PA PhotosWest Brom show their frustration after going behind at Manchester United to a Gareth McAuley own goal

Albion's performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday was truly the definition of "Jekyll and Hyde". West Brom did go into the game with a depleted first XI, with key players Youssuf Mulumbu, Claudio Yacob and Jonas Olsson ruled out through injury, whilst Zoltan Gera missed out on the game after playing 90 minutes at QPR on Boxing Day.

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Even with those injuries, West Brom managed to field a more than respectable side packed full of internationals. Before I go onto the match, I just thought I'd highlight this as evidence for just how far The Baggies have come in a couple of seasons. An injury list like this in previous seasons would have left the head coach really scraping the barrel, rather than having the option to bring some players in who need game-time.

Unfortunately, the first half was a rather timid affair from a West Brom viewpoint, a bright enough start saw Shane Long have one driving run at the defence and on another occasion being challenged by Chris Smalling, a challenge that from one angle looked a foul whilst from another angle didn't.

Some poor defending from a chipped ball from Shinji Kagawa allowed Ashley Young to get in and put the ball into the box, deflecting into the net off Gareth McAuley. In general the Baggies showed far too much respect to their opponents in the first half, something that often happens at Old Trafford. George Thorne was nervy early on in his first Premier League start for West Brom since January, with Albion struggling to hold the ball on occasions.

The second half was a totally different story and an impressive showing from the Baggies. Unfortunately they never really created any clear cut chances, being mostly restricted to long-range efforts. But it was more the way West Brom played that was impressive, they kept the ball for long spells, constantly attacking the United back four, with Jonny Evans and Vidic both fantastic at the back.

Romelu Lukaku caused a lot of problems when he came on alongside Long rather than instead of him. I believe that the two of them could form a good partnership if Clarke ever sees the need to change formation to a 4-4-2 from his usual 4-5-1/4-2-3-1. Lukaku certainly seemed to strike a bit of fear into the central defensive partnership, particularly when brushing Evans aside with ease, his square ball not finding a Baggies player.

The performance of the previously mentioned Thorne improved in the second half, he played some nice passes and will give Clarke another central midfield option when Mulumbu goes to the African Cup of Nations. This was alongside Chris Brunt, who again had a composed game in the middle of the park, although his usually reliable set pieces were disappointing.

The next game for the Baggies is Fulham at home on New Year's day, where Steve Clarke will want three points to end the Christmas/New Year period with nine from 12.

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