West Bromwich Albion fans were left overjoyed on Saturday evening after new loan signing, Harvey Barnes, shined during The Baggies’ 5-2 victory over Coventry City.
The match at The Hawthorns was the inaugural Regis Shield, played in memory of former West Brom striker, Cyrille Regis, who died in January.
Barnes sealed his switch from Leicester City on a season-long loan deal on Tuesday and made his debut against his former side Barnsley later that evening, featuring for the best part of half an hour.
Yesterday’s comfortable victory over Coventry saw the 20-year-old make his first start for West Brom and it was the first chance that many of the club’s fans got to witness him in action.
He was quick to make his mark after opening the scoring in the sixth minute with a low, curling effort from outside of the penalty area.
Two minutes later, Barnes got his second after finishing off a well worked moved with Hal Robson-Kanu.
Robson-Kanu then added two goals of his own as the hosts raced to a 4-0 lead on home soil, the second of which was assisted by Barnes.
Darren Moore’s side went on to win the match 5-2, with Jake Livermore’s goal for the hosts coming in between Reise Allassani and Jordon Thompson’s goals for Coventry either side of the interval.
After the match, many West Brom fans expressed their enjoyment of watching their new signing in action on Twitter, as his two goals and assist certainly wowed The Baggies’ faithful.
https://twitter.com/booth_louis/status/1023286978660458496?s=21
If today is anything to go by, weve got ourselves an absolute baller in Harvey Barnes from Leicester! #wba
— Chris Caddick (@cadders10) July 28, 2018
Harvey Barnes set himself up to be a big hit with the Albion faithful #wba
— Al Smith (@htimsAJ) July 28, 2018
There were moans about Harvey Barnes when he arrived because he was a relatively unknown 20 year old. Let me tell you… He was best player on the pitch today. Could well be someone we'll enjoy watching this season #wba
— All Things Albion (@AllAlbion) July 28, 2018
The victory on Saturday meant that West Brom finish their pre-season unbeaten, after wins over Barnet, Swindon Town, Barnsley and Coventry, and a draw at Aberdeen.
Albion’s Sky Bet Championship campaign begins on Saturday when they host Bolton Wanderers, before facing a trip to Nottingham Forest three days later.
