West Bromwich Albion’s survival hopes suffered a massive blow as they were beaten in their latest Premier League game.
While the gap between West Brom and safety remains seven points, there is no question that the Baggies fans would be forgiven for feeling more resigned to the idea that they will be playing Championship football next season after Saturday’s game.
Before the clash with Huddersfield at The Hawthorns, Alan Pardew’s men would have known how important getting a positive result against the Terriers would have been as it was David Wagner’s side who sat immediately above the bottom three.
But another really disappointing performance from the Baggies saw Huddersfield claim the spoils and ease their own relegation concerns with a 2-1 victory that piles the pressure on Pardew heading into the final 10 games of the campaign.
As mentioned, the defeat leaves West Brom no worse off when it comes to the gap between themselves and safety, but it must have struck a huge psychological blow that they could not beat the team that began the day in 17th – and never really looked like they were going to get the win.
And perhaps one image below sums up the result, and the implications of the game, best. The photo depicts a completely dejected Salomon Rondon presumably gearing up to leave the field at full-time while in the background, the Huddersfield players are able to rub salt into the wounds as they celebrated with the travelling fans after a huge win for their season.
West Brom travel to Watford next weekend. And while they will still have a chance to turn things around even if they lose at Vicarage Road, Pardew will definitely not need reminding that time is running out for the Baggies to get themselves out of trouble.
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