Carlos Corberan: West Brom wasted Watford first half
Disappointed head coach Carlos Corberan admits Albion 'wasted the first half' with a lack of desire and commitment in their 3-2 defeat at Watford.
The Baggies were seen off by former boss Slaven Bilic on a night they were comfortably second-best in a well below-par first period – but one after which they only trailed 1-0 at the break.
A chaotic second half followed with four goals, including Albion equalisers from Conor Townsend and Jed Wallace, but Corberan was unhappy with how his side reacted to scoring and how they managed the see-saw clash in those important moments.
Corberan was proactive after a poor first half and – for the first time as Baggies boss – made half-time substitutions to introduce Grady Diangana and Jayson Molumby for Marc Albrighton and Nathaniel Chalobah. They had a positive influence but Albion still left empty-handed.
"We wasted the first 45 minutes and we didn't play. We were on the pitch without showing what we have to show," Corberan confessed.
"We conceded a couple of chances and they scored one goal. It's true that we didn't create enough, because we didn't put in the energy and desire, or commitment, to play the game.
"In the second half, it was the total opposite. I said to the players at half time that if we lose the game, we lose the game doing what we are able to do.
"We weren't competing or showing the skills we have as a team, but in the second half we showed that – attack, personality in the game – but we played every minute of the second half like minute 90 of the game.
"When you score a goal, you have to protect what you have done. The next three, four, five minutes after you score a goal in football are very important minutes – for me, we didn't show the solidity or togetherness in defence, or the protection that we need to show.
"We were doing a more complicated thing, which was scoring goals, but in the minutes after we were losing what we were achieving. It was the lack of protection for the goals we were conceding – we needed to be stronger in defence and it would've allowed us to get something."
The head coach saw his side stay down in 10th in the Championship, four points adrift of the play-off places.
Albion host one of the division's form sides, third-placed Middlesbrough, at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
The Spaniard added: "We played a team that when they have space to run, they are dangerous players.
"That's why we needed to be more compact. It's true that you need to take risks, and our risk was knowing that counter attacks are a part of the game – but when you score, you need to do the opposite, what is necessary for defending.
"There was a moment when we were more compact and there were options for counter attacks, but they immediately scored to make the game more complicated to get something positive.
"We opened up too much in defence. If we play every minute like the minute 90, we will lose the game."
