SportsNigeria’s Semi Ajayi Stars In West Brom's Late Revival

Nigeria’s Semi Ajayi Stars In West Brom’s Late Revival

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BEVERLY HILLS, April 12, (THEWILL) – In their English Premier League Monday night football fixture, Super Eagles’ Oluwasemilogo Ajayi came in as a substitute to help his side West Bromwich Albion hold tight to their three goal lead against Southampton and keep them from finding the net. Fortunately, Sam Allardyce’s charges held on to make it two wins in two at the Hawthorns.

For the first time this season, West Brom secured back-to-back victories whilst turning up a polished display and emphatic win worthy of their victory and all three points. They also sent a clear message to survival rivals at the bottom end of the standings that they mean nothing but business.

Ajayi’s side went into the interval with a two-goal lead that fast breaks from Matheus Pereira and Matt Phillips helped create for the side to play with more confidence. When Callum Robinson found the back of the net in the second half, all of the Saints attempts to find a foothold in the game dissipated for the hosts to claim deserved victory.

Glo

There was no better way for West Brom to build on their five-star 5-2 hammering of Chelsea. The result provides enough basis for Newcastle, Burnley and Brighton Hove and Albion to begin to worry about a late determined push by West Brom to climb so high up that one of them drops into the drop zone in the matches left.

The new confident personality in West Brom is not possible to camouflage. They are playing much improved football and their finishes have become sharpened. In addition, Allardyce still reads the English game as good as any coach and therefore knows a thing or two about how to apply the strength in the club at every turn of the season.

On Monday night, that was obvious when Allardyce introduced the Nigerian Ajayi to join the team’s anchor in the back line and keep up the mental capacity solid to ensure that there was no comeback for Southampton and avoid the complacency that a previous win over a disciplined side like Chelsea can cause.

The only thing that was missing from the vintage performance were the cheers and whistles, banter and support of a stadium packed to the rafters with a crowd of supporters filling out row upon row of emptied seats because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which no one believed from the onset that it was going to still to be affecting sports today.

Nonetheless, what Ajayi’s side must focus on is the bigger picture without getting caught up in their remarkable return of eight goals and six points in the space of two matches considering the form which went before this glut. Neither is it the time to dwell on how much difference it could have made had the new West Brom arrived earlier.

The aim now must be to finish strong in a consistent manner reminiscent of that match against Chelsea that began this belated but extremely significant rally to keep Ajayi’s West Brom in the top flight for another season.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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