It was a memorable season finale for American forward Daryl Dike.
Dike scored his first goal of the season as West Bromwich Albion defeated Luton Town 5-3 at the Hawthorns. It marked Dike’s first goal since January 2024, in what was his first start for the Baggies this campaign.
Tom Fellows propelled the Baggies in front after seven minutes before Dike added his name to the scoresheet.
Dike arrived in the Luton box before powering home a header into the bottom-left corner. The goal propelled the Baggies back in front 2-1 after Millenic Alli equalized for the Hatters two minutes after Fellows broke the deadlock.
Fellows would extend West Brom’s lead to 3-1 before halftime, thanks to Dike’s first assist of the season.
Callum Styles added a second-half brace for West Brom, which truly put the match out of reach for Luton. Despite Alli’s second goal of the match and Jordan Clark’s finish, West Brom would close the season with three points.
Dike, who made just 11 appearances this season due to injury rehabilitation, heads into a needed summer of rest and recovery. The U.S. men’s national team forward could be part of the CONCACAF Gold Cup roster, should Mauricio Pochettino call him in for the competition.
“Every single day since the injury and every single day in training, these are the days you dream of,” Dike said postmatch in a club interview. “You draw it up in your head and you’re kind of waiting for it.
“When it all comes through, words can’t even describe how good a feeling it is,” he added.
West Brom’s season concluded with the Baggies missing out on the promotion playoffs by four points.
Happy for Dike hopefully he will get GC spot if he keeps it up.
His season is over. I agree with your sentiment but he has no more opportunities to earn a roster spot.
Still had to have felt durn good. Dude has had the two years from hell. Makes you question if you’ll ever get it back…and frankly, I wondered if his wheels might not come off myself. Often as not, the thing you see that ends careers early isn’t one injury but a series of them that just sort of lop off chunks of a guy’s fitness, sharpness, and swagger, and the shell that’s left finally shrugs his shoulders and gives up.
Coaches always say how important it is to “close with success” in a session. I cannot imagine how much his confidence needed this heading into the offseason. This gives his mo’ such a huge push. It was good to see him playing with a smile on his face again.