Six key takeaways from Albion's battling first day win at highly-fancied Norwich City
Club legend praises Jimmy-Jay; Max O'Leary shuts up the doubters; Rabby looks the real deal; summer of slog pays off; why August is Albion's kindest month and Bo's relief after falling 'fowl' to a chicken wrap!
16.08.26, 15:00 Updated 18.08.26, 22:26
Steve Tudgay
- JIMMY-JAY MORGAN'S cool finish to make it 2-0 earned high praise from someone who knows a thing or two about the hardest skill in football - club record goalscorer Tony 'Bomber' Brown. The £1.3m signing from Chelsea waited ... and then waited a bit longer before slotting past rooted Norwich 'keeper Vladan Kovacevic. 'You can't teach players to do that kind of thing. You've either got it or you haven't and this young lad seems to be a bit of a natural,' said Bomber, who scored just the 279 goals in his 790 games for Albion. We were chatting in the press room at Carrow Road after watching James Morrison's side break Norwich hearts with a late one-two punch to take all three points. Morgan has now scored three in his first two games following his Carabao Cup double at Rotherham.'There's loads he's still got to learn in his general play,' added Brown after his commentary duties for Radio WM. 'He's only 20 so that's normal. But to take his only chance of the game like that shows promise, it really does.'
- As well as JJM, Morrison also gave League debuts to summer signings Felix Horn-Myhre and Nolan Galves, who both started against the Canaries. But it was another new boy who caught the eye too, RABBY NZINGOULA. His 25-minute cameo after coming on as substitute was enough to suggest Albion have found a gem. Costing £2m from Strasbourg and capped 16 times by France at U20s, the Lille-born midfielder settled straight into his task, committing to tackles, playing tidy passes and generally exuding the aura of someone who can really play; he's probably best at 8 right now but holding at 6 is definitely part of his future. Morrison is impressed with what he is seeing already: 'Rabby did really well when he came on, as did Jayson. Both players had a big impact on the game. Rabby's come off the pitch knowing now what the Championship is all about. He was shattered.'
- MAX O'LEARY was undoubtedly Albion's star performer, pulling off at least half a dozen excellent stops to keep his team in the game. It will do the former Bristol City 'keeper's confidence the world of good. And may even stop some of the speculation continually linking Alex Palmer with a return to The Hawthorns from Ipswich. Morrison said O'Leary had been signed in the summer as his No.1 stopper and here he showed why. A save low down from Kenny McLean prevented Albion from falling behind within the first couple of minutes; his best save came just moments before Heggebo's opener, when he denied Kellen Fisher - and just for good measure he also assisted Morgan's goal with a sidekick volley pass. Who said he was poor with the ball at his feet?
- We wondered how Albion would cope without the ball for long periods after dominating possession in all but one of their pre-season games and their cup tie at Rotherham. The private friendly against Coventry would've been a better test but nothing like what they faced here in East Anglia. Morrison put the tireless running and resilience shown in defying Norwich, down to his pre-season of slog training in preparation for a 46-game marathon. 'Seeing players knackered in training is how I get my kicks now,' he said, only half-jokingly!
- Whisper it quietly ... but Albion are unbeaten in their last nine Championship games in August. The win at Norwich was their third straight first day success after beating against Blackburn and QPR in the previous two. Carlos Corberan's 2024-25 team won three of their first four, drawing one; the same record as Ryan Mason last season and we all know what happened soon afterwards, so there shouldn't be any danger of anyone getting carried away after one win.
- Finally on the takeaways ... AUNE HEGGEBO needs to stay away from them! In his post match presser, the Albion boss revealed the Norwegian almost missed the game due to sickness after eating a dodgy chicken wrap! He was ill and didn't train on Friday and was a still a doubt on the morning of the game. It was his 'Hand of Hegg' moment that changed the course of the contest so all's well that ends well. I'm tempted to say and that's a wrap but better to finish how the joyous travelling fans did after 98 rip-roaring minutes - in a Carrow Road 'wrap-sody!' Sorry.
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Steve Tudgay was a journalist for the Birmingham Evening Mail during the early 90s when West Brom were managed by Bobby Gould and Ossie Ardiles. You may remember him - he was the one banned by Gould! Since then he has worked in television for ITV Sport, Sky Sports and Premier League Productions.