West Brom 1 Stoke 1 - Player ratings
Matt Wilson rates the West Brom players following their 1-1 draw with Stoke City.
Ben Foster
May have put Ahmed Hegazi off with a shout, but the mix-up was the defender’s fault more than his. Before that, he did well to tip over a deflected Kurt Zouma shot and commanded his area well. 6/10
Allan Nyom
Not only did he outplay the dangerous Jese, Nyom created Albion’s goal with a burst down the right wing and a wicked delivery. 7/10
Craig Dawson
Once again, he looked comfortable at the heart of defence alongside Hegazi, and the quality of his long-range passing has improved too. 6/10
Ahmed Hegazi
Man of the match for the first two games of the season, it was his error that gifted Stoke the equaliser. But he was playing well up until then, and all the early positive signs shouldn’t be dismissed because of one mistimed clearance. 5/10
Chris Brunt
Had two penalty shouts against him correctly waved away, and he had a solid game defensively while threatening with his crosses. 6/10
Matt Phillips
A solid day defensively, but a quiet one going forward. Because of Stoke’s formation, he found it difficult to get to the byline as often as he would have liked. 6/10
Jake Livermore
The stand-in skipper was his usual athletic self in the midfield battle, although he was unable to play the killer pass when needed. 6/10
Gareth Barry - Albion man of the match
The veteran midfielder was superb on his home debut for the club. His reading of the game more than makes up for his lack of pace, and his composure on the ball is unrivalled in this team. But he proved he’s still got the bite needed for a midfield battle. Nobody made more tackles than him on either side. 7/10
James Morrison
When he’s on the ball, he’s good at keeping it, and his pass success rate of 95 per cent was the highest of all 22 starters. But there wasn’t always an option open for him. 6/10
Jay Rodriguez
Proved how dangerous he can be coming in off the wing with a bullet header to give Albion the lead. A much-needed goal threat from open play. 7/10
Salomon Rondon
Worked hard but never looked like scoring. Left too isolated more often than not, but asks for passes he’s never going to reach. 5/10
Substitutes
Claudio Yacob (For Morrison, 70)
Brought on to shore things up. 6/10
James McClean (for Phillips, 77)
Created a late chance for Rondon. 6/10
Oliver Burke (For Rodriguez, 88)
Needs time to get up to speed. 5/10
