Josh Maja opened his 2025 account with a brace as West Bromwich Albion defeated Preston North End 3-1 in New Year’s Day action in the Championship, Afrosport reports.
The Nigerian forward got things off at the Hawthorns in the 18th minute before Callum Styles doubled it 17 minutes later.
Maja made it 3-0 in the 40th minute to take his Championship tally this season to 12 goals, the second highest in the English second tier behind Norwich City’s Borja Sainz (15 goals).
Ryan Ledson scored the consolation goal for Preston in the 70th minute but the afternoon belong to West Brom who returned to winning ways after losing at Derby County on Boxing Day before drawing 1-1 at Sheffield United to end 2024.
Speaking about Maja after the match, West Brom manager Chris Brunt said: “…Josh Maja is just a clever football player and he gets himself in the right areas and took his two goals really well.”
Starting 2025 with 3️⃣ points! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/1iZq3ANaPA
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) January 1, 2025
West Brom are sixth in the Championship standings, 10 points away from automatic Premier League promotion. They will travel to Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday to take on Swansea City.
