Albion’s Second Tier Season Comparison – 8 games | OneFootball

Unfortunately, James Morrison’s team managed to produce their worst performance of the season in the match that fans cared about most. It is the first match that Albion have failed to score in since the goalless draw against Ipswich Town in April that secured their Championship status (again). With an xG of just 0.27 at Molineux, it’s no surprise that they didn’t find the net.

What makes the outcome doubly disappointing is that the Baggies handed Wolves their goal thanks to a poor error from Nat Phillips – the hosts deserved to win, but some first half heroics from Max O’Leary could well have earned Albion a point had it not been for that one moment of madness. If there is an overall positive to take from the afternoon, it is that the Baggies were well below their best but only lost by a single goal.

Other positives are Max O’Leary’s performance and, also, that of Barney Stewart when he came on. It was, perhaps, not difficult to look better than Aune Heggebø, who was largely anonymous, but I thought the youngster linked up well with Morgan and others in the final 20 minutes and, had the set piece delivery been of better quality, his hard work could to have led to something more positive.

What was particularly frustrating was how Wolves stopped Albion from playing football by fouling them, constantly, and yet the referee allowed that to happen. Foul after foul, several of them worthy of a yellow card on their own, and yet it was well into the second period before the referee deemed to book a home player. André should have had at least three. It may not have changed the outcome, but if Wolves had been clamped down on earlier, it could have been very different.

It is a second league defeat of the season and, to be honest, it is not an unexpected one given the strength of Wolves’ squad. Albion are still in a better position that any of us expected, in fifth place just one win off top spot, and they will now enjoy some recovery and extra training time after what has been a hectic start to the season.

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