Source: FOOTYMAD
Baggies secure first win
Quartet seal victory Albion recorded their first pre-season win after goals from Graham Dorrans, Simon Cox, Chris Brunt and Roman Bednar secured a 4-2 victory against Ventura County Fusion. Midfield star Graham Dorrans marked his return from injury with a trademark free-kick to open the scoring in the third minute. But Albion were pegged back by the Premier Development League outfit when Callum Riley equalised before the half-hour mark and Daniel Barrera gave the hosts the lead in the 49th minute with a curling free-kick. Simon Cox equalised with an 18-yard effort five minutes later with Chris Brunt again putting the Baggies in lead from the penalty spot after Armando Guerrero had handled. Roman Bednar then scored a fine curling effort to round off the win in the 66th minute. Assistant manager Michael Appleton was pleased Albion managed to get their first win of the new campaign out of the way, but was more pleased the squad again came through unscathed. "Obviously, at this stage of our preparations, the games are like training matches because it's all about fitness - but it's still nice to get that first win," said ‘Appy’. "We made a good start but, to be fair to them, they came back into it and started moving the ball around quite well. "It was the kind of workout the lads needed. "They equalised after a nice move and then went ahead from a fantastic free-kick. "But we started to play a little bit from then on. "Our midfield got a grip of the game and a couple of quick goals from Coxy and Brunty put us ahead, although the penalty may have been a little harsh on their lad, before Roman pretty much settled it. "We made a lot of changes during the game but, all in all, the boys stuck to their task. "We improved after half-time because our shape was a little bit better." Have your say on Albion's victory here at Baggies Banter.
