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West
Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 22nd August 2004, 1.00pm. |
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Match
Preview |
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| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
1 - 1 |
Aston Villa |
| Scorers |
Neil Clement (38) |
Olof Mellberg (4) |
| Attendance |
26,601 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
1 - Russell Hoult (GK)
19 - Neil Clement
22 - Bernt Haas
6 - Darren Purse
3 - Paul Robinson
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
8 - Jonathan Greening
10 - Andy Johnson
9 - Geoff Horsfield
25 - Nwankwo Kanu |
4-4-2
(GK) Thomas Sorensen - 1
Gareth Barry - 6
Mark Delaney - 2
Martin Laursen - 5
Olof Mellberg - 4
Jlloyd Samuel - 3
Thomas Hitzlsperger - 12
Gavin McCann - 8
Nolberto Solano - 11
Carlton Cole - 18
Darius Vassell - 10 |
| Substitutes |
29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
5 - Darren Moore
12 - Scott Dobie
11 - Zoltan Gera |
(GK) Stefan Postma
- 13
Ulises De la Cruz - 15
Pete Whittingham - 17
Juan Pablo Angel - 9
Luke Moore - 22 |
| Substitutions |
Z Gera for B Haas (63)
S Dobie for G Horsfield (74) |
J Angel for D Vassell
(70)
U De la Cruz for N Solano (80)
P Whittingham for G Barry (81) |
| Yellow Cards |
Geoff Horsfield (6)
Andy Johnson (75) |
Martin Laursen (52)
Olof Mellberg (70) |
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
M Halsey (Lancashire) |
The first home game
of the season certainly produced excellent entertainment for the
television viewers with a hard fought local derby. The referee did
his best to create plenty of controversy with some odd decisions,
although he was probably fair to both sides with his ineptitude.
In our last Premiership campaign, Albion tended to start well at
home but were unable to keep it up through the ninety minutes. Last
season, it was the second half performances that won us promotion.
Having started well against Blackburn, it was disappointing to see
the Baggies look overwhelmed in the early part of the game although
it was a rare first half goal at home that got us back in the game.
To be honest, it was the early goal that knocked the stuffing out
of the Baggies. Hoult looked to be at fault as he came and didn't
get any where near the ball, but it was a poor goal all round from
a defensive point of view. Villa then took the bull by the horns
and Albion were on the rack for the next quarter of an hour.
I haven't seen the TV pictures yet, but I've heard that the ball
was over the line when Robinson cleared the ball from under his
crossbar, from another Mellburg header. Could it be that the Baggies
are getting a bit of luck this season? Mind you, it probably evened
itself out in the course of the game as Albion were denied what
looked like a clear penalty when McCann looked to be auditioning
for the LA Lakers late on.
But after the shaky start, Albion came back strongly and, if Horsfield
had been a little more clinical, they could've broken that 19 year
hoodoo against their nearest rivals. He missed the first of his
chances when an exquisite flick from Kanu presented him with a clear
site of goal, but he only found Sorensen's legs from close range.
As Albion started to get some sustained possession, Mellberg and
Laursen took to fouling the Albion front two some forty yards from
goal to break up the play. Laursen was particularly guilty but referee
Halsey failed to stamp down on his persistent infringements until
the second half, when he finally booked the Danish international.
But Gaardsoe's teammate was punished by Albion before that. It was
his push on Horsfield that resulted in a free kick on Albion's right,
and an exquisite ball from Greening was met by the head of Clement.
He found the top corner with Sorensen unmoved for his second goal
of the season. It was the first Albion goal at the Smethwick End
since the Horse scored against Coventry on 6th March.
Albion finished the half much the stronger and carried on after
the break. Villa had a few chances early in the second half, with
Cole getting the better of Gaardsoe for the only time in the game
when he found space to turn and shoot in the box, but he missed
the target. Albion, on the other hand, got stronger as the half
wore on.
The introduction of Zoltan Gera, with almost half an hour left,
served to boost Albion's attacking flair. The man he replaced, Bernt
Haas, had performed much better than he did at Ewood Park, but Gera
took his chance to shine. He didn't shirk a single tackle, gave
the Villa defenders no time on the ball, and when in possession,
he produced a number of excellent passes. One of these brought the
best chance of the game when he put Horsfield through on goal, but
the former Blues man could only poke the ball wide.
It was all Albion for much of the second period, and they played
some sparkling football as they probed for an opening in the Villa
defence. They never quite got one although Kanu, Clement and Johnson
all went close. There was one moment of panic at the other end when
a long throw was deflected goalwards off an Albion knee, but Hoult
was on hand to produce a fine save to push it around the post.
After such a poor start, the point was welcome, but this encouraging
performance perhaps deserved all three and, with a more clinical
goalscorer, the win may have been achieved.
There were plenty of positives including the improvements to the
performances of Haas and Clement, Gera's display when he came on,
the general solidity in defence after the early lapse and the quality
of football the team produced. If a striker and a midfielder can
be brought in before the deadline, and with Koumas to return in
a fortnight, the prospects are encouraging.
Two games in and we're still unbeaten!!
Marks
Russell Hoult - 7 - Good solid game.
Neil Clement - 7 - Still gives the ball away too much, but worked
hard and looked much better. Took his goal well.
Bernt Haas - 7 - Looked much more comfortable and got forward well.
Darren Purse - 8 - Another excellent game; forging his partnership
with Tommy well.
Paul Robinson - 7 - Another promising performance but one or two
errors at the back.
Riccardo Scimeca - 8 - Very comfortable, reads the game well.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 9 - MOM. Outstanding; had Cole in his pocket for
much of the game.
Jonathan Greening - 7 - Good performance, tidy passing but his corners
need some work.
Andy Johnson - 7 - Worked hard, used the ball well - much improved.
Geoff Horsfield - 7 - Looked dangerous but should've taken one of
the two clear opportunities he had.
Nwankwo Kanu - 7 - Quieter than last week, but showed his quality
on occasion.
Zoltan Gera - 7 - Quality use of the ball, solid in the tackle -
can't wait to see him in a full game.
Scott Dobie - 6 - Didn't really add much.
Gary Megson - 7 - Surprised to see an unchanged line-up but they
did well after a shaky start - substitutions at the right time,
although Dobie didn't have the impact he could've done.
Jon Want, 22nd August 2004.
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