Lewis Cox's West Brom analysis: First bump in road offers Baggies new chance to respond

Head coach Ryan Mason knows as much and that was his assessment after the Rams spoiled The Hawthorns' 125th birthday party with their smash-and-grab 1-0 win.

There are no shortage of Baggies supporters who ventured to the Shrine for the special occasion in slightly wary mood given the nature of the opponents and the very fact it was an occasion of significance or celebration.

The theme with Albion and the big occasion generally ends in disappointment, or it has in recent years.

Factor in Derby and their head coach John Eustace have Albion's number and it was clear to see why some did not fancy a positive result to mark a century-and-a-quarter of the club's great home.

There is an "Albion that" phrase that summarises 'typical Albion' among supporters and you cannot get much more "Albion that" than a veteran former striker emerging from the bench to snatch the unjust late winner.

And all of this played out to the letter as Andi Weimann, the 34-year-old former Villa youngster who spent six months as a Baggie in the first half of 2024, converted a smart reverse finish for the victory six minutes from time.

It sealed Derby's sixth straight victory over Albion - and second already this season. Eustace, the former Kidderminster Harriers and Birmingham boss, has six wins and a draw from seven games facing the Baggies as a manager. As reported at the time, it is believed he held interest in replacing Carlos Corberan in The Hawthorns hotseat when the Spaniard left last Christmas.

Some Hawthorns residents made their mark on Saturday as one of the club's two resident peregrine falcons dropped a dead pigeon on the pitch midway through the second half, causing a delay that hit momentum, aided Derby and seemed to irritate Mason.

Anyway, the visitors' three points were hardly deserved. But the scoreline is the bottom line and all that counts.

Head coach Mason has a new experience this week - to pick up an Albion side after a league defeat. He can do so, at least, from a position of having seen a decent enough performance.

It was not a brilliant, free-flowing display from the hosts. What looked like playing out as a goalless draw was not the worst stalemate ever seen but it was not a thriller to match the big build-up of the stadium's anniversary.

Albion were the better team and had much more of the play and opportunities in the final third.

Perhaps some of that was by design by Derby. Eustace clearly has a recipe for success at The Hawthorns and he was clearly happy for his side to defend deep with 10 men behind the ball.

It proved challenging for the home side, who did not work Rams goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom enough for all of the good areas they worked and 18 efforts at goal managed.

Just three of those were on target, though whether that includes midfielder Alex Mowatt inadvertently clearing off Derby's goalline from Nat Phillips' effort is unclear.

That was the closest Albion got, though Jayson Molumby thumped the crossbar in stoppage time chasing an equaliser. It was that kind of afternoon, as it seems to always be against Derby.

But, opposition and occasion aside, this kind of challenge will be one that Mason's side will continue to face this season.

Portsmouth and Derby have come to The Hawthorns to cause frustration and leave with four points with a stubbornness and a well-drilled defensive set-up. Perhaps it is no surprise at this early stage we have seen Mason's Baggies successful with two wins out of two on the road so far?

Albion remain a fancied Championship outfit and have players to cause visitors problems, so for a large percentage of the division the blueprint for success at The Hawthorns will be something similar.

They will need to show more creativity, care and devilment in the final third moving forward.

If Saturday's fixture was played again then Albion would win seven or eight times out of 10. Mowatt's unintended clearance was bizarre and Molumby was unfortunate with the woodwork.

But striker Aune Heggebo struggled to find himself in positions to trouble the net and, after a bright start, Mikey Johnston found too many blind alleys. Jed Wallace was busy but his influence faded. Substitute Sammy Iling-Junior put in a bright debut cameo late on with some nice left-footed deliveries.

Josh Maja was given just the final seven minutes of normal time, introduced moments before Weimann's winner. Albion and Mason need Maja involved more on his return.

The head coach felt content with his side's performance and felt Albion got into enough good positions to win the game. He vowed he would not let the disappointing outcome cloud what he saw and learned.

That bodes well for a response. It is not a baby out with the bathwater scenario after an encouraging start, but more continue with the promising themes from the opening weeks.