MX23RW : Wednesday, November 27 18:45:06| >> :120:24852:24852:
[monks data]
Attendance: 27,592
Nottingham Forest logo
Championship | Gameweek 1
Aug 3, 2019 at 5.30pm UK
 
West Brom logo

1-2

Cash (8')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Edwards (15'), Phillips (26')

Bilic wants West Brom to be more clinical

Bilic wants West Brom to be more clinical
© Reuters
The Baggies won at the City Ground.

Slaven Bilic urged his West Brom side to find their killer instincts, despite seeing them kick-off the season with a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.

The Baggies boss declared himself "pleased" to have claimed three points at what he regards as being a "Premier League" venue at the City Ground.

But he was less happy with what he felt was a lack of confidence in key moments from his side in the second half, after they had already amassed their 2-1 lead, thanks to goals from Kyle Edwards and Matt Phillips, which cancelled out an opening goal from Forest's Matty Cash.

West Brom were comfortable after the interval, but Bilic felt his side had been too relaxed – and should have been looking to kill the game off.

"In the second half, they did not create anything. They had corners and free kicks but we were defending very well in the box and outside it," said Bilic. "It was the first game, so nobody is fully fit.

"But what I was not happy with, with the quality we have and the team we have, was something else.

"You do not always have to score goals. But there were situations where we should have created chances and we did not.

"We had five clear opportunities to create a one-on-one; to go clear on goal. I don't mind if we had missed all five of those. But we did not create one.

"I felt that we were happy to be winning 2-1 and 2-1 can mean nothing. I want us to be confident, to have the composure and not to panic. That is the only part of the game – and it is a major part of the game – that I was not happy with.

"We should have created five good chances in the second half. We were one pass, one bit of confidence or one decision short in key moments.

"I am very pleased, of course. You only need to look around you at the crowd and the stadium – this is Premier League. It was like a Premier League game."

Both Baggies goals involved mistakes from Reds keeper Aro Muric, who had a tough Championship debut.

But Reds boss Sabri Lamouchi has faith that the Kosovo international will learn from the experience.

"We need to learn from our mistakes. Today we gave them two goals and that is not easy, to come back from that," said Lamouchi.

"Some defeats can bring positive things. We just need to work, but we know that. We need to learn from our mistakes and play with more personality and experience.

"When you start in the right way, as we did today, with the goal from Matty, you cannot allow the opponent to come back into the game in the manner that we did.

"The second goal can happen, many goalkeepers would have conceded that goal. The first one was of the type that can be avoided.

"But Aro is a young keeper and he has a lot of quality. He will help us a lot this season.

"He needs to learn from this. But he knows that. He needs to play with more courage and leadership, in his area; in the box."

ID:366944: cacheID:366944:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4318:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ben Osborn in action for Nottingham Forest on February 2, 2019
Read Next:
Sheffield United sign Ben Osborn from Nottingham Forest
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1711422491535
2Burnley179622161533
3Sunderland1796226121433
4Leeds UnitedLeeds1695228121632
5Watford179262624229
6Middlesbrough1683529191027
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom176921811727
8Millwall166641914524
9Norwich CityNorwich175753125622
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
11Bristol City175752021-122
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds176472026-622
13Stoke CityStoke175661920-121
14Derby CountyDerby165562020020
15Swansea CitySwansea165471414019
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry174582225-317
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd174581927-817
19Preston North EndPreston173861624-817
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth174581834-1617
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City173681623-715
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!