West Bromwich Albion ended a four-game winless run with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback victory over Oxford United at The Hawthorns. The result lifts the Baggies to 14th in the Championship and somewhat eases the pressure on head coach Ryan Mason, who has faced scrutiny in recent weeks. Oxford, meanwhile, are winless in three games and remain 21st in the league, after another frustrating performance.
First half summary:
After a minute of silence was held for Remembrance Day, the game kicked off at 3:01pm (GMT) with West Bromwich Albion immediately taking control of possession. The hosts dominated the early stages, creating several chances and forcing Oxford United to defend deep. Isaac Price came close with a header that was cleared off the line by Ciaron Brown, while efforts from Mikey Johnston and Karlan Grant were blocked or just off target. West Brom looked the more threatening side but continued to struggle in front of goal. Oxford’s first real chance came in the 25th minute when Cameron Brannagan’s powerful long-range strike was well saved by Josh Griffiths. Despite that moment, the Baggies continued to dominate possession, going forward through with Mikey Johnston, who caused problems down the left. Johnston fired wide from distance in the 39th minute before whipping in a low cross just before half-time that somehow evaded both Josh Maja and Grant in front of goal. West Brom continued to press but couldn’t find a breakthrough, leaving the game goalless at the interval.
Halftime: 0-0
Second half summary:
Oxford began the second half brightly and were rewarded for their positive start when Will Lankshear turned home a low cross from Przemyslaw Placheta in the 54th minute to give the visitors the lead. However, their advantage lasted less than two minutes as Albion equalised through an own goal from Greg Leigh, who turned Callum Styles’ driven cross past his own keeper. The goal lifted the home side, who began to play with renewed confidence and momentum, as their fans were electric. Both sides made changes, and substitute Aune Heggebo made an instant impact, heading in Isaac Price’s cross in the 71st minute to put West Brom ahead for the first time. Oxford pushed late for an equaliser, with Cameron Brannagan twice forcing saves and Lankshear heading over late on. Seven minutes of stoppage time was added on, and further chances were created, but the hosts saw out the contest to secure a deserved 2-1 victory.
During the post–match conference, West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason said:
“It was important, you could feel it, but not just the win, I thought the performance, the attitude, the intensity we played with was really pleasing.
“I’m really happy with the reaction, we created so many opportunities, we probably should have scored a lot more than two, but I’m pleased to win the game.
“We need to keep working on the final action and arriving in the areas we want to, but we scored two really good goals in my opinion today, so we’re happy.”
Oxford United head coach Gary Rowett said:
“I’m incredibly frustrated because that’s been symptomatic of our performances this season in as much as we do a lot to get back in the game when the game’s not perfect, but the game’s never going to be perfect coming away from home to West Bromwich Albion.
“I thought we started a little bit slowly, allowed them to pin us in, but I didn’t think we looked in too much trouble.
“We just keep conceding very, very soft goals and keep conceding goals that I think we shouldn’t concede.
“When you do that you don’t really give yourself a good chance to win games.”
Teams:
West Bromwich Albion: Griffiths, Gilchrist (Bielik 87’), Phillips, Taylor, Styles, Diakite (Molumby 62’), Mowatt, Grant (Illing-Junior 79’), Price, Johnston (Collyer 87’), Maja (Heggebo 62’).
Unused substitutes:
Wildsmith, Mepham, Bany, Dike.
Oxford United: Cumming, Long, Helik, Brown, Leigh (Sibley 90+4’), De Keersmaecker (Dembele 79’), Brannagan, Krastev (Mills 79’), Prelec (L.Harri 71’), Placheta (Vaulks 71’), Lankshear.
Unused substitutes:
Ingram, Romney, M.Harris, Davies.
Attendance: 22,898