Lewis Cox's West Brom analysis: Thrilling turnaround has to be start of better

Saturday's thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Swansea at The Hawthorns has to prove the catalyst for head coach Mason as we head into December.

Supporters attending The Hawthorns for more than a handful of decades would struggle to recall two such contrasting halves of football.

An absorbing contest had it all. The rollercoaster of emotions were stomach-churning.

Albion's first half was pitiful. It did not get going - you were forgiven for missing the 11-second opener - and spiralled badly. Performances were so off the pace it appeared players had checked out.

Not so.

For Albion players the celebrations of Jayson Molumby's 85th-minute winner spoke a thousand words. So often late victims this season, this was a very welcome change.

For Mason, under pressure to start delivering wins which have not come often enough in his first season, the elation was clear. Mason had his 'Mourinho moment' as he dashed 30 yards down the touchline towards the Brummie Road to cheer the winner. A note from his Portuguese former Tottenham boss' memoirs from way back at Old Trafford with Porto.

It was a rare loss of control for the usually studious and measured Mason. He embraced skipper Alex Mowatt somewhere down the Halfords Lane stand as bodies bundled into the technical area embracing coaching staff.

For Mason the overriding emotion at full-time will have surely been relief - as the problems at half-time looked substantial.

The scrutiny and pressure had cranked up as loud as ever as his side slumped 2-0 down against a Swansea team, under new boss Vitor Matos, who had lost four on the spin.

Calls against Mason from sections of supporters have been there for some time. His side had showed enough with flickers of improvement - without a sufficient return of points - for the hope of better times were ahead. There is also the fact the Championship table remains so tight and that owners Bilkul have been willing to show time to the man selected to lead their project.

The hosts and their boss were not helped by conceding the second-fastest goal on record in the Championship as Jan Vipotnik was allowed to lift over Josh Griffiths after 11 seconds.

Ethan Galbraith's strike from range slipped badly through Griffiths' grasp by which time chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" and "sacked in the morning" had done the rounds.

They are very difficult jeers to respond from.

Mercifully the gap remained two at the break but the boos from a half-empty Hawthorns - not quite, but the attendance was poor and felt much lower than the 22,200 given - were the loudest yet.

Even the eternal optimist would have struggled to see a way back for Albion in this one.

This time, somehow, it was Albion dancing with glee after flailing the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline.

Molumby just cannot stay out of the headlines.

Villain of the piece seeing red seven days earlier in Coventry, his rollercoaster week peaked with that finish into the corner five minutes from time, vindicating Mason's decision of an immediate recall over the unfortunate Ousmane Diakite.

The week has been a snapshot of the Irishman. The bad and the good. Saturday is why he is still so relied on. Mason spoke glowingly of him afterwards, some change in narrative.

In Aune Heggebo the Baggies have a striker who knows how to score goals. He thrashed in goals six and seven of the season, and five in four games, within seven minutes of the restart for parity.

Mason, so often maligned not making changes, was bold at half-time - as he had to be - and it paid off. He rang the changes with quadruple subs as quite frankly most of his starters could have been hooked.

The four introduced delivered with their colleagues and then some.

Krystian Bielik and George Campbell showed the calm and composure lacked by Nat Phillips and Alfie Gilchrist. Bielik has to have a run in the side now and will have next week at QPR with Phillips banned for five yellows.

Josh Maja and Karlan Grant were sharp and cute where others had failed.

For Mason only a series of positive results will turn around confidence of some fans.

But that spirited second half fightback and meaningful celebrations show a squad still packed full of belief and buy-in of the head coach's methods. 

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