‘We are never going to give up’ says West Brom boss as they hit back for a point

Posted Tuesday, April 02, 2024 by PA

Carlos Corberan insisted that West Brom will ‘never give up’ after watching his side fight back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Watford at The Hawthorns.

Watford struck twice in the space of 15 second-half minutes when Edo Kayembe broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, before Mileta Rajovic doubled the lead from close range.

Albion, who increased their lead over the chasing play-off pack by a point because of the defeats suffered by Norwich, Coventry and Preston, fought back in the closing stages.

Brandon Thomas-Asante struck a fierce drive beyond Daniel Bachmann in the Hornets goal in the 71st minute before right-back Darnell Furlong drew the hosts level in stoppage time with a rasping strike from distance.

It means West Brom have now lost just once in their last 12 matches, a run stretching back to January, and they remain on course to secure a play-off place come May,

Corberan said: “It was important to show to our fans that we wanted more and to show that we want to make something special this year.

“We need to understand, the players, staff, the fans, things aren’t going to work how we’d like them to work. Not always are the games going to be under control or will we play at our best level, but we need to show the fans that we are never going to give up.

“When the fans see that we are trying our best, they are going to support us. When you drop, you can break the togetherness which is necessary during the season, especially in this moment.

“This extra mentality, resilience, maturity, game understanding is going to be key if we’re to keep building something important.”

Watford’s interim manager Tom Cleverley was heartened by his team’s showing, despite the late disappointment of Furlong’s goal denying them two points.

Cleverley has overseen a return of five points from the three matches he has been in charge of, including a win at Birmingham and draws with Leeds and West Brom.

The Hornets could have sewn the game up, with Tom Dele-Bashiru testing goalkeeper Alex Palmer and Emmanuel Dennis hitting the post from a narrow angle.

Instead, they claimed only a point in the Black Country and Cleverley said: “If you strip it back and take the emotion out of it, the last two performances have given me real optimism for the club’s fortunes ahead.

“I feel a little hard done by that we’ve only taken two points from those games but I’ve asked the players for consistency in their performance.

“After a cagey first half, I felt like in the second half we put our stamp on the game. We did that fantastically, we just couldn’t hold on in the end.

“It’s a pleasure to work with these guys on a daily basis. The guys at the back are unfortunate to have conceded two goals today, there were some colossal performances.

“I think 99 times out of 100 when an opposition full-back has the ball 25 yards from goal, you feel fairly safe. Today, unfortunately, it’s gone into the top corner, but these players have given me a lot of belief in the last three games.”