WBA 2-2 Norwich City: Johannes Thorup Championship reaction.

Johannes Hoff Thorup had his say on the key issues around Norwich City’s 2-2 Championship draw against West Brom.

City ended a run of three straight league defeats in a topsy-turvy affair at the Hawthorns. Emi Marcondes’ first half strike and Torbjorn Heggem’s own goal earned Thorup’s side a point.

Mason Holgate and Josh Maja were on target for Albion against a Norwich line up that was missing the injured centre back Jose Cordoba.

Thorup spoke exclusively to the Pinkun on Saturday afternoon at the Hawthorns.

Carlos Corberán’s Norwich City verdict.

Carlos Corberán believes he saw improvements in attack during Saturday’s encounter with Norwich City, but admitted he also thought his side didn’t look as solid as they normally do at the back.

The Baggies and the Canaries drew 2-2 at The Hawthorns, with all four goals arriving before the break.

Mason Holgate and Josh Maja found the net for the home team, while at the other end, an Emiliano Marcondes finish and a Torbjørn Heggem own goal were enough to beat Alex Palmer between the sticks.

Both Albion and Norwich had chances to win the fixture in the second 45, but neither could find the encounter’s decisive fifth strike.

Carlos Corberán heading out of the tunnel at The Hawthorns
The boss said: “I think we made so many improvements in attack, especially during the first 75 minutes.

“There was less solidity in defence because at the same time as we were creating chances, we were conceding them too.

“We knew we were playing against a good team in attack and it’s true they have challenged our defensive level and we have conceded more chances than we usually would concede.

“It’s true that in the last minutes, we probably couldn’t keep the tempo or stem the momentum that we were creating in the first part of the second half.

“In football it is difficult to say what is fair, and what is not fair because at the end football is a case of accuracy.

“I would say it was fair to go to half-time at 2-2 and it was a pity the referee disallowed the goal of Grant. For me, in the second half we had more opportunities than them but in the end, we didn’t have the accuracy to score one more goal.

“I am very pleased to give goals to the fans but I was not too worried because I know you can have these periods. Always it is nice to see goals but for me, it isn’t nice to see us concede a lot of chances.

Carlos Corberán shouting on the side of the pitch at The Hawthorns
“For me, like I said, I saw some improvements in attack but we were conceding more chances than we would have wanted to.

“I haven’t watched it back again (Grant’s disallowed goal). Hopefully, the decision the referee has made is the fair decision because if it has hit the hand, then we completely accept.

“But in general, talking about the disallowed goal of Grant, we were watching one player who was working a lot, has been showing a high effort and giving a lot of things to the team.

“So it’s a pity for him not to have the reward of a goal because, for me, he was an outstanding player in the game.”

Darnell Furlong’s booking in the first half means he’s now suspended for Tuesday’s trip to Sunderland. Corberán says he’ll get straight to work on finding a solution.

“We don’t have a specific right-back right now because the right-back that we have, who is Holgate, is playing at centre-back now.

“We don’t have Semi Ajayi Paddy McNair or Kyle Bartley the centre-backs. It’s a new challenge we are going to face but from the next 10 minutes after today’s press conference, I will prepare for how we can face this challenge.”