Player Watch: Andy Carroll’s every move v WBA
Andy Carroll returned to the Irons team against West Brom and grabbed the goals that gave us three precious points.
CandH’s Daniel Danielli Leach watched his every move over the 90 minutes and here is his report on the big fella.
5 – Does a neat dummy to release Arnautovic onto the ball
8 – Loses control of the ball to opposition player
8 – Shields the opposition player really well to let Arnautovic towards goal
11 – Header from a goal kick is poor and goes out for a throw in
13 – Chests the ball well from a goal kick, turns his man and releases the ball to Arnautovic
15 – Chests the ball again from a clearance by Adrian and passes the ball to Lanzini
20 – Heads the ball down to the edge of the box for Lanzini to unleash a shot
22 – Krychowiak beats him to the ball in an aerial duel
22 – Curled shot is tame and goes wide
24 – Controls the ball well with his chest but fails to assist Arnautovic
33 – Brings down the ball well in our own area but slips when making clearance
37 – Flick-on in the box leads to a Lanzini shot being well saved by Foster
42 – Heads the ball down in the box for a Kouyaté effort being saved from close range
45 – Wins a foul as Dawson tugs him
45+2 – Makes a great cross from the by-line but Kouyaté header skies over
46 – Sliding shot at a close range from a low cross by Arnautovic goes over
49 – Plays ball out wide to Zabaleta but cross is easily cleared
51 – Chests the ball well into the path of Arnautovic
52 – Wins a foul as he is held
52 – Gives away a foul for an apparent push
53 – Chests the ball to his feet and passes it out wide to Masuaku
58 – Plays a neat one touch pass to Masuaku
58 – GOAL – Textbook goal as he rises up to the ball from a cross by Cresswell to head the ball into Foster’s bottom left hand corner. 1-1.
60 – Slides in with a tackle to give away a silly foul
66 – Flick on to Masuaku leads to a throw in to us
71 – A header forward leads to a half-chance for Arnautovic
73 – Holds the ball up well from Gibbs but subsequent cross is cleared easily
76 – Header to Chicharito is poor
81 – Whips in a bad cross which is easily taken by Foster
84 – Heads the ball really well into the path of Chicharito
86 – Held in the box by Evans. Possible claim for a penalty
86 – Not in the right space when Chicharito plays a great low cross into the box
90+2 – GOAL – Starts and finishes the goal. Cushions the ball back skilfully from a long ball and runs into the box around the backpost and when the ball is crossed in on the ground by Arnautovic Carroll is there to finish with his weak right foot from a tight angle to win us the match. 2-1.
Verdict – 9 – Andy Carroll was back with a bang. Throughout the whole game he was a menace for the West Brom defence who struggled to cope with him. He played his usual game winning headers, aerial battles, flicks and most importantly winning us the game with his brace. He undeniably justified his selection by Moyes and silenced many critics including myself. The key for him will be to find consistency.