Shropshire Star

Semi Ajayi: West Brom can take a lot from Swansea 'fight'

Defender and goalscorer Semi Ajayi believes Albion can take encouragement from the 'fight' shown to see off a late Swansea comeback.

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Semi Ajayi opened Albion's scoring against Swansea and put in an excellent overall display as the Baggies secured a 3-2 win (Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images).

The Nigeria defender, 29, netted a third Baggies goal against the Swans to open the scoring in Saturday's victory, Albion's first of the campaign.

Carlos Corberan's men looked over the line at 3-0 but the visitors struck back for 3-2, only for the Baggies to hold on in a nervy finale.

“The main thing is that we got all three points," Ajayi said. “There are a few things we have to work on and there will be a lot of work to do on the training ground.

“We know that we’re not the finished article yet, but there are a lot of positives to take from our win.

“For three quarters of the game we played very well and we were comfortable.

“A lot of our issues were with their set-pieces – there is a lot to look at.

“We had to fight hard to see out the last 10-15 minutes, we can take a lot from that."

Albion got their home campaign off to a winning start in front of just over 24,000 fans following back-to-back away defeats to open up the season.

Ajayi, in his fifth season at the club, praised the influence of The Hawthorns home faithful and was chuffed to give them something to celebrate.

The experienced stopper added his belief in the squad, head coach Corberan and the club's supporters after starting with a home win.

“We love the supporters here, they were fantastic today," Ajayi added. "They cheered us on through the tough times at the end.

“We’re so happy to send the fans home with a smile on their faces.

“We’ve got a strong squad, a good manager and brilliant supporters – I’ve got faith in them.

“But we won’t get ahead of ourselves, we’ll take every match as it comes.”

Ajayi netted a home opener in his debut Baggies campaign as the hosts went on to win 5-1. He also scored in south Wales on the final day of last season. His effort made it 2-1 but Corberan's side lost 3-2.

“I do like playing against them!" He smiled. “I just happen to be in the right place at the right time, i was a very good win for us.

“It was a nice finish, not too bad at all. It reminded me of when I used to be a striker when I was a kid!"