Carlos Corberan praises West Brom's physical levels in Norwich win
Carlos Corberan heaped praise on his team's physical levels as they dug deep to overcame Norwich and take the play-off quest to the final game of the season.
The Baggies came from behind in their final home game of the regular campaign to see off the Canaries 2-1 with goals from Conor Townsend and Jed Wallace.
Victory in the penultimate fixture takes Albion's fight for a top six place to the 46th and final match of the campaign at Swansea on Monday week.
Albion now sit eighth - two places and two points outside the play-offs - and must win in south Wales, hope for a draw between Millwall and Blackburn and for Sunderland to drop points against Preston.
Regardless of permutations, Corberan was proud of his side for coming from behind to win in front of their supporters - particularly after a three-game week featuring Sunday and Wednesday games, while Norwich had a full week's preparation.
The Spaniard said: "I was very pleased, especially considering the physical challenge - we were playing against a team who had had one week to prepare for this. They hadn't played since last Saturday, and we played Sunday, Wednesday and today again, with not many positives to rotate players.
"For me, the effort they put in is why I must give credit to the players. We created good chances they are a dangerous team. When they broke through our initial press they had a good transition - that's how they scored their goal.
"They brought danger to the game, but it's true that if you analyse the first half, the normal score might've been 2-1 for us, or 3-2 because both teams had big chances."
Corberan refused to take any credit for the victory and handed it all over to his players. He added: "The players put in a lot of energy and desire - I cannot tell you that the performance and three points were as a consequence of any tactical organisation - it wasn't. The result was the consequence of a high level of energy, commitment and strong mentality from the players."
It was a positive way to finish off Hawthorns fixtures for the regular campaign and the contest was finished with an emotional send-off for club captain Jake Livermore after the 33-year-old confirmed his Baggies exit this summer on Friday.
Townsend has been wearing the captain's armband in recent weeks and his moment of quality drew Albion level. The left-back curled a wonderful free-kick into the top corner as an ideal response after being caught on the ball for Josh Sargent's opener. It was Albion's first goal directly from a free-kick since September 2020.
It was also Townsend's third goal since January after scoring just once in four seasons previously as an Albion player.
"I was not surprised," Corberan said of the strike. "A few weeks ago, Swift and him were taking balls and I said Townsend, you have to take it because you were kicking the ball better than Swift. Today he brought personality, belief and the amazing goal which was of a very high level."
On the full-back scoring at a more regular rate, the head coach added: "It's a consequence of his level of determination. I am very happy with his defensive improvement, I have seen a massive improvement. He is a player who attacks with a lot of energy and normally he attacks many times down the side. He takes a lot of crosses and situations in the box.
"Defensively he has improved a lot too, now he is a player who is more solid in defence. He doesn't have to decrease his level in attack - some players when they attack, can lose levels in defence, but the positive thing with Townsend is that he has improved in defence without losing that attack."
