And keeper says Baggies going on front foot has helped upturn
BOAZ Myhill was delighted to see fans’ favourite Claudio Yacob score his first goal for the club in today’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at The Hawthorns.
The defensive midfielder headed home Morgan Amalfitano’s cross to give the Baggies a deserved first-half lead over the Gunners – who had won their last eight Barclays Premier League away games.
And Myhill believes Albion might have come away from the game with all three points – had it not been for the brilliance of his opposite number Wojciech Szczesny.
“Claudio’s a die-hard team player and the fans here love him so much,” said Myhill.
“It was a great header, an unbelievable header.
“He did well to get power behind it and head it down.
“He left the goalkeeper clutching at thin air."
The Wales No.1 added: “It was a similar game to last week.
“We can feel a little aggrieved we didn’t get more from the game.
“Szczesny made a world class save in the first ten minutes - and we could have come away from the game with all three points.
“It could have been even better as we had some good chances.”
The Baggies are now four games unbeaten in the league and Myhill insists the club’s recent form is down to their attacking mentality.
“The last month has been great,” he said.
“Since the last international break we’ve gained a lot of momentum.
“If you set your stall out to sit back, teams like Manchester United and Arsenal will walk all over you.
“It’s inevitable that you’ll let goals in if you do that.
“If you go behind early then you have to open up in order to chase the game.
“We took the stance last week, and we took the same stance this week, that we’ll play on the front foot and try to cause them problems.
“We’ve done well of late because we don’t go on the back foot when teams score against us.
“We take a deep breath, stand tall, and we try to fend off the danger.”
The former Hull City ace was pleased with his own performance in this afternoon’s game.
But he insisted saves like his first-half block from fellow countryman Aaron Ramsey come as a result of hard work on the training pitch.
“We train hard for those situations all week," he said.
“Working with Dean Kiely and the other quality goalkeepers we have helps.
“When you’re called upon on a matchday you should be prepared.
“You know you’re going to have something to do when you play Arsenal.
“The Ramsey save was instinctive.
“It was an incredible defence-splitting pass and I was just in the right place at the right time.
“It was pleasing and it would have been criminal if we’d lost the game.”