'Missed chance?' - Jonny Drury & Lewis Cox analyse West Brom's draw with Leeds
Jonny Drury and Lewis Cox give their take on Albion's 0-0 draw at home to Leeds.
Albion went into the game searching for a second win on the bounce - and controlled the first half without carving out chances.
The game went much the same way in the second period - but Jayson Molumby and Karlan Grant couldn't make the most of big chances to win the game.
Albion went into the game searching for a second win on the bounce - and controlled the first half without carving out chances.
The game went much the same way in the second period - but Jayson Molumby and Karlan Grant couldn't make the most of big chances to win the game.
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00:00Hello Baggies fans, welcome to ExpressAndStart.com, my name is Jonny Drury, after Albi have kicked
00:13off their home championship campaign with a 0-0 draw against last season's playoff
00:17finalist Leeds United.
00:19Coxey, I've just put out on Twitter, you never really want to say missed opportunity
00:24after two games, but I feel like Albi should have really come away with three points today.
00:28Yeah, they were the better team, and I do think Leeds were there for the taking, to
00:31be honest.
00:32I think it's probably the best time you can come up against a Leeds side in the championship
00:37this season, certainly in the context of the current lot.
00:41They looked nervy, angsty, didn't they?
00:43The away end were right on them, booing sideways, backwards passing, but I suppose from a Leeds
00:50perspective, having drawn 3-3 with Pompey and crashed out in the cup, they're probably
00:55much the happy today, aren't they, Leeds, really?
00:57Carlos Corbijn agreed with me that Albi were the better side, the more dominant side, certainly
01:02with the ball, possession stats back that.
01:05He did say chances created was probably about even, which I thought Albi made created more
01:10really, but the two chances were the second half, weren't they?
01:14They weren't that clear-cut, and they fell to Molumbian-Grant, and with respect to those
01:18two, they're maybe not the ones you'd want the chances to fall to.
01:22I don't know, it was a bit of a low-key home opener, wasn't it?
01:25It was not quite drab, but a little bit quiet, lacking in excitement for large parts, I would
01:31say, but it's a clean sheet, something to take against what I said at the top about
01:38a good time to play Leeds.
01:39They've still got quality players, aren't they?
01:41And quality players to come on the bench, so yes, they've lost some of their best and
01:45continue to with Rutter, but look at the XI and a couple of the subs, they're good-sized
01:50stuff.
01:51They still have good players who, in any moment, can produce something, I would say, but they
01:55looked really off it, and Albion had a chance, just not meant to be three points at the end,
02:00just had to settle for that single point, but a good start, four points in the two games.
02:04Yes, certainly a good start after a summer of concern.
02:07I think the main contrast for Albion this season, and what we've been pleasantly surprised
02:12with in the last couple of weeks, is that Albion have looked comfortable, they've dominated
02:15on the ball, and I think if you look at Leeds coming here last season, Albion scored early,
02:19defending on the edge of their own box, defending for their lives, whereas today, again, still
02:23a strong Leeds side, you can say they've sold £140 million worth of talent, they're still
02:27a very strong side, Albion just look comfortable today.
02:30How are the other half living?
02:32Selling, not only selling, but having £140 million worth of talent.
02:37Yes, the point Corbijn made about possession and dominance and control, I think he said
02:42near enough 60% possession, we didn't really see that much last season, I would say.
02:47Certainly not against a big team.
02:49I did ask, is that something they're really trying to build and improve on this season,
02:54the standard and calibre of football, and he went along with that really.
02:58To do it today I think is a pretty good sign.
03:01Yes, I think people can rightly point to Leeds drew 3-3 against newly promoted Pompey on
03:07the opening day, and I do agree, but Corbijn's made the point a couple of times the last
03:11few days, Leeds only didn't beat Pompey because they wasted glorious chances in the
03:18final third, scored three, should have scored five, six, whatever.
03:21And the Albion boss was particularly delighted actually with not giving up many chances today.
03:26I can only think of, I don't know if I'm forgetting any Johnny, but off the top of
03:30my head, strokes, header from the corner, glanced across goal, was a big one for them
03:35wasn't it?
03:36And the header also from the set-piece in the first half that was on target until it
03:40deflected wide.
03:41So I suppose kept them just a couple of headers from set-pieces, and Albion have got to be
03:47proud of that.
03:48Obviously there was no clean sheet last weekend, so something to build on there.
03:50But you're right about the football point, definitely.
03:52And it'll be interesting to see in the coming weeks, through August and then when the team
03:57squad's settled into September, whether that style continues actually.
04:01Because we're not seeing, we're still seeing a centre-half at left-back aren't we, and
04:06Carl and Grant are doing well, but when the wingers are back fully fit, when there's maybe
04:11one or two more through the door, is Grant going to be first choice?
04:15There's another midfielder due in, as far as we understand, so how's the make-up of
04:19the midfield going to be?
04:20It's hard to make big assessments really until we get well into September.
04:24But in terms of the style, it wasn't a fuller today, I'm not pretending, it was by any stretch,
04:28it was low-key, pretty quiet, but in terms of the style I didn't mind it.
04:32I thought it looked, as you rightly say, a contrast to last season.
04:36It certainly was.
04:37Albion unbeaten in the first two games, as we record this video, top of the league as
04:41well.
04:43Nice to be an NLK setter in a championship.
04:45Long may it last.
04:46Long may it last.
04:47Good start to the season for Albion really, solid win last week and a draw against Leeds
04:50today when it should have really been three points.
04:52But there we go, Albion nil, Leeds nil.
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