Speaking after West Brom’s FA Cup triumph, Slaven Bilic has hailed his side’s “complete and mature” performance.
What did he say?
Having edged past Charlton in the third round of the competition earlier this month, the Baggies travelled to the London Stadium to take on Premier League side West Ham – which of course would see Bilic return to one of his former employers.
An early strike from Conor Townsend was enough to send the away side through, despite Semi Ajayi receiving his marching orders late in the second-half.
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And speaking after the game, Bilic hailed his side’s defensive resilience in keeping the Hammers at bay. He said (as quoted by The Express and Star): “To be fair, I said to the guys at half-time the only thing I wasn’t happy about was the result – and we were winning. We should have been more up. In the second-half, it was more of a normal game until the red card, second yellow.
“Okay, they then put us under pressure. But we defended well, we defended in numbers. We limited them to one chance with Mark (Noble) right at the end. But we deserved it big-time I think. It was a complete and mature performance.”
Inspiration
Whilst their victory over West Ham may have come in the FA Cup, and their bread and butter for this season is no doubt the Championship, the Baggies’ win on Saturday afternoon can act as a major source of inspiration. They went to a Premier League side, took an early lead, and then rode out a late storm thanks to a red card to seal a victory.
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Bilic’s post-match verdict on how it was a “complete and mature” performance is the big take-away. West Brom will need similar displays to the one they produced at the London Stadium if they are to make it back to the promised land of the top-flight. Times will get difficult, and if they can hold their nerve, and their rearguard can stand firm, then they will fancy their chances of earning promotion this season.
Not every game will be a walk in the park, or an easy three points. The wins that require you to grind it out can often be the difference-maker, and after seeing his ten-men do that against West Ham, Bilic can point back to this game as the benchmark for what they need to do for the rest of the campaign.
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