West Brom's Darnell Furlong learns lesson after having to tread carefully
Albion right-back Darnell Furlong can learn an important lesson from his quest to avoid a suspension, believes boss Carlos Corberan.
Furlong, 28, spent the last month treading a disciplinary tightrope with the threat of a two-game suspension for 10 yellow cards looming large.
The former QPR full-back completed 80 minutes at Huddersfield, before being withdrawn by boss Corberan, without a caution. The 37th league game was the cut-off point for the two-game ban threat.
“Yes, I think that in the last games he has been playing well with a lot of consciousness about the consequence of receiving one more yellow card,” Corberan said. “I think that it will be a good learning for him for his future, because sometimes when you see a real consequence of the things, is when you value it more to avoid things that are important to avoid.”
The right-back’s form has caught the eye of boss Corberan of late and Furlong has once again been a regular fixture in Albion’s side this term.
Furlong received a ninth yellow card of the season against Cardiff at home in February and survived six appearances without clocking up double figures.
The Baggies head coach said last week that last summer’s loan arrival of fellow right-back Pipa, who has struggled for game time at The Hawthorns, has pushed Furlong to a stronger level.
The Spaniard, meanwhile,admitted the importance of his side finding their feet away from The Hawthorns in Albion’s push for a Championship top six finish.
Corberan’s men are now five games unbeaten away from home – a run of two wins and three draws – a significant improvement on damaging defeats at Norwich, Swansea, Middlesbrough and Sunderland either side of Christmas.
The second half of Saturday’s thumping 4-1 comeback win at Huddersfield was one of the side’s more convincing 45 minutes of the campaign. The club’s away record has improved to eighth in the standings.
Albion return to The Hawthorns on Saturday to face mid-table Bristol City. There are four more away trips this term after the international break, at Millwall, Stoke, Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday.
“You are right, it is true we don’t like to put excuses, we knew away we needed to improve the form,” the head coach admitted.
“Sometimes you can understand the result, in terms of the context of the game, but it’s true that this level of competitiveness was important to recover and keep to achieve the good results.”
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