0 duels won: Mason must drop West Brom flop who was worse than Gilchrist
West Bromwich Albion didn’t experience any festive cheer on the road at Hull City on Saturday as yet another away defeat in the Championship this season came their way.
Worryingly, Ryan Mason’s Baggies have now lost a bumper nine league games in a row when not playing at the Hawthorns, with an Oli McBurnie penalty for the Tigers ending up being the crucial difference maker.
There would be a lot of grumbles on West Brom’s end when the penalty was given, with several big chances missed by the visitors, before the referee pointed to the spot, courtesy of a handball from a Baggies defender.
To make matters worse, West Brom would also be on the receiving end of a dubious red card decision involving second-half substitute Alfie Gilchrist, as the West Midlands outfit endured a nightmare trip to the East Riding of Yorkshire.
How Alfie Gilchrist got on against Hull
The former Chelsea youngster had only been on the pitch for a matter of eight minutes before he was given his harsh marching orders.
Coming in to the side for only his seventh Championship runout of the campaign, Gilchrist would have been eager to impress.
Instead, a high challenge on Liam Millar would be punished, as his first stint away from Stamford Bridge continues to fail to ignite.
Indeed, with zero clean sheets next to his name from those seven appearances, it looks unlikely that Gilchrist will be able to break into the starting XI down the line, with Mason comfortable with the likes of Nathaniel Phillips in the heart of his defence.
Gilchrist’s performance vs Hull
Stat
Gilchrist
Minutes played
8
Touches
6
Accurate passes
4/5 (80%)
Tackles won
0
Duels won
0/1
Red card
1
Stats by Sofascore
He certainly won’t have boosted his case for more starts with his whirlwind eight-minute cameo against Hull, even if he can be deemed a little unlucky, for a tackle judged to be a “strong yellow” at most by West Brom-focused journalist Lewis Cox.
It would also be extremely harsh to say Gilchrist’s dismissal solely changed the complexion of the match, as one wasteful underperformer looked even worse than the 22-year-old defender, as another Championship contest passed him by.
The West Brom flop who was worse than Gilchrist
As the under-fire Mason summed it up at the full-time whistle, West Brom ultimately lost the contest when squandering a whole host of golden opportunities in the first half.
Karlan Grant, in particular, spurned various chances to put his inconsistent side into the lead, with five shots registered at the Hull goal in quick succession by the left winger. In the number ten spot, too, Isaac Price, also let the away side down, again, with another below-par performance in the attacking areas, as his goalless run in the Championship now stretches to a shambolic 12 matches.
Price’s performance in numbers
Stat
Price
Minutes played
66
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Expected goals (xG)
0.78 xG
Touches
30
Accurate passes
18/22 (82%)
Key passes
2
Big chances created
1
Successful dribbles
0
Total duels won
0/1
Stats by Sofascore
On another day, that duck would have been broken against Hull, as seen in his xG reaching a high 0.78. But the Northern Ireland international’s shattered confidence was clear for all to see in the first 45 minutes, when he somehow fired a point-blank chance over the bar.
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On top of that, Price would also fail to complete a single successful dribble or win a single duel, as the ex-Everton youngster eventually retreated into his shell, leading to West Brom ultimately accepting another away-day disappointment.
It has been a dramatic drop-off for Price at the Hawthorns, as the 22-year-old would amass five goals and two assists during the early stages of this second-tier campaign. Moreover, he was also labelled a “breath of fresh air” by Baggies legend Chris Brunt earlier in the season, with how electric and forward-thinking he looked on the ball.
Fast forward to the present, though, and Price looks a shadow of his former self, with the playmaker equally frustrating to watch last time out on the road – before the trip to Hull – away at Southampton, when failing to convert another six shots.
Mason will know, if he doesn’t arrest the slide at West Brom soon, that he could pay the price with his job, with the hot-and-cold attacking midfielder perhaps one face he has to consider dropping moving forward, as his lack of cutting edge proved to be far more costly than Gilchrist’s wild cameo.
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