West Brom star was the worst performer vs Birmingham City

James Morrison did not get the reaction that he would have wanted from his West Bromwich Albion after coming back from the international break.

The Baggies had three weeks to stew over their defeat to their local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship at the end of September, and failed to make it right with an improved performance.

Instead, Morrison’s side were beaten 1-0 by Birmingham City at The Hawthorns, thanks to a penalty from August Priske just before the end of the first half.

Nat Phillips gave the penalty away when he pulled the Danish striker with both arms when competing for a header, which gave the referee a decision to make.

Why Nat Phillips was not to blame for West Brom’s loss

The experienced central defender should not take the bulk of the blame for the loss, despite his error, because the rest of his performance was largely impressive.

Phillips will, of course, regret his decision to put hands on Priske as he attempted to put the striker off getting on the end of a cross, but it was a situation that you see multiple times per match and referees do not always spot the contact. He did this time.

Despite that error, the Englishman was far from the worst player on the pitch in the defeat to the Blues. In fact, only Christoph Klarer (16) made more defensive contributions than Phillips (15) between both sides.

The former Liverpool ace made 15 defensive contributions, including ten clearances, and won an eye-catching six of his seven ground duels throughout the game.

Morrison, therefore, does not have to think about dropping the central defender, despite the penalty, because his all-round defensive play outside of that mistake was superb.

West Brom’s worst performer against Birmingham City

Whilst Phillips may have made the error that ultimately cost the Baggies the game, it was one of his teammates who was the worst performer on the pitch against Birmingham.

Morrison opted to go with his favoured 4-4-2 formation for this clash with the Blues and selected Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Aune Heggebo as his front two for the game.

Unfortunately, the latter put in an incredibly disappointing performance in the number nine role and was substituted after 70 minutes, having put in an even worse display than Phillips did.

The Norwegian centre-forward should lose his place in the starting line-up ahead of the trip to Wrexham in midweek, because he did not do enough to suggest that he deserves to start again.

Action Images/Craig Brough

Heggebo had the team’s biggest chance of the game at 0-0 when he had the opportunity to strike the ball on the volley unmarked inside the area, but his bouncing effort crashed back off the base of the post.

Whilst it was not a horrendous effort from the striker, as he still hit the woodwork, his shot lacked the quality that was needed for the hosts to take the lead and change the flow of the match.

It was also his only shot of the 70 minutes that he spent on the pitch and his only attacking contribution in general, as the forward failed to create any chances for his teammates.

Heggebo, who has not scored since the win over Derby County, has now only scored two goals in nine appearances in all competitions this season, and one of those goals was the handball goal against Norwich that saw him retrospectively banned for two games.

The 25-year-old marksman’s play off the ball was just as disappointing as his struggles in possession, though, as he lost 86% of his duels against Birmingham, including 100% of his ground duels.

Birmingham’s defenders found it too easy to get the better of him on the deck and in the air, which made it more difficult for the Baggies to sustain attacks and break the away side down.

Therefore, Heggebo was even worse than Phillips because he struggled in and out of possession throughout the game, whilst the defender had a strong defensive display aside from his mistake for the penalty.

It is now down to Morrison to take the striker out of the team, possibly in favour of Barney Stewart, when the Baggies travel to Wales in their next match.