Club News

STAT ATTACK: Albion make most of home advantage

And facts & figures show Sessegnon made all the right moves against West Ham

A VITALLY important victory was obtained at the weekend with a 1-0 win over West Ham, and here football statistics website WhoScored.com look back over the game.

Three points gained on Saturday and a huge step taken towards Barclays Premier League safety for the Baggies saw the threat of relegation pushed further behind them. Now, with a cushion of four points - and a game in hand to play over each of the bottom three - they aren't quite yet safe.

But things are looking good for the end of the season and there are plenty of reasons for smiles at The Hawthorns.

An early Saido Berahino strike was the difference between the teams as Albion moved to within a point of the Hammers with a hard-fought and well-deserved victory that extended the Baggies exceptional run of form to just one defeat in their last ten games on home soil. 

To put that into context, only title-challengers Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal can also boast such a record over their last ten matches on their own patch.

It was little surprise then, Sam Allardyce's men struggled to break down a stubborn, organised and efficient Albion back line. 

Andy Carroll came close to scoring when he hit the bar with a second-half header, but otherwise every time they came close to the Baggies goal, WhoScored's highest-rated player Ben Foster was up to the task.

The England international looks set for Brazil in the summer and he will be going there in fine form. 

A second clean sheet in his last four matches - the other two games were against Manchester City and Tottenham - and a second man of the match award of the season was fully deserved as the stopper stepped up to deny 
West Ham each and every time they attacked, as he obtained a match-high rating of 8.0.

In front of him, centre-backs Jonas Olsson and Craig Dawson did well, both obtaining ratings of 7.5 from WhoScored, while in attack Albion also flourished.

Morgan Amalfitano has proved a fantastic signing for the Baggies, and again he set up the winner for Berahino.

The WhoScored match report says Albion 'were effective at creating goalscoring opportunities through individual skill', and that was plain to see as Stéphane Sessegnon danced through the middle of West Ham's midfield and defence, before laying the ball out wide for Amalfitano to find young Berahino in the six-yard box.

According to WhoScored's statistically calculated player characteristics, Sessegnon is 'strong' at dribbling, while Amalfitano boasts both crosses and key passes as strengths. 

All of those were on display for that vital early goal and Berahino was in the right place to finish off the lighting quick, lethal move.

Berahino may have gone through peaks and troughs of form this season, but he has come through his first season in the top flight with a vastly improved reputation as one of the top young strikers around at the moment. 

There will surely be plenty more match-winning goals in his career.

*WhoScored.com is a unique website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Provided with unique stats, they compile and create comprehensive analysis on the major European divisions, including live match stats and player ratings. Follow @WhoScored and their editor-in-chief @alitweedale on Twitter.