When asked after West Bromwich Albion’s 2-1 pre-season friendly win over Hertha Berlin whether the performance had had any bearing on his decision making for next Saturday’s season opener at Middlesbrough, Steve Bruce had quite a short response. “Oh, 100%,” he replied with a smile.
It’s hard not to get too carried away when this Albion front four click. After toiling for more than an hour - not for the first time in this pre-season campaign which feels as though it’s staggered across the duration of the entire year - a freshening up brought about immediate fruit.
Grady Diangana on the left, within two minutes of being introduced, burst past Jonjoe Kenny and delivered a cross for number ten John Swift, who was otherwise probably the pick of the Albion side on the day.
Three minutes later, and the other half of the front quartet combined. Jed Wallace delivered from the right and Daryl Dike met the ball with a decisive glancing nod into the corner.