Analysis: Beale gets Baggies back on the front foot and firing

That was the chant from a boisterous away end at the Madejski Stadium as Albion won for the first time in almost two months.

A week is a long time in football.

This time last week, Bruce had just about been delivered his P45 following a ninth game in all competitions – eighth in the Championship – without a victory.

Fast-forward five days and caretaker boss Richard Beale, the under-21s head coach, had led the Baggies to a night-and-day improvement in Berkshire. A front-foot performance full of passion, belief and enthusiasm.

What a day it was for Albion, on many counts. It may have only lifted the team up two places, out of the relegation zone and to 20th, but it felt so much more important.

It felt like for now – with so much, not least the managerial appointment, up in the air – the start of a big fight back.

The visitors roared on by a vociferous following in Reading played as if they were free of the shackles.

It was a front-foot performance, crammed with energy, desire, a willingness to battle all over the park, a composure in all positions – elements of the game Albion fans have been crying out for for weeks.

Albion have not been short on goals this term – that was by no means the chief concern under Bruce – but the way in which the players displayed confidence in their game plan stood out clearly.

Midfield dominance and a clean sheet to make it back-to-back shutouts were a result of Albion’s success all over the pitch.

A 3-5-2 formation once more worked a treat. The defensive trio were rugged and dominant – Erik Pieters and especially Martin Kelly were once more outstanding, wing-backs dropped in when they had to and showed a desire to attack, a midfield pair won their battles all over and the front three turned on the gas time and time again as Albion broke forward.

The afternoon’s biggest success story – and visitors’ match-winner – was midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman.

The 20-year-old academy graduate was given the trust and faith of Beale to have a midfield role and the youngster grasped and took his opportunity with aplomb.

It was a virtuoso display of quality and technique with the ball and long-busting work rate without it.

That Beale trusted the popular Gardner-Hickman to carry out the role in a two-man midfield alongside skipper Jake Livermore was telling.

Gardner-Hickman, from Telford and a Baggies player since the age of seven, was not trusted in a midfield role by Bruce.

He had not been selected to start there in any of the previous 13 league games this season. The youngster showed in a handful of games last season he has the heart and engine for a midfield role – on Saturday he displayed his ability.

The pass out to a rejuvenated Matty Phillips for the opener midway through the first half was sublime.

A raking, 50-yard switch of play with spot-on technique was on the money for Phillips. The wing-back’s touch was inch-perfect and his composure to beat a defender and slot in for a first goal in more than a year was impressive.

What will live long in the memory, though, is the sight of Gardner-Hickman robbing Jeff Hendrick to charge forward and lash a 25-yard piledriver into the corner past Dean Bouzanis. What a moment for him and the away fans behind that goal.

A bit of trust went a long way for the youngster and the under-21s head coach, who tellingly admitted he knew as soon as he was made caretaker that Gardner-Hickman would start in midfield.

What a proud day it was for the club’s academy as Beale, at the club some 16 months, led a side finishing with goalkeeper Alex Palmer, defender Dara O’Shea, midfielder Gardner-Hickman and forward Reyes Cleary on the pitch to a memorable and key win.

Palmer was superb when called on late. He made a string of big saves to preserve the clean sheet and keep the Royals – who still have the league’s best home record this season – at bay.

And what a bold call by Beale to hand starlet Cleary, 18, a league debut for the final half hour. What a day for the interim boss. A proud day for him to cherish.

A rare away win, the first since at the very same stadium on April 30, was just reward for travelling fans who have been through the mill this term, but still turned out in their numbers.

Any would-be new Baggies boss looking on at the Madejski – either in the ground or from afar amid unverified reports Sean Dyche was present in Berkshire – would have been very encouraged by what a mixture of youthful and experienced Albion produced.

It was something closer to what a squad of that calibre can show and provides confidence at what could be to come.