Sherjill MacDonald has set his sights on ‘real’ Albion goals after opening the Baggies’ pre-season account in Albion’s 2-1 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.
MacDonald scored from long range in the second half in Goch but Tony Mowbray’s men lost to a goal in each half from the former European Cup finalists.
The young Dutchman played down the significance of his appearance on the scoresheet.
He said: “It’s always nice to score goals but it’s not these goals that count. It’s in the competitions that they count and I hope to score then as well.
“I just try to do my best and if I score a goal I score a goal. I think these matches are more to train and condition. This was a good step towards that.”
MacDonald believes the German side’s extra fitness – last night was their fourth friendly but Albion’s first – was significant.
He said: “We have to see in the next games if we can get any fitter.”
His goal was a rare rousing moment in a low-key match but there were positives for Albion. Ishmael Miller was lively in the first half and Kim Do-Heon impressive after the break in the heart of midfield.
Goals from Roberto Caloutti and Moses Lamidi cancelled out MacDonald’s strike.
Manager Tony Mowbray said: “The pitch was very sticky and it didn’t really allow any flowing football.
“The players found it very difficult because we are a team who try to move the ball very quickly.
“It was difficult for us to get that going. But the positive was that everybody had a run-out.”
“We have had a really hard week or 10 days. To come up against a Bundesliga team was a very big challenge for us but we were fine.”
Early on Robert Koren found some space on the right and was released by James Morrison, but his cross towards Miller and Luke Moore was cut out.
Steve Gohouri then cut in from the right for Borussia and let fly but went wide. On 23 minutes, Chris Brunt picked out Miller with a fine crossfield ball.
His first touch took him past Brouvers and he powered towards goal, before hitting a shot that flew high and wide.
Dean Kiely kept the scoresheet blank with a fine double save. Marcel Ndjeng delivered a cross from the left but Kiely first denied Marko Marin and then Colautti.
From the resulting corner the ball fell to Karim Matmour and his shot was cleared off the line by Jonathan Greening, before Colautti blasted the rebound across the face of goal and wide.
Brunt spread play from left to right again and found Miller, who drove past Brouvers to the byline and lifted a cross towards Moore.
Goalkeeper Christopher Heimeroth palmed it off his head and Brunt’s shot into the ground from the rebound hit a defender and bounced away.
Ndjeng tried his luck with a rasping shot from 25 yards but it grazed the top of the crossbar.
A free-kick from the Borussia right found its way to Kleine via a rebound, but he headed wide under pressure from Leon Barnett.
Miller, Albion’s most threatening figure in the first half, almost scored with a backheel after persistent work by Carl Heofkens.
The Baggies fell behind on the stroke of half-time when Patrick Paauwe’s shot was deflected to the feet of Colautti, who rounded Hoefkens and Kiely to give himself a comfortable finish.
Both sides rang the changes at half-time with the Baggies looking weakened. They almost went 2-0 behind when Alexander Voigt’s cross was headed over by Sascha Rosler.
Albion drew level on 64 minutes with a slick move. Hoefkens’ cross was headed down by young midfielder David Worrall, for MacDonald to drill home from almost 25 yards.
Kiely, the only Albion man to start and finish the game, made a smart diving save to deny Rosler on 72 minutes.
There was nothing the keeper could do a minute later when Lamidi latched onto a crossfield ball from Sharbel Touma, got behind Pele and outstripped Jared Hodgkiss before blasting his side back into the lead.
Albion’s final chance went begging, when Roman Bednar headed over a corner from Graham Dorrans.
Albion: Kiely, Hoefkens (Slusarski 67), Barnett (Hodgkiss 67), Clement (Pele 67), Robinson (Tininho 67), Morrison (Worrall HT), Greening (Kim HT), Koren (Dorrans 59), Brunt (MacDonald HT), Moore (Beattie HT), Miller (Bednar HT).
Referee: Christian Bandurski (Essen).
Attendance: 2,000 (estimate).
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