West Brom bounced back from two back-to-back defeats by convincingly beating Rotherham United 2-0 yesterday evening, Leam Richardson’s first game in charge of the Millers an unhappy one as Carlos Corberan’s Baggies spoiled the occasion for the hosts.
It was a deserved three points for the visitors in South Yorkshire, with the game only really heading to one final outcome after Grady Diangana’s deflected effort found the back of the net early in the second half.
Jed Wallace’s stunning free-kick late on made sure the win was secure for Corberan’s promotion-chasing side, but it was the consistent resilience of one defender during the 90 minutes at New York Stadium that was also vital away from just the efforts of the attackers.
Cedric Kipre continues to be crucial in the heart of defence for the West Midlands side, excelling versus the Millers to ensure his team picked up their tenth clean sheet of the Championship season already.
Cedric Kipre’s game vs Rotherham in numbers
Once a figure stuck on the periphery at the Hawthorns – loaned out to Cardiff City for more game-time last season – Kipre is now an important first-teamer this campaign for the Baggies.
Averaging a 7.06 Sofascore match rating overall from 20 appearances so far, Kipre was again near faultless against the Millers yesterday evening to keep up his ongoing West Brom redemption arc.
Kipre would win nine duels in total during the game, as per Sofascore, bullying the likes of Jordan Hugill up top for the hosts who barely had a sniff all night as a direct consequence.
The ex-Norwich City striker ended up registering just one shot on goal from a poor 84 minutes on the pitch, kept quiet by West Brom’s staunch number four all game before being substituted off by his manager.
Kipre would also make an impressive combined six interceptions and tackles in South Yorkshire, keeping the Millers at bay expertly alongside centre-back partner Kyle Bartley who was equally a rock in defence.
Related
West Brom man out on loan could resolve Corberan’s injury problems
Injury issues at West Brom just keep piling up, with Carlos Corberan tempted to recall this loanee to fix them.
Birmingham Live journalist Joseph Chapman recognised Kipre’s sterling individual performance in his player ratings article after the match, rewarding the 6 foot 4 colossus with a 9/10 rating for his efforts.
It’s no surprise – even when taking this 2-0 win just in isolation – that West Brom have one of the meanest defences in the division currently, Kipre’s excellence at the back just one of many overall factors as to why the Baggies now have a feared reputation in the Championship as a team that’s hard to break down.
Cedric Kipre’s season in numbers
This campaign for the Baggies, Kipre has only missed one game which shows how pivotal he is to Corberan’s plans as a battler at the back.
When playing this season, Kipre has averaged 5.0 ball recoveries per 90 minutes whilst also coming in with an impressive 4.0 clearances.
The Ivorian defender is, however, a much more multifaceted figure at the back than he first appears, averaging 67.1 touches of the ball per 90 minutes for the Baggies with a composed 86% pass accuracy away from just displaying his no-nonsense strengths.
The 27-year-old has come into his own over the last few matches even as the pressure begins to ramp up and the fixture list becomes more crowded, crucial in West Brom’s slim 1-0 win away at Cardiff at the end of last month with seven clearances registered and three aerial duels successfully won.
Kipre will hope he can keep up his impressive form at the back for the Baggies, helping to contribute to more effective shut-outs.
In tow, more and more wins should start to then accumulate as Corberan’s side eye promotion to the Premier League as their main goal come the end of the dog-eat-dog second-tier season.
