West Brom have now conceded the first goal in six consecutive Championship matches, and that is a problem they cannot afford to keep papering over with comebacks, however impressive those comebacks have been.

Andrew Hughes' opener for Preston North End at Deepdale on Saturday was the latest instalment in a trend that is becoming genuinely difficult to dismiss. Six straight league games in which the Baggies have had to chase the match from the opening whistle. The resilience has been admirable; the defensive shape before the first whistle has not.

The numbers in context

To be fair to West Brom, they have extracted remarkable value from a difficult habit. According to Opta figures cited in reports, they have rescued 11 points from the eight league games this season in which they have conceded first. That is not nothing. Most sides who fall behind as regularly as this would be in far deeper trouble in the table.

Context also matters historically. Since the 2010-11 season, Albion have conceded first in seven successive league matches on six separate occasions, so the current run of six is not yet in record territory. The most recent comparable streak came between December 2020 and January 2021. They arrested it then. The question is whether they can do so again before it becomes an eight or nine-game sequence.

But context should not become comfort. Eleven rescued points is a fine return, yet the energy required to chase games week after week is finite. Fightbacks work until suddenly they don't, and a squad that has been relying on character rather than clean sheets is one injury or one bad day from a damaging run of results.

What the players are saying

Defender Chris Mepham acknowledged the streak but chose to frame it positively. "The big positive is coming from behind again, there is no questioning our resilience in the team," he said. That is the right attitude in a dressing room, but it should not substitute for a harder conversation about why Albion keep giving opponents a head start.

Resilience is a character trait, not a tactical system. Conceding first six times running is a structural issue, and Mepham and his defensive colleagues will know that better than anyone.

The fixtures ahead

The schedule does not ease the pressure on West Brom to sort this out quickly. Their next two Championship fixtures are against sides who will punish any defensive slackness in the opening exchanges. A seventh concession from the kick-off would make eight look inevitable, and eight would match their worst recorded run in over a decade.

Four good results can flatter to deceive in this division, and six games of conceding first is already a run long enough to demand a tactical answer rather than another post-match tribute to character. The Baggies have the spirit to keep clawing back. The more pressing task for their coaching staff is to stop making that spirit necessary in the first place.

The bigger picture

West Brom remain in the Championship promotion conversation, and their points haul from losing positions proves they are no soft touch. But a side with genuine automatic-promotion ambitions cannot keep banking on second-half recoveries. The margins in this division are too tight, and the teams above them will not donate points the way lower-placed sides sometimes do.

If the Baggies can solve the problem of conceding first, they become considerably more dangerous. Until they do, every match carries a risk that the comeback formula simply does not click on a given afternoon, and a winnable game slips away before they have even had a chance to fight back.

Frequently asked

How many games have West Brom conceded first in a row?
West Brom have conceded the opening goal in six consecutive Championship matches, with Andrew Hughes' goal for Preston on Saturday being the most recent example.
How many points have West Brom taken from games where they conceded first this season?
According to Opta figures, West Brom have rescued 11 points from the eight Championship games this season in which they have conceded the first goal.
What is West Brom's longest ever run of conceding first in league games?
Since the 2010-11 season, West Brom have conceded first in seven successive league matches on six separate occasions. Their most recent such run came between December 2020 and January 2021, so the current streak of six is approaching but has not yet matched that record.