Daryl Dike scores brace against Zack Steffen in West Brom win

Daryl Dike and Zack Steffen squared off on Saturday at the Hawthorns with the U.S. men’s national team striker getting the better of his international counterpart.

Dike scored two first-half goals in West Bromwich Albion’s 2-0 home victory over Middlesbrough, giving the 22-year-old his first brace of the season. The result helped West Brom snap a three-match winless run and move five points back of the final promotion playoff spot.

Dike needed only eight minutes to propel the Baggies in front, finishing off Jed Wallace’s pass down the middle of Steffen’s net. It marked Dike’s first goal since Jan. 14 as the hosts took an early advantage.

Right off the ensuing restart, West Brom doubled its lead as Dike finished off his second goal in a two-minute span.

West Brom would hang on to claim an important three points as Dike logged 78 minutes in the match. Dike won eight of 12 duels, drew two fouls, and finished with four shots on goal in the victory.

“Dike, more than just the goals, was doing such a good job,” Carlos Corberan said postmatch about Dike. “The reward for his work today was the goals he managed to score.”

“It feels very, very good for me,” Dike said. “Having not scored for a few games as a striker, it was something that I really wanted to do. On top of that, we’ve managed to keep the home streak going, so it’s great.”

West Brom will visit Hull City on March 3 before returning home for back-to-back matches against Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town.