Albion’s Second Tier Season Comparison – 3 games | OneFootball

James Morrison’s team were beaten for the first time in the Championship this season at Middlesbrough, the sixth successive defeat against the Teessiders. It was also Albion’s first league defeat in August since 2023 when they were beaten at Blackburn on the opening day of that campaign. Since then, they had played eleven league matches in the eighth month of the year winning eight and drawing three.

The defeat sees the Baggies drop to seventh place in the table, below Boro on goal difference and Millwall on alphabetical order, and they welcome Charlton Athletic to the Hawthorns on Wednesday with the Addicks now top of the table as the only side in the division with a 100% record.

Given that I would have been happy with four points from the opening three games, it’s difficult to be disappointed with six. There are plenty of positives from the season so far, and the first half performance at the Riverside was excellent. The goals we conceded were a bit sloppy, even if the first one was offside, but the equaliser was beautifully crafted.

Having benefitted, at least in the match, from a poor piece of officiating at Carrow Road, the Baggies were definitely on the wrong end of a stinker of a decision at Middlesbrough – how the assistant referee, who was perfectly positioned and looking right along the line, did not flag for that first goal is a mystery. You can argue that it completely changed the momentum of the game so was a huge decision to get wrong – having been a linesman myself, I know it’s a difficult job, but that was an easy spot.

I thought the new signing, Tunde, looked useful when he came on and could well prove to be an excellent addition, but I do think we need a pacey striker to join the ranks if we are to challenge well this season.

Five games in and Albion are yet to register a clean sheet, something the team did well at the back end of last season. Mozza is acutely aware of the disparity and mentioned it in his post-match interview. A more attacking approach will inevitably risk more at the back, but we weren’t really caught on the break in this defeat and all three goals should have been defended more stoutly.

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