though with Austin snatching the fourth. Again he broke the offside trap, initially seeing an effort turned on to the post by Bentley but the striker was fortunate with the rebound and tucked the ball home with a simple finish. Wednesday night’s result leaves City seventh in the Championship standings ahead of their return to Ashton Gate against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/west-brom-v-bristol-city/
The second goal killed us and it was typical Bailey Wright, if I can't win the ball I'll foul the player. He has done it so many times and was one of the major reasons he was jettisoned by the new Australia coach before last year's World Cup, as it was felt he was a liability due to how many free-kicks he concedes. I don't and never have rated him as a player that is Championship standard. An irrelevant point now, but one of their goals, Austin's I think would have been offside had we had VAR, as his arm was out in front of the last defender. Our final third limitations will be our undoing this season, in the last 180 mins of football, we have only had 1 shot on target......
LJ's Apology ~ I apologise' - Lee Johnson takes responsibility for Bristol City humbling by West Brom Head coach says he got things wrong. It's only the third defeat of the season but Bristol City's 4-1 loss was dispiriting in manner for the fans and players. Head coach Lee Johnson accepted the responsibility for the result after the game and has pledged to lift the players for the visit of Huddersfield on Saturday. The City boss explained that his squad were not to blame for the manner of the reversal that see the Baggies go top of the league and the Robins remain in seventh. Johnson offered his apologies to the fans. "Disappointed is an understatement. we came here with ambition," he said in the post-match press conference. "And we didn't start. We were shy on the second ball and we weren't aggressive enough. One thing you have to do at places like this is earn the right to play. "I take full responsibility - it's my team and my identity. And we didn't do enough today individually or as a team. Or as a staff. "I apologise to the fans. They deserve that. They've been fantastic particularly away from home. "I don't think it was lack of effort from the boys today, we were just found wanting in too many areas albeit against a good side. "All credit should go to West Brom but we look at it from our point of view where we're hurting after a loss and we have to reflect. The result is that we've lost three points and we've taken a bit of a pride bashing. But it's not final and it's not fatal - I fully believe in the players moving forward but they've got to show more in those top six games. "In one sense, I thought that West Brom looked like a Premier league outfit. That was a good test for us. We should stand up to that better than we did today. If we we want to go where we want to go then the players need to demand more from each other," he said. On the game, the head coach explained that he felt that the Robins performed for just 10 minutes of the game - straight after half-time. Johnson also pointed out that the officials got the rules wrong regarding how far the wall has to go back - whether a meter or a yard. "I take full responsibility - it's on me," reitterated Johnson as we asked if he would have changed his team selection and tactics in hindsight. "I have to remove it from the players. I'm always honest in my post-match reflections. I said I accept responsibility. "The bigger question is that the likes of Eliasson have got the right to knock on my door and demand to play. Previously it was one in 16 losses, now Eliasson for example should be asking me for a start tomorrow morning" said Johnson, who explained that Callum O'Dowda suffered a dead leg in the game. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/i-apologise-lee-johnson-takes-3585856
Maybe LJ at fault for initial setup, but players need to hold their hands up too...Mistakes cost us the game..
Agree, Brownhill for the first, Wright for the second. Against very good opposition, you get punished and we did. And as for the last 2 goals, VAR would have ruled them out, so it's not all doom and gloom.
disagree … to a degree! this season there is likely to be 2 runaway winners .. and then 4 places up for grabs to fight it out. at the moment there is potentially 15 teams trying for these 4 places, when you look at those in top 6 2 stand out Fulham and Florest so maybe just 2 places from 13 to play for ….. and at that point you have to consider Goal Difference and ours will not improve unless we start winning by 2 goals a game, and soon, after 18 games you would expect to be in +double figures, at least.
