Soccer
James Morrison ‘surprised’ by West Brom matchwinner Jimmy-Jay Morgan’s quality
West Brom head coach James Morrison admitted he is “surprised” by Jimmy-Jay Morgan’s quality after he was the matchwinner in the 1-0 victory over Watford in the Championship at The Hawthorns.
Morgan, 20, who signed from Chelsea for £1.3million in the summer, scored his fifth goal of the season and third in the Championship.
The youngster’s 36th-minute goal put Albion up to fifth in the table and extended their unbeaten home run to 10 games.
“I challenged him before the game – it was his third match in a week so can he do it?” said Morrison.
“You could see it in his pressing because it was a different side to him with the amount of blocks he made.
“I’m surprised really by how good he is. It’s credit to the recruitment team really for finding him.
“It’s really good work by them and it shows there are players out there.
“The question was ‘could he step up?’, but he has answered that brilliantly.
“He looks comfortable but we just need to keep on with his work rate.
“He’s proved he can do it. The challenge for him is ‘can he maintain that level?’ but I believe he can do it.
“He has that youthfulness and freshness and he’s a little cocky as well.
“Those ones will go far. He has that swagger and I quite like it.”
Albion had to withstand more pressure in the second half and Morrison was delighted to see that battling side from his team.
“Sometimes those 1-0s when you don’t play very well are more pleasing than the games with the good football we’ve been playing,” he added.
“We answered a lot of questions as I’ve been asked if we can see games out.
“That was pleasing for the lads and it should give us confidence.”
Watford head coach Alessio Dionisi said: “We deserved a draw but if you don’t score, it’s impossible to win.
“We showed the right mentality but the result was negative.
“We played well but we know it’s important for us to arrive in the box better to find a positive result.
“West Brom away is not easy but my team stayed competitive for 90 minutes.”
Injury-hit Watford are without four full-backs which forced Albert Eames into his full league debut at right-back.
Midfielder Edo Kayembe came on at half-time at left-back after Jordan Zemura hurt his knee.
Dionisi added: “It’s not easy at the moment. But we knew this was the situation with eight games including the Carabao Cup until the international break.”
