Albion have the most points after conceding the first goal in the entire Championship (10), and no team in the league has gone on to win more games after conceding first than the Throstles’ three.
This is quite the contrast with last season, when you could almost write the Baggies off if they conceded the first goal.
Albion took a measly eight points after conceding the first goal in the whole of last term (a tally they’ve already surpassed this campaign), losing a whopping 17 of the 21 games in which they conceded the first goal.
Morrison has made a real point of using his squad this season, rotating his starting XI and ensuring as many players are fit, sharp and ready to contribute as possible.
The same cannot be said of Ryan Mason at the start of last season, who continually went to the well with the same players and refused to put minutes into his back-up forwards, in particular.
This contrast in approaches might go some way to explaining the difference in the powers of recovery Albion have shown across the two seasons.
In the three league games since the international break, all three of Morrison’s strikers have started at least one game and also been named as a substitute for at least one.
Morrison’s rotation is keeping his forward options fresh and ensuring they are ready to impact games when he needs them to.
It is also helping Albion be a threat late in games.
The Baggies have scored six goals in the last 20 minutes of games this season; only West Ham and Middlesbrough – two of the league’s top three – have more late goals to their name.
Of course, in an ideal world, Albion wouldn’t have to come back from a losing position.
It is something of an issue that the Baggies have conceded the first goal in seven league games (only Saturday’s hosts, Preston, have conceded first more often) – and Albion have let in the first goal in five consecutive games now.
It’s a problem Morrison will be keen to solve, telling BBC Radio WM after his team’s latest dramatic comeback: “I don’t like the chaos, I want to be in control of the game.”
However, it must be reassuring for Morrison to know that, should chaos continue to reign in Albion games, his team have the resilience to come out on the right side of it.
Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external
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