Ajayi maintains one of the best heading stats for defenders in England despite West Brom's FA Cup exit

Semi Ajayi once again confirmed his ability to score with his head thanks to his latest effort against Blackpool on Saturday.

In spectacular fashion, the towering defender recorded his first FA Cup goal for the Baggies as Sam Allardyce’s men were edged out by the League One outfit on penalties after the scores stood at 2-2 after extra-time.

With 24-year-old forward Jerry Yates giving the hosts a 40th minute lead at Bloomfield Road, Ajayi levelled scores for the Premier League outfit seven minutes into the second-half.

Thanks to Kamil Grosicki’s cross following a corner-kick, the Super Eagles star headed from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner that beat goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.

As a result of that, the 27-year-old now boasts of 12 headed goals since the start of the 2017-18 season.

He is only behind Cardiff City’s Sean Morrison (13) and Cheltenham Town’s Will Boyle as defenders who have scored more with their heads in all English top four tiers within that period.

Before that strike, the former Arsenal and Rotherham United man was cautioned in the 16th minute by referee John Brooks for a foul.

Blackpool took the lead in the 66th minute through Gary Madine before Matheus Pereira levelled the scores for Allardyce’s team with nine minutes left to play after Oliver Turton had been penalised for handling the ball in his own penalty area.

Both teams were unable to cancel one another during extra-time as kicks from the penalty mark were used in determine the winner.

During the ensuring kicks, Neil Critchley’s side prevailed 3-2 with Kyle Edwards, Darnell Furlong and Matheus Pereira all missing their penalties for West Brom.

Ajayi will be hoping to take his scoring form to the English top-flight when his side – who have not won any of their last eight games across all tournaments - travel to the Molineux Stadium for their English top-flight clash against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 16.

Having garnered eight points from 17 games so far in the ongoing 2020-21 campaign, the Baggies are 19th in the log – six points ahead of Sheffield United who sit at the base of the Premier League with a paltry two points.