West Brom 2-0 Sheffield United: FLW report as Heggebo and Grant strikes see Baggies down Blades | OneFootball

FLW report from The Hawthorns for this Championship fixture

West Bromwich Albion eased the pressure on under-fire head coach Ryan Mason with a controlled 2-0 victory over Sheffield United at The Hawthorns.

The 34-year-old's position has been a hot topic of discussion in recent outings, but his side made it three home wins in four against a Blades side who hadn't lost any of their last six games.

After a drab first half, the encounter was decided by two strikes in the first 16 minutes of the second, with Aune Heggebo continuing his hot streak with a poacher's finish on 50 minutes, before Karlan Grant doubled the advantage shortly after the hour-mark with a fierce drive off the crossbar for his second of the campaign.

West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Sheffield United

The first chance of the game came inside eight minutes, with Joe Wildsmith producing a fine save to thwart Blades creator-in-chief, Gustavo Hamer, who looked to bend the ball into the top-right corner after smart play from Patrick Bamford and Tyrese Campbell.

Albion's goalkeeper was left a relieved man just four minutes later, though, as his clearance was closed down by Campbell before striking Hamer, although the ball would fall wide of the target in the end.

The hosts' first clear-cut chance came on 18 minutes as Grant had the beating of Femi Seriki, with his hanging cross met by a deflected Mikey Johnston volley from 10 yards out.

United then mustered the best chance of the first half on the break. Bamford was able to intercept a loose pass, playing in Hamer who fed Campbell through on goal with an exquisite pass before Nat Phillips' well-timed block denied the striker his sixth of the campaign.

Another lapse in concentration from the Baggies allowed Campbell to force Ousmane Diakite into an error on the edge of the box nine minutes before the interval, with Bamford's eventual effort lacking any kind of power.

Johnston then fired a snapshot at Michael Cooper before Djibril Soumare was allowed to venture into the Baggies box after receiving possession 20 yards out and sending a strike of his own over the crossbar.

The final action of the first period saw Heggebo blaze his maiden effort over Cooper's net, with Matthew Donohue adding no extra minutes.

However, five minutes into the second, the Norwegian burst into life with his seventh goal in as many games as he turned home George Campbell's pinpoint cross after getting inbetween Japhet Tanganga and Mark McGuinness.

It got even better for Mason's side 11 minutes later when the Norwegian played Grant through, with the experienced forward slamming home a powerful effort off the crossbar after outmuscling McGuinness on the edge of the box.

Isaac Price could have extended the lead midway through the half before seeing the ball slip away from his grasp after the deftest of touches from Tanganga.

With 15 minutes to go, United saw strong appeals for a penalty dismissed as Callum O'Hare fell under pressure from Jayson Molumby, before the aforementioned Price sent a curling effort just wide from the resulting counter-attack.

The visitors continued to push for a route back into the game, with O'Hare and Cannon denied by a stern Albion rearguard, before another chance to make it three was passed up by the two scorers on 85 minutes.

Ultimately, the Steel City side would continue to be frustrated, with the three points remaining in B71 as Albion move up to 14th ahead of Saturday's fixtures, whilst the Blades remain 17th.

FT: West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Sheffield United

Player Ratings

West Bromwich Albion

Joe Wildsmith - 7

George Campbell - 7.5

Nat Phillips - 7

Krystian Bielik - 7.5

Callum Styles - 8

Jayson Molumby - 7

Ousmane Diakite - 6.5

Mikey Johnston - 7 (Iling-Junior 90" - N/A)

Isaac Price - 6.5 (Taylor 84" - 6)

Karlan Grant - 8

Aune Heggebo - 8 (Dike 93" - N/A)

Unused Subs: Josh Griffiths, Joe Wallis, Alfie Gilchrist, Chris Mepham, Ollie Bostock, Josh Maja

Sheffield United

Michael Cooper - 6

Femi Seriki - 6.5

Mark McGuinness - 6.5

Japhet Tanganga - 6.5

Harrison Burrows - 6.5

Andre Brooks - 6 (Chong 60" - 6)

Djibril Soumare - 7 (Arblaster 60" - 6)

Jairo Riedewald - 6.5 (O'Hare 70" - 6)

Gustavo Hamer - 6.5

Patrick Bamford - 6 (Ings 84" - 6)

Tyrese Campbell - 6.5 (Cannon 70" - 6)

Unused Subs: Adam Davies, Tyler Bindon, Sam McCallum, Alex Matos

Ryan Mason's reaction as West Brom see off Sheffield United

Reacting to his side's victory, Mason said: "I'm happy. Obviously, whenever we win a game of football, I'm really happy.

"The players showed such a good reaction and put so much energy into that game. It's been a tough week from a physical and travelling point of view.

"We're the only team, once again, I don't know why, to go away from home midweek and have to play the Friday night game.

"So, from a physical point of view, I thought we were up against it," Mason explained. "That's what makes this win so much more pleasing.

When asked about a potential sense of relief, the Albion head coach responded: "I think, as a coach, whenever you win, there's relief.

"Then, you can enjoy the feeling. I thought we were good value in the second half," he added.

"I thought it was crucial we got through the first 20 minutes. They had a couple of counter-attacks, Joe (Wildsmith) pulled off a really good save, Nat (Phillips) made a really good tackle.

"You could sense a little bit of anxiety amongst the group because they want it so much. And, like I say, when you play that many games in six days, you need to grow into the game.

"The pleasing thing was that we got through that period at 0-0. It wasn't necessarily great, but it didn't matter.

"I think we showed in the second half that when we play like that and have spells, we can cause the opposition problems, score goals and create opportunities, and we did that.

"At the end of the match, we had to defend our box well, so really pleased," Mason stated.

Chris Wilder reacts as Sheffield United defeated by West Brom

After seeing his side suffer defeat for the first time since November 4th, Wilder said: "It's nothing to do with the chances.

"It's to do with our attitude and mentality. It was shocking in the second half," he claimed.

"It's as frustrated and as angry as I've been for a long, long time. I've managed a lot of games for this football club, and that is right up there in terms of how frustrated and annoyed I am with the second half.

"(They) thought the game would just come to them, and it would just happen. You've got to fight for it and go and get it.

"I thought the first half performance was OK to good," the Blades boss explained.

"We've been on bad runs, environments and atmospheres in games and it's sometimes difficult. We knew it was a great opportunity given the run West Brom have been on, which can happen, and we all understand that and we smelt it before the game.

"It was quiet. There was a little bit of vulnerability regarding the opposition, in my opinion. We smelt it and went after it.

"It's alright smelling it and getting after it. But, you've got to bury them, and we didn't take our chances," he added.

West Bromwich Albion vs Sheffield United Attendance