Molumby stars for West Brom in Reading win

West Bromwich Albion returned to winning ways as the Baggies secured a 1-0 victory at Reading in the Championship this afternoon thanks to Karlan Grant’s 78th-minute strike.

The Englishman’s effort was his 16th goal of the season and he looks set to finish the campaign as Albion’s top scorer.

It was important to return to winning ways after a draw and a defeat in the Baggies’ last two outings, and the victory also saw Steve Bruce’s men climb up to 10th.

In a game which saw West Brom edge possession with 52% but dominate the shots tally with 14 compared to the Royals’ six, Grant will take the obvious plaudits for his goal. However, Jayson Molumby was excellent for the visitors at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Molumby stole the show for West Brom

The 22-year-old enjoyed a whopping 88 touches in Berkshire whilst also completing 61 passes at an astounding 90% accuracy. Moreover, the Irishman lost possession just nine times all afternoon.

The Brighton loanee also contributed two key passes and won 89% of his duels, in addition to making four tackles, three interceptions and one clearance in an impressively solid outing.

The 22-year-old’s performance was a stark contrast to that of his midfield partner Jake Livermore, who was rated 6.4/10 by SofaScore after having just 49 touches and losing 71% of his duels.

At West Brom, Molumby – who has previously been described as “energetic” by former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr – has seen opportunities come inconsistently, starting just 16 of Albion’s 45 Championship matches this term, with another 14 league appearances coming from the bench.

Molumby had featured twice for Brighton’s under-23s in August before his loan move to the West Midlands, which has seen the young midfielder gain invaluable experience of playing first-team football. However, it could be argued that both the Irishman and the Seagulls would’ve liked to have seen the Baggies offer him more game-time.

Should WBA look to re-sign Molumby on loan?

Nonetheless, in what has been a slightly chaotic campaign for West Brom with a managerial change and underachievement after targeting promotion back to the Premier League, Molumby should be delighted to get the experience that he has received over the past few months.

What lies ahead for the 22-year-old, who has just one match of his loan spell remaining, is as yet unknown, but the Irish dynamo stole the show against Reading today.

AND in other news: Huge West Brom transfer claim emerges, it’s not good news for the Baggies