Tag: Josh Maja

.Gets West Brom’s boss praises

West Bromwich Albion and Super Eagles striker, Josh Maja, has been named in the WhoScored Championship team of the week following his brace in  Baggies  3-1 win  over  Preston North End on Wednesday.

Maja was included alongside several key players who had performed for their respective clubs on New Year’s Day. Anthony Patterson (Sunderland) was named as the goalkeeper while Shane Duffy (Norwich), Jimmy Dunne (QPR), and Ryley Towler (Portsmouth) were included in a back three.

Josh Murphy (Portsmouth), Svante Ingelsson (Sheffield Wednesday), Alex Robertson (Cardiff City), Freddie Potts (Portsmouth), and Djeidi Gassama were also named in the team. Colby Bishop was named alongside Maja in the front two to complete the team.

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With a rating of 8.37, Josh Maja was also included in a list of five WhoScored’s top performers in the Sky Bet Championship for the previous match day. He was named fourth ahead of Colby Bishop (8.22) who finished fifth while Djeidi Gassama (8.64), Josh Murphy (8.56) and Freddie Potts (8.47) made the top three.

Josh Maja had gone eight successive games without a goal prior to his brace. As such, he will be hoping the goals would mean a turnaround in fortunes for himself and West Brom.

The 26-year-old will also be hoping that the goals can propel him to compete for the golden boot as he is now three goals away from Borja Sainz who is currently the highest goal scorer with 15 goals.

Meanwhile, Interim manager Chris Brunt heaped plaudits on Nigerian striker Josh Maja after his impressive brace led West Brom to a 3-1 victory over Preston North End in the English Championship on New Year’s Day.

The brace brings Maja’s season tally to 12 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions. Despite his recent goal drought, Maja has been a consistent performer for West Brom, and his impactful display on Wednesday night earned him high praise from both his manager and teammate.

“We were excellent in the first half, and while Preston applied significant pressure in the second, it was crucial to secure the three points,” Brunt stated.

“The squad has been exceptionally well-coached over the past two years. They understand their roles and responsibilities. Josh Maja is a remarkably astute footballer, consistently finding himself in advantageous positions and finishing his chances expertly.”

Super Eagles attacker, Josh Maja netted a brace to secure a 3-1 win for West Brom against Preston North End at The Hawthorns on yesterday.

Preston went into the game full of confidence as they had only lost one game in their last nine, securing wins in their last two games. West Brom meanwhile had only won once in their last four matches and they needed a win to climb into the promotion playoffs spots.

Maja opened the scoring in the 18^th  minute of the game with a well-placed left footed shot to the bottom left corner before Callum Styles doubled the advantage of the home side in the 35th minute.

Few minutes after the second goal, Darnell Furlong assisted Josh Maja to score his second and West Brom’s third. Substitute Ryan Ledson came on in the second half and scored few minutes later to restore hope for the visitors, however the impressive first half display was enough to secure all three points for West Brom.

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Speaking after the game, Albion interim boss Chris Brunt admitted a 3-0 half-time lead over Preston took the Baggies by surprise: “I think the way we started the game and took our chances was good, some good attacking play, to be 3-0 up at half-time was a bit unexpected. I know Paul Heckingbottom quite well, I used to play with him at Sheffield Wednesday, I’d imagine he was rattling a few cages at half-time and we knew they’d come out scrapping,” he said.

With the win, West Brom are now into the promotion playoff spots as they sit 6^th  with 39 points in 25 games. Meanwhile, Preston are now 16^th  with 29 points in the same number of games.

West Brom will play Swansea City away next  as they hope to build on their momentum while Preston will host Oxford United as they attempt to bounce back from the defeat.

Josh Maja marked his return to the pitch with a sensational hat-trick, leading West Bromwich Albion to a thrilling 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on the opening day of the 2024-25 Championship season, Soccernet.ng reports.

This remarkable feat made him the first West Brom player in 91 years to score a hat-trick in the club’s opening league game of the season, a record last set by Alf Bentley in 1913.

1913 – Josh Maja is the first West Brom player to score a hat-trick in their opening game of a league season since Alf Bentley in 1913-14. Magic. pic.twitter.com/E2vv8Acb20

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Maja, 25, joined West Brom from Bordeaux last summer but endured a challenging first season, starting only one game before a serious injury sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign.

However, on just his second start since his return, Maja made an immediate impact, scoring three goals that turned the match in West Brom’s favour after Lucas Andersen had given QPR the lead.

The Baggies found themselves trailing early, but they responded quickly.

In the 24th minute, new signing Torbjorn Heggem delivered a pinpoint cross that Maja expertly headed into the net, leveling the score.

Early in the second half, Maja doubled his tally, muscling past defenders to head home a cross from Tom Fellows.