Tony Brown has admitted that he was blown away by West Brom’s Matt Phillips and Harvey Barnes in their 4-1 win against Leeds United at The Hawthorns on Saturday night.
Albion bounced back to winning ways in the most emphatic of fashions as they carved open the Whites defence on numerous occasions in a thrilling second-half in the Black Country.
Phillips and Barnes got themselves on the scoresheet, along with Hal Robson-Kanu and Dwight Gayle, and West Brom legend Brown was thrilled with the performance of the attacking duo.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get [from Phillips],” said Brown on BBC WM 95.6 on Saturday night.
“Those two, Phillips and Harvey Barnes, they were the ones that had the pace and the initiative to go and break at Leeds every opportunity.
“If you’re a defender and you’ve got people running at you, it’s a nightmare at times.
OPINION
It is no shock that Brown of all people was delighted with Phillips and Barnes’ performances against Leeds because they put in shifts similar to how he did during his time at The Hawthorns several decades ago. It was a barnstorming display by the Baggies from start to finish and Brown could have picked up one of 11 players who started the game to heap praise on, Darren Moore’s side were just that good against Leeds. Moore deserves massive credit too. He changed the system and the formation and it worked wonders. He also made slight changes throughout the game when Leeds looked as though they were getting on top and it worked like a charm. Robson-Kanu’s inclusion on the right was a masterstroke and Moore has given himself a major selection headache for after the international break because how can the Wales international be dropped after a performance like that?