Report: It's a fab start for Fabian!

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Head coach's first game ends in 3-0 win at Everton thanks to goals from Mitoma, Welbeck and Adingra.

2024-08-17T17:00+01:00

Danny Welbeck put Albion 2-0 up at Goodison Park with a well taken finish into the bottom left corner. 📷 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler enjoyed a fabulous start to life as Albion head coach as Albion cruised past Everton at Goodison Park.

Albion grew into the game and Kaoru Mitoma finished off a counter-attack to open the scoring midway through the first half.

Danny Welbeck and substitute Simon Adingra produced superb finishes in the second half and Everton finished with ten men after Ashley Young was shown a straight red for bringing down the mercurial Mitoma.

Kaoru Mitoma started and finished the move that gave Albion the lead. 📷 by James Boardman.

Everton’s high-tempo start would not have surprised Hurzeler. Jack Harrison hooked the ball past Jason Steele in the fourth minute but was offside and then in the space of 60 chaotic seconds Joao Pedro’s penalty appeal was turned down, the hosts broke and Dwight McNeill hit the post unmarked eight yards out, only to be belatedly flagged offside. The Premier League was back!

Albion weathered the storm, got a foothold in the game and their wide players combined superbly to create the opening goal on 26 minutes.

Mitoma won the ball on the edge of Albion’s box to start a counter-attack. Yakuba Minteh got possession just inside the Everton half and scorched past Vitali Mykolenko before looking up and sliding a perfect pass across the face of goal for the unmarked Mitoma to score from a yard out.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was initially awarded a penalty early in the second half, but after consulting the pitchside monitor, referee Simon Hooper reversed his decision. 📷 by James Boardman.

Minteh took a heavy knock just before the break and had to depart because of concussion protocols and Albion had a reprieve three minutes into the second half when referee Simon Hooper, having awarded a penalty, changed his mind because Dominic Calvert-Lewin had trod on Lewis Dunk’s foot before going down.

It proved to be a turning point with Albion doubling their lead on 56 minutes. Mats Wieffer, who had an impressive debut, won the ball again in midfield and released Welbeck. He had options left and right but broke forward unchallenged before placing his shot into the bottom left-hand corner from the edge of the area.

Jordan Pickford did superbly to deny the onrushing Mitoma and when the Japanese wizard got away again midway through the second half and in on goal Young hauled him down and was shown a straight red.

Jack Hinshelwood congratulates Yankuba Minteh for the assist to put Albion in front. 📷 by James Boardman.

Albion were in total control and after twice going close Adingra curled a great left-foot shot past Pickford from inside the D with four minutes to go. Yasin Ayari had a goal chalked off for offside in stoppage time but 2,942 Albion fans singing ‘We are top of the league’ didn’t mind too much. What a start!

Albion: Steele, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk (Webster 75), Hinshelwood, Minteh (Adingra 45), Milner (Gilmour 82), Wieffer, Mitoma (Ayari 89), Welbeck, Joao Pedro (Sarmiento 82).