West Brom player ratings gallery vs Hull City: Three score 4/10 but two earn 7s in 2-0 defeat

West Bromwich Albion’s dire away form continued on Friday evening as Hull City responded well to a strong Baggies start, scoring twice to soar up to 13th in the Sky Bet Championship. Albion were dominant early on but Benjamin Tetteh netted his first goal for The Tigers out of nowhere to open the scoring, and Hull were far better from that point on. Everpresent defender Dara O’Shea’s second half own goal dampened the mood even further for West Brom as Hull battled well for a 2-0 victory.

The Baggies started the game brilliantly, absolutely dominating proceedings in the opening 25 minutes or so. Hull were barely able to get out of their own half as West Brom kept hold of the ball with confidence. Despite their strong start possession-wise, however, Albion weren’t clinical enough as they probably should’ve taken the lead on a couple of occasions but squandered their chances. Marc Albrighton had a scuffed effort saved, Jed Wallace had a tame shot caught with ease, and Daryl Dike missed two quickfire chances.

Liam Rosenior did well to respond with some real tactical nous for The Tigers, switching back from a 4-5-1 to a 4-2-3-1. His changes made a big difference as Hull were 10-15 yards further up the field and were starting to pose a threat on the counter-attack. West Brom switched off for merely seconds as they gave the ball away near the halfway line and Hull pounced, playing it forward with urgency. A couple of deflected passes later and Tetteh was through to instinctively strike the ball with power into the top right-hand corner. It was a mightily tight angle but the Ghanaian didn’t care as he netted a dream goal to open his account for Hull.

Albion goalkeeper Josh Griffiths was to the rescue a few minutes later to stop the hosts from making it two as he reacted immediately to another Tetteh effort, this time from just inside the area. The striker looked to have handballed it but Griffiths wasn’t to know. The Tigers looked the better side heading into the break, displaying far more confidence and desire to chase down loose balls. West Brom, meanwhile, looked frustrated with Carlos Corberan furious his team hadn’t taken the lead when they had their opportunities to do so.

The half-time team talk looked to have done its magic as The Baggies improved at the start of the second period. Within just a few minutes, Marc Albrighton was able to find space on the right flank to execute an intelligent through ball to Jayson Molumby and the former Brighton man cut it back well to Dike. It was yet another chance missed, though, as the American didn’t catch it right and it was at a good height for Darlow.

West Brom’s bounce didn’t last long, though, as Hull had a second before the clock struck 60. Sean McLoughlin rose highest to head the ball but it was actually Dara O’Shea who got the final touch from an inswinging Ozan Tufan corner as it flew in. Griffiths looked despondent as he picked the ball out of his net, wondering how on earth his team had got into this position considering his saves and the chances created.

John Swift was agonisingly close to grabbing one back for Albion a few minutes later as he thundered a 25-yard free-kick off the woodwork. The attacking midfielder was so unfortunate not to score as his dipping strike hit the inside of the left post. This sparked West Brom to take back control of the game but the lack of clinical nature continued, much to the frustration of traveling supporters. Adam Reach had the best chance of the bunch but his scuffed 77th-minute effort summed up the evening.

Hull fought with heart to hold onto a crucial three points, dampening The Baggies’ hopes of play-off football. Here are our Albion player ratings from the clash, including three 4/10s and two 7s.