West Bromwich Albion lost 1-0 to local rivals Wolves on Sunday, their first defeat in five games in the Championship.
Nat Phillips’ horrendous backpass to Max O’Leary allowed the Spaniard to swoop in and score the winning goal, leading to the Lantern Bags conceding to Fer Lopez’s goal.
Unfortunately, that goal was a long time coming for the home team as they were the better team and created chances throughout the game.
Max O’Leary made a string of impressive saves in the first half and made a couple of brave interceptions before the break to deny Wolves the lead.
Biggest question for West Brom vs. Wolves
While James Morrison is concerned about the number of chances conceded against Old Gold, West Brom’s biggest issue is their attacking performance.
Statistics | Wolves | West Brom |
|---|---|---|
have | 45% | 55% |
lens | 15 | 7 |
Shot on target | 6 | 2 |
xG | 1.95 | 0.29 |
Big opportunity | 4 | 0 |
corner kick | 8 | 7 |
At the end of the game, the Lantern Bags did not create any “great chances” for their opponents, with a total of 0.29 xG shots in 90 minutes, while their opponents created 4 “great chances”.
Morrison lined up his team in a 4-4-2 formation and the two wide players, Isaac Price and Harry Whitwell, ended the game with zero chances created.
Phillips created more chances for Fell with his disastrous backpass than any striker had created for his side, which ultimately led to West Brom’s downfall.
Morrison’s attacking players were not good enough either in possession or conceding the ball, causing problems for Wolves, and the performance of one of his forwards in particular should be increasingly worrying.
West Brom find new Oliver Burke
The Lantern Bags have made their fair share of mistakes over the years when it comes to signing offensive players to big bucks. In 2017, they bought Oliver Burke from Red Bull Leipzig for £15 million, and he only scored one goal in 24 games for the club.
He proved to be a waste of money due to his lack of influence at the top of the pitch, and after loan spells at Celtic and Alaves, the club swapped him for Sheffield United’s Callum Robinson.
After Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Wolves, Orne Hegbaugh unfortunately looks set to become the new version of Burke at The Hawthorns.
The £5m centre-forward has failed to establish a consistent presence in front of goal for the Lantern Bags since signing from SK Brann for around £5m last year.
His performance against Old Gold was arguably the club’s worst to date due to his complete lack of involvement on the pitch.
Even though the game lasted just over an hour, Hegbaugh had seven touches of the ball when he came off the field, an average of one every nine minutes and completed one pass.
against Wolves | Hegbo |
|---|---|
minute | 61 |
touch | 7 |
lose possession of the ball | 3x |
Number of passes | 1/2 |
lens | 0 |
key pass | 0 |
Win the ground duel | 0/2 |
Win the air duel | 0/6 |
The 25-year-old forward offered little physical outlet for his team at the top end of the pitch as he lost two ground duels and all six aerial duels.
It was too easy for Wolves defenders to beat him, both in the air and in physical confrontations on the field, as Hegbaugh struggled physically and technically.
The £5m-rated striker is now in danger of becoming West Brom’s new Burke as he has scored just three goals in his last 32 Championship games and his performance against Wolves showed his all-round game does not make up for his lack of goals.
One of those three goals was also a handball goal against Norwich City in the opening game, which earned him a two-match ban, effectively meaning he has scored two legal goals in his past 32 league games.
Hegbo could end up finding himself in the same position as Burke at The Hawthorns, as the club may have to make a decision on his future if the January transfer window comes and he is still struggling physically and technically.
The Norwegian striker has yet to prove he’s worth the £5m they paid for him, just like Burke isn’t worth the £15m they paid for him, and his performance against Wolves didn’t suggest his form is improving.
He needs to turn his form around and start performing consistently in front of goal, otherwise the Baggies will have to consider his future over the next few months.