Brunt shows the Owls some respect

Nov 30 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

CHRIS Brunt toned down his celebrations after scoring Albion’s fourth goal at Sheffield Wednesday.

The Baggies’ leading scorer grabbed his sixth goal of the season during the closing stages of the game but merely raised his hand to acknowledge the away fans.

He was pleased for Albion after the game but admitted he could not bring himself to celebrate against the club where he made 153 appearances.

“I owe them a lot, especially Brian Laws,” said the 24-year-old. “Without Sheffield Wednesday I wouldn’t have got a chance to move to West Brom and play in the Premier League.

“The game was over when I scored.

“It’s nice to keep scoring but it was against Sheffield Wednesday, a club I have a lot of time for and a lot of respect for.

“They gave me my chance and the fans were great with me on Saturday – they weren’t so hot last time, probably because there were one or two bits and pieces with the hierarchy.

“I enjoy coming back and the three points were good as well.

“Brian Laws always stuck by us and made it easy for us, so I owe him a lot.”

The home side were booed off at half-time and after the final whistle.

Many fans left the stadium when Albion scored their third goal during the first half. Brunt thought the victory owed more to their performance than Wednesday’s poor quality.

“People will say Sheffield Wednesday played badly but they only played badly because of how we played against them,” he added.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals on the counter-attack this year. We’re pretty incisive.

“We create a lot of chances and we’re effective on the break.

“Last season we couldn’t do that and although it’s a different league, it’s still working well for us.”