West Brom endured a disappointing night on Friday, as they were beaten 2-0 by Southampton at The Hawthorns.
Up against a Saints side coming off their first defeat in 26 games, the Baggies will have been hoping to impress in front of their newly announced chairman Shilen Patel.
However, goals in either half from Ryan Fraser and David Brooks proved enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
As a result, a three-game unbeaten run for Carlos Corberan’s side has now come to an end.
One West Brom player who some seemed to feel struggled in that defeat to Southampton, was Cedric Kipre.
Cedric Kipre ‘sloppy in possession’ against Southampton
Throughout the course of the campaign so far, Kipre has been a regular presence at centre back for West Brom.
The Ivorian has often impressed with his performances for the Baggies, leading to many calls for him to be handed a new contract, with his current deal due to expire in the summer.
However, writing about Kipre’s performance against Southampton, The Express and Star said: “Sloppy in possession in the first half and was caught out over the top on one occasion. Settled in the second half and did okay, but below his recent standards.”
As a result, the 27-year-old was given a rating of 6/10 for his performance against the Saints.
According to SofaScore though, there were some positive aspects of Kipre’s performance. The centre back made three during the game, the second most of any West Brom player.
He also made two interceptions, the most of anyone in a Baggies shirt on the night. He also had an impressive success rate of 90%, and although he did lose possession on four occasion, there were seven West Brom players who gave possession away on more occasions.
However, he did not make a single tackle, and won only two of the six duels he was involved in.
West Brom should still hold faith in Cedric Kipre
While there may be some suggestions that this was not Kipre’s best performance in a West Brom shirt, the Baggies will surely not be writing him off just yet.
No player is going to be able to perform to their top level on every single appearance, so this may just have been one of those days for the centre back.
Indeed, Kipre has shown on more than enough occasions this season just how good he can be for West Brom.
As a result, it would be a surprise if Corberan is not to keep faith with him eve after this, especially given the stats suggest there were positives to his performance as well on Friday.
Indeed, the lack of depth at centre back also means they will have to continue to look to Kipre going forward.
With that in mind, Kipre is someone West Brom will surely once again start with against Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night.