Carlos Corberan: West Brom deep backline not part of Burnley plan
Head coach Carlos Corberan admitted it was not Albion's game plan to drop deep as the visitors were overcome by a late Burnley turnaround.
The visitors looked set to shock the Clarets into a first Turf Moor defeat of the season after Darnell Furlong's early opener gave the Championship leaders a scare.
And Albion led for almost 70 minutes in Lancashire but Nathan Tella took advantage of Okay Yokuslu receiving treatment to slide home a neat equaliser before Scott Twine's stunning free-kick winner three minutes from time after Albion had spent much of the second period defending their own penalty area.
Asked if dropping deep having taken an early lead was a ploy, Corberan responded: "No, no, not in any moment we wanted (to be deep).
"But they are one team that if you press the keeper then the keeper plays as a playmaker.
"So it is very difficult to press them, it's not what you want, it's what you can do.
"But I think then the key is what you do when you have the option to use the ball. For me the intensity in the pressing was fast and we didn't find any solutions to beat the speed of the pressing.
"Our speed to find the solution was lower than the aggressiveness of the pressing, for me the key was there.
"Because in the game if you make three or four attacks you change the game. If you give the ball to them they try to insist and insist and insist and insist."
Questioned if Burnley had the advantage of the speed of body or mind, Corberan answered: "Both."
Corberan added he feels Vincent Kompany's hosts are the best attacking side in the Championship and deserved their victory, though the Baggies head coach felt his side kept the league leaders at arm's length for the most part.
"It was one game where Burnley was better than us, without any type of doubt," Corberan continued.
"It's true that in the first half we scored early and had the feeling we were controlling their attacks, they had the ball but we were controlling their attacks more or less, we only suffered when they were crossing when we didn't defend well enough.
"But it's true if you go to one game thinking you are going to win and then only defending, the chances to win are low.
"One team that attacked, Burnley attacked really well, they are for me the team that attack best in the Championship, so it became more difficult to get at least something.
"In the second half we were conceding more chances, but only a couple of times we were suffering.
"When they scored the goal I was thinking the team was stable but it was a pity to concede the first goal in the action where Okay was out of the pitch, it arrived in one position in a challenge where Okay is always dominant.
"So to win this game you need to be perfect in everything – you cannot lose one advantage, we had one disadvantage with Okay, a numerical disadvantage that did not allow us to compete in this action, but it's true we should have attacked more than we did."
Corberan's first substitute was to introduce Tom Rogic on 67 minutes – much later than his usual first change. Rogic was unable to enjoy the desired effect for Albion and by the time Adam Reach and Karlan Grant were put on, the hosts had scored an equaliser and second, respectively.
"I was thinking that Swift in that moment started to be fatigued, playing Rogic there he could help more Furlong," Corberan said.
"Plus the fact he's a left foot player playing on the right could help us to have one body more to receive the ball, to drive and attack more, but it didn't happen and the previous action of the second ball was losing in this situation.
"We tried to give a solution but we didn't find the right ones."
