Football League World
·1 October 2024
Football League World
·1 October 2024
The in-form striker went down momentarily after scoring, but saw out the match at Hillsborough.
West Bromwich Albion suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, as they were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
The hosts had raced into a 2-0 lead inside the first 25 minutes, before the Baggies levelled things up in the second half, with Alex Mowatt thinking that he had done enough to earn a point with his equaliser in the 84th minute. However, just two minutes later, Anthony Musaba scored the winner to give the Owls their first three points since the opening day of the campaign.
The loss left Carlos Corberan's side vulnerable to being overtaken by Sunderland, but they were also beaten, with Watford running out 2-1 winners at Vicarage Road.
Nevertheless, Josh Maja continued his excellent scoring run for West Brom, finding the back of the net with a header to halve the deficit in the 65th minute. Despite the positive of adding to his impressive tally he has already accrued, there was some concern following the goal.
The 25-year-old made it seven goals from just seven games with his header against Sheffield Wednesday, arriving at the back post to turn home Tom Fellows' superb cross.
However, there was an anxious wait following the ball hitting the back of the net, with Maja staying down after an awkward landing.
Liam Palmer did not appear to touch the in-form striker, but there was a worry that the former Fulham striker's awful luck with injury was coming back to haunt him once again.
But, after a short wait, he was back on his feet and he saw out the rest of the game, with West Brom chasing a goal in the final minutes to keep their unbeaten run going.
There will be concerns over his fitness, not only due to his current form, but also as Daryl Dike is slowly starting to near a return to the first-team after being out since February due to a tear to his Achilles tendon.
Corberan will not want to rush the American back in straight away, so Maja's continuous availability will be extremely necessary in the coming months.
Heading into the 2024/25 season, the Baggies were not a team that had a lot of focus on them, even though they reached the play-off semi-finals in May. However, they have used that lack of pressure to put together an excellent start to the campaign.
Maja has been grabbing all the headlines as well, with his hat-trick on the opening weekend taking some by surprise, and he is yet to let up on that goal-scoring form.
The 25-year-old has failed to find the back of the net only two times in West Brom's first seven matches, drawing a blank against Leeds United and Swansea City.
If Maja is able to continue this run, then Corberan will not have any fears attacking wise, but with his history of injuries, staying fit is crucial to ensuring a successful season at The Hawthorns.