West Brom 1-2 Brighton: Magic Moder tops The Albion player ratings
Moder on the dancefloor, and you better not steal the moves. There was no stealing of Jakub Moder’s moves at the Hawthorns as the Polish international came off the bench to help the Albion into round four of the FA Cup and top the West Brom 1-2 Brighton player ratings.
Graham Potter named a strong side for the trip to the Baggies, a clear signal that he intends to have a go at the competition this season.
Things though were not going entirely to plan as West Brom’s reserves took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second half with their first shot on target.
Potter sought to inject further quality from the bench, which led to Moder being summoned with 15 minutes remaining.
Within six minutes, he had scored to level the tie and take it to extra time. He then played a crucial role in creating the opportunity which led to Neal Maupay scoring what proved to be the winner.
It was Moder’s best performance in an Albion shirt for some time, earning him the headlines ahead of another outstanding performance from Dan Burn and an exciting cameo from 17-year-old Evan Ferguson.
Here are your player ratings from West Brom 1-2 Brighton.
Kjell Scherpen – 6.50
He is an absolute giant. West Brom only mustered one shot on target of any note over the course of the two hours and they scored from it but no blame could be apportioned to Brighton’s debutant goalkeeper. He looked assured dealing with crosses and his distribution was decent enough.
Joel Veltman – 6.50
A steady enough performance on the right side of the back three. Might have done better to prevent the West Brom goal but he was outnumbered as the Baggies broke and it would be harsh to single one player out as being at fault when it was very much a collective cock up.
Shane Duffy – 7.33
Captained the Albion again in the absence of Lewis Dunk and Adam Lallana. Made some important interventions defensively although he was done for pace when West Brom scored. Should have netted himself up the other end, instead hooking a volley over the bar from inside the six yard box to maintain Brighton’s fine record of astonishing misses at the Hawthorns.
Dan Burn – 7.83
Continued his excellent recent form with a performance which left him second to Moder in the West Brom 1-2 Brighton ratings. One magical moment saw him win back possession from his position on the left side of the back three, then pop up on the right wing to deliver a good cross into the box at the end of the same move.
Odel Offiah – 6.50
Did anyone mention that his uncle is rugby league legend Martin Offiah? Handed a surprise debut at right wing back and grew into the contest with increasing confidence after a bit of a shaky start. Another promising talent to keep an eye on.
Pascal Gross – 6.33
He did reasonably well, showing plenty of incision in a central role before being shunted out to the right where he caused increasing panic in the West Brom defence with some typically precise deliveries. Both Duffy and Danny Welbeck should have done better with opportunities created by the German playmaker.
Enock Mwepu – 5.83
Another afternoon brought to a premature end by injury. Potter will be hoping it is nothing serious ahead of important home games against Crystal Palace and Chelsea which Brighton are already having to navigate without Yves Bissouma.
Steve Alzate – 6.17
No surprise that he looked a little rusty on his first start since his September injury. Looked to use the ball sensibly and will be pleased to have got more minutes in the bank.
Solly March – 6.67
Employed down both flanks and he saw a lot of the ball without ever really making something happen as we know he can. A missed opportunity to push his claims for more Premier League involvement.
Danny Welbeck – 6.00
You expect a player of his quality to score the first half chance when Gross split the West Brom defence and Dat Guy went in one-on-one with David Button. A strong hand kept Welbeck’s dinked effort out but he still should have done better. Like Alzate, another who will benefit in the long run from the game time.
Neal Maupay – 7.33
Potter playing his leading striker with such an important run of Premier League games to come was the biggest sign that Brighton want to take the FA Cup seriously. That decision was rewarded by Maupay scoring the winner with a clinical finish for his eighth of the campaign.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.17
Pressed into action earlier than he would have expected following Mwepu’s injury. He was at the heart of most of what Brighton did in an improved second half performance. Almost made it onto the score sheet with a good effort kept out by an even better Button save.
Marc Cucurella – 7.67
Potter called for the cavalry after West Brom took their early second half lead, starting with Cucurella. He brought increased energy and gave the Baggies a new threat to contend with.
Leandro Trossard – 7.00
An underrated part in the win. Most observers believed that the red card shown to Cedric Kipre was the turning point and Trossard was central to that decision as the West Brom man was lured into two clumsy challenges in the space of 120 seconds.
JAKUB MODER – 8.17
What an impact from the Polish international. Clinically despatched the Brighton equaliser after collecting Ferguson’s touch and then played a part in the winner. Without his two interventions, a strong Albion side could have been on the end of an embarrassing elimination against a Championship club’s reserve team.
Evan Ferguson – 7.50
Much to like about the 17-year-old striker’s cameo. Claimed an assist with a nice little feed into the path of Moder and was then denied his first senior goal by a correct offside decision. Brighton fans will be clamouring for greater involvement, but he is still only a kid and recent Albion history is full of young strikers – hello Aaron Connolly and Joe Gatting – overpromoted too early whose form subsequently deserted them to the detriment of their careers. Ferguson requires careful management to make the most of his talent.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via Twitter. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
