Ryan Mason believes there was a “willingness to put bodies on the line” and plenty of “fight” on show from his Albion side on Wednesday night at Norwich City.
The Baggies earned a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over the hosts thanks to Josh Maja’s first-half strike and a number of brilliant saves from Josh Griffiths towards the end.
Mason accepted the Canaries may well feel frustrated to have been beaten, but the boss insisted he was “super happy” with the level of commitment out on the pitch from the players.
Ryan said: “There was an element of luck about the result, but we had to produce the moments.
“I’m a big believer that over the course of a season if you believe in something and perform a certain way you’ll get results like tonight where you earn victories.
“I’m sure their bench is probably sat there thinking they deserved more from the game because I thought they played a good game and they caused us problems, but that’s football.
“The football gods were with us tonight, but I don’t think you get that without a togetherness, a fight and a real willingness to put bodies on the line.
“It’s a difficult place to come. I know their results haven’t been great here but I’ve watched all the games and they’re a really good side and we felt that today. I’m super proud of the boys for the effort and the performance they’ve put in.
“I’m super happy for Josh Maja to score the goal. He’s worked very hard and we’ve been patient with him. We believed that was the right thing to do because of the time he had out, but, at the same time, we know he can affect games of football. I think that will do him the world of good and give him lots of confidence.
“Josh Griffiths stepped up and had some massive moments towards the end of the match. I think that will do him the world of good. It was a real big performance from him. He really stood up for us and helped us get the three points.
“I’m really pleased with the start we’ve made on the road. We’ve had some good results on the road so far.
“I thought the fans were amazing tonight. They’ve travelled all this way in midweek and they got behind the lads. It’s really impressive and it certainly helps us win the game of football.
“We need to enjoy tonight because we had a real sickener on Friday night where we played a really good match and we should’ve won, but we didn’t.
“That probably flipped a little bit tonight where, in the second period, we conceded some chances. Ultimately, we got over the line and we have to be pleased with that.”
