Shane Long scored his third goal in a week to help West Brom defeat Everton at the Hawthorns and if he can add a couple of more before Saturday we’ll all be happy.
The Tipp man has had a difficult start to the season so far, taking one of the worst penalties seen in the Premier League only days after being excluded from the Ireland team that played Serbia because of a minor spat with Giovanni Trapattoni.
Long bagged two goals in the Capital One Cup during the week, however, and continued that run of form against a high-flying Everton side, slotting home the opener as the Baggies won 2-0 and climbed to the heady heights of third in the table.
After what happened in Belgrade, it remains to be seen whether Long will be given a chance in Kazakhstan on Friday as Jonathan Walters scored from the spot in Stoke’s 2-2 draw with Wigan and it’s only a few days since Simox Cox scored the goal of his life for Nottingham Forest against the same opposition. Still, it’s good to see he’s in form and provides an option nonetheless.
In the other games in the top flight today, big Andy Carroll made a huge impact but subsequently cried off injured in West Ham’s comfortable victory over Fulham, Swansea and Sunderland shared four goals evenly between them at the Liberty Stadium and AVB’s frustrating start to his Spurs career continued as the hosts could only manage a point against Norwich at White Hart Lane.
That said, Moussa Dembele’s goal on his debut wasn’t half bad, was it?
Premier League results:
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
Tottenham 1-1 Norwich
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
