Daryl Dike played the full 90 minutes of a game for the first time on Saturday since Orlando City’s playoff defeat to Nashville on Nov. 24, 2021. Various injuries have sidelined the 22-year-old talent for roughly a season and a half.
West Brom came back from two goals down to defeat Luton Town 3-2 on Saturday. Dike’s team couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start after conceding twice in the opening 10 minutes. The Oklahoma-native got the Baggies back into it with a goal in the 39th minute.
For Dike it was a great moment but a nightmare for USMNT and Luton Town goalkeeper Ethan Horvath. A long ball from the back set Dike loose on Luton’s goal. Horvath tried to come out of his goal to clear but the two got to the ball almost at the exact same time.
Dike would come out of the metaphorical chicken game as the winner.
Daryl Dike Goal vs Luton Town
— I Love Shakhtar Donetsk (@buffafalos) January 14, 2023
USMNT striker Daryl Dike scores again for West Brom today (currently down 2-1 at halftime).
Dike now has 5 goal contributions (3g/2a) in his last ~310ish minutes in the Championship after returning from injury. pic.twitter.com/GibQIspUbL— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 14, 2023
USMNT fans every time @DarylDike scores pic.twitter.com/5SwZlR8ysp
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) January 14, 2023
Two goals two minutes apart in the second half from Jayson Molumby and Conor Townsend secured the victory for West Brom.
If you haven’t been paying attention to the EFL Championship this season, West Brom are a remarkable comeback story. The Baggies only managed to win two of their first 18 games and sat bottom of the table with 14 points at the end of October.
The introduction of Spanish manager Carlos Corberán has completely flipped the script. West Brom have won nine of their last 10 games, sit sixth in the league and are currently on a four-game win streak in the league.
Dike has started a little scoring streak of his own with two goals in back-to-back league games. He missed the first half of the season with a thigh injury. In his 11 appearances for West Brom on the season, he has four goals.
If his scoring form keeps up American fans would love to see another striker in contention for the USMNT No. 9 role.
