Carlos Corberan annoyed with West Brom defending in draw with Norwich

Nov 23, 2024 2 min read
Manager Carlos Corberan was annoyed with West Brom’s defending in the draw with Norwich (Robbie Stephenson/PA)
Manager Carlos Corberan was annoyed with West Brom’s defending in the draw with Norwich (Robbie Stephenson/PA)

Boss Carlos Corberan was left frustrated despite West Brom ending their goal drought at The Hawthorns in a 2-2 draw against Norwich.

The Baggies scored twice in the first half, courtesy of Mason Holgate and Josh Maja, but could only manage a share of the spoils after an Emiliano Marcondes effort and a Torbjorn Heggem own goal.

Although they netted for the first time in five home games, Corberan was annoyed with the way his side defended.

He said: “The team has taken a positive step in attack but at the same time we have suffered more chances and [conceded] goals than we want to suffer in the first half.

“I saw improvement in attack but some game situations that we didn’t manage well in defence.

“For me we could have managed better the two goals and some of the chances we were giving to them.

“During the first 20 to 25 minutes [of the second half] we kept creating chances without conceding chances. In the last minutes we didn’t create a lot and we conceded some more [chances].”

Speaking about the triple substitution he made in the 70th minute, Corberan added: “We were looking for more from [everyone] as a team, not only from the bench. From the players that came to the bench, they need to give more.

“The players that were in this moment on the pitch, we need to keep giving more. Me as a coach [needs to] keep finding solutions in the game to see how we can do more things.”

Having conceded 11 goals in their last five games, Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup recognised his side needs to improve – but was pleased to see them back among the goals.

He said: “We should not concede as many goals as we do at the moment. That’s definitely something we need to improve and something we need to work on.

“But it’s always good to have that feeling as a coach that when I see the team out there today, I have the feeling we can score throughout the 90 minutes, which is so important to have.

“So I’m pleased with the amount of chances we created, I’m pleased with the goals we scored.”

The Canaries conceded just minutes after taking the lead in the 41st minute, something Thorup admitted they need to focus on more.

He added: “Of course, in the last minutes before half-time, it would have been good for us to be one goal up at half-time.

“We’ve seen that before, to be honest, this season that we concede after scoring a goal. So it is something we have been aware of but obviously need to be even more aware of.”

Onel Hernandez made his long-awaited return from injury as a substitute in the 64th minute alongside the returning Liam Gibbs and Thorup admitted his delight at having the duo back.

He said: “[Having them back] changes the picture for us.

“We don’t weaken the team when we have to do substitutions but we can actually put on players with quality. I also think Gibbs did well when he came on.”

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