Middlesbrough beat West Brom 3-2: Burgzorg’s Late Winner Seals Victory

Heartbreaking start to Ramsay’s reign as Baggies boss.

Delano Burgzorg inflicted more late woes on the Baggies in the 90th minute in Eric Ramsay’s first league game for West Brom as Middlesbrough beat West Brom 3-2

West Brom looked like they had made a stunning comeback thanks to Isaac Price and Jed Wallace, who helped the Baggies get back on level terms after going down 2-0. But Burgzorg scored in the last minute of normal time to cement 2nd spot for Middlesbrough.

Early Promise for the Hosts

It was a promising start for the hosts after Aune Heggebo squandered a good chance in the third minute that was saved by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Sol Brynn. In the opening 10 minutes there were also chances for Isaac Price and Chris Mepham, however they failed to hit the target.

Middlesbrough gained control of the game throughout the first half and dominated possession, however they needed a little bit of luck for their opener. An Alex Gilbert strike rattled the woodwork before it came back off West Brom defender Charlie Taylor and in. The second Boro goal wasn’t lucky however. A ball from Morgan Whittaker sent in Sam Silvera who drilled it past Josh Griffiths into the far corner for his second goal in as many league games.

Isaac Price curled home wonderfully after a free kick was laid off to him by Jed Wallace to halve the deficit, and 5 minutes later they found themselves level after the ball fell to Wallace at the back post and he swept it home, making no mistake.

However, Burgzorg finished off a well-worked Middlesbrough move in the 90th minute to close the gap on Coventry and extend the gap with 3rd place Ipswich.

Mixed Performance on Ramsay’s First Game in Charge

After the stoppage time away defeat to Leicester in the previous league game, Ryan Mason was relieved of his duties as Baggies boss following a 10th consecutive away loss, leaving them 18th in the table. Eric Ramsay was chosen to be the man to replace him. Ramsay has previously worked under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and guided Minnesota United to consecutive fourth place finishes in their conference in the MLS. The Albion hierarchy were clearly impressed, especially considering Minnesota are one of the lesser known teams in the States.

However, English football is much more intense, shown by the chaotic 90 minutes that were played out here. The hosts started brightly, but then slowed down and looked like they would be defeated comfortably by a strong Middlesbrough side. Price’s curled strike did change the momentum and they looked to be getting a morale-boosting point before Burgzorg’s last minute goal sealed their defeat agonisingly. It is now their 7th loss in 9 games and they now will start looking over their shoulders, sitting seven points clear of relegation and with a crucial clash against 22nd place Norwich on Tuesday night.

Huge Win in Promotion Race

Middlesbrough have defied all expectations all season, leading their fans to wonder if they will finally be Premier League bound again for the first time since 2017.

Rob Edwards’ departure didn’t even halt their momentum, with new manager Kim Hellberg winning his opening four games as manager. He did have a sticky period over Christmas with no goals being scored in 4 games, however it was emphatically ended with a 4-0 win over Southampton in their previous league game.

They withstood the ‘new manager bounce’ of West Brom and gained confidence as they started to dominate possession. The game felt done when Silvera fired in a second for the away side and Adilson Malanda should’ve done better from a header to make it three. West Brom’s comeback would’ve caught the eye of promotion rivals before ex-Huddersfield man Burgzorg ended a 22-game goal drought to score his second goal of the season.

New summer signing from Chelsea Leo Castledine made his debut for Middlesbrough right after the Burgzorg goal. Castledine recently has been shining for Huddersfield Town in League One on loan from Chelsea, so much so that he won the Player of the Month Award in League One for December, so Middlesbrough fans should be excited to see him get more minutes under his belt.

The importance of this goal will not be under-estimated should they get Premier League football again.

Manager Reactions

West Brom coach Eric Ramsay said:

“It’s very difficult not to feel very disappointed. I wouldn’t be human if that wasn’t the case and certainly after we got ourselves back into the game.

“You could only see it going one way and the fact that it hasn’t makes it incredibly disappointing.

“But coming into this game and irrespective of the outcome, it was going to be information for us as a coaching staff and as players which will give us food for thought as we move into Tuesday.

“I’m very much wrapped in the process that we continue to get better so I’m not going to get drawn into the highs and lows but it’s difficult not to get swept up in that.”

Middlesbrough coach Kim Hellberg said:

“The mentality of the players is the key thing here after the crowd goes unbelievably crazy.

“The game was almost done. We were controlling things and they scored a goal from almost nothing.

“They got a lot of energy and have some very good players and for them, for us to come back from that and score a winner in that way was great.

“It was not a long ball, it was not lucky, it was a top quality goal in the 90th minute and that says everything about this group of lads.”