Having opened his account for the campaign in spectacular fashion during Saturday’s home win over Stoke City, the Middlesbrough midfielder produced another picture-book finish to down the league leaders at the Hawthorns. Hackney’s side-footed second-half strike handed Boro a deserved victory over West Brom, fuelling the sense that Michael Carrick’s side are beginning to hit top gear. Their latest victory would have been even more emphatic had Riley McGree and substitute Delano Burgzorg not failed to hit the target with excellent opportunities, with Boro clinically outplaying their opponents, who ceded top spot as they suffered their first home defeat of the season.
An evening that ended with celebrations in the away end began in a strange manner, with assistant referee, Rob Smith, requiring medical attention just six minutes in and having to leave on a stretcher. Boro had started brightly prior to the enforced hiatus, with Hackney firing over after a pull-back from Ben Doak, and while the pause dampened down the atmosphere inside the Hawthorns, it did nothing to halt the visitors’ momentum. With Doak and Finn Azaz linking up effectively down the right-hand side, the Teessiders counter-attacked with pace and purpose throughout the first half and should have claimed the lead midway through the opening period.
Doak’s enterprising running enabled him to tee up Finn Azaz in the area, and while the midfielder’s shot was parried by Albion goalkeeper Alex Palmer, the ball.