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West
Bromwich Albion v Birmingham City
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 6th March 2005, 12.00pm. |
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Match
Preview |
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| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
2 - 0 |
Birmingham City |
| Scorers |
Neil Clement (53)
Kevin Campbell (64) |
None |
| Attendance |
25,749 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
1 - Russell Hoult (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
19 - Neil Clement
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
3 - Paul Robinson
24 - Ronnie Wallwork
8 - Jonathan Greening
15 - Kieran Richardson
21 - Kevin Campbell
11 - Zoltan Gera
9 - Geoff Horsfield |
4-4-2
(GK) Maik Taylor - 1
Jamie Clapham - 3
Kenny Cunningham - 4
Olivier Tebily - 2
Matthew Upson - 5
Stephen Clemence - 25
Salif Alassane Diao - 20
Julian Gray - 21
Damien Johnson - 22
Emile Heskey - 16
Walter Pandiani - 9 |
| Substitutes |
5 - Darren Moore
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
12 - Richard Chaplow
34 - Robert Earnshaw
25 - Nwankwo Kanu |
(GK) Nico Vaesen -
18
Darren Anderton - 32
Stan Lazaridis - 11
Robert Blake - 7
Clinton Morrison - 19 |
| Substitutions |
N Kanu for G Horsfield (86)
R Scimeca for K Richardson (90) |
S Lazaridis for O Tebily
(37)
R Blake for J Gray (68)
D Anderton for S Diao (68) |
| Yellow Cards |
Ronnie Wallwork (73) |
Salif Alassane Diao
(28) |
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
S Dunn (Bristol) |
The term "must win"
is applied a little too often, and I've been guilty on this website,
but today's game against Blues certainly fell into that category.
With Palace winning an unexpected point and Southampton winning,
three points were vital for the Baggies if they were to retain any
hope of salvation. Thankfully, they produced the performance that
was required, and the victory, although they were helped substantially
by an inept performance from the visitors.
The surprise in the starting line-up saw Geoff Horsfield recalled
for the first time since his disappointing display against Palace.
There were more surprises on the bench with Darren Moore included
in place of Darren Purse, the first time Big Dave had been in the
squad since the defeat at Portsmouth in December. Moore was joined
by two midfielders in Scimeca and Chaplow, and two strikers in Kanu
and Earnshaw. That left no place for a goalkeeper, a surprising
move given Hoult's recent injury record.
After the slightly lacklustre display against Southampton, Albion
started off playing the good football that we have come to expect
in recent weeks. Horsfield, who received a round of applause from
the City fans when his name was announced, was certainly fired up
for the derby and wasted no time in putting himself about. Gera
seemed to be back on form and it was he that first threatened the
visitors' goal with a 30-yard effort that had Taylor worried for
a while.
The Hungarian's midfield companions were all knocking the ball around
well with Greening more like the player he has been all season and
Richardson using the ball very intelligently. It was Greening that
created a first chance for Horsfield, the former Blues' man's header
deflecting off a defender. Minutes later, it was Clement who saw
a header similarly deflected when he met Richardson's free kick.
One of the few disappointing aspects of the first half were the
corners from Jonathan Greening. After the first two hit the first
defender, the next two found Maik Taylor's hands.
With Albion well on top, they almost went ahead on 13 minutes. A
shot from Horsfield was parried by Maik Taylor, but straight at
Campbell, but the former Gunner had no time to react but deflected
the ball goalwards only to see it cleared off the line by Clapham.
Three minutes later, Richardson went close when his fierce shot
was deflected onto the post with Taylor beaten.
The chances continued to flow for the Baggies as Blues struggled
to get any sort of sustained possession. Taylor had to be alert
to tip over Gera's header and Richardson tried his luck a couple
more times without success. The worry was that as half time approached,
the chances dried up and Albion had so far failed to score.
Blues came out with a little more urgency and looked to be responding
to a stern chat from Steve Bruce. But although they applied a little
pressure, Albion stood firm and the visitors' only shot was a long
range effort from Heskey.
But as the home fans started to worry about the missed chances in
the first half, Albion provided a response right on cue. Albrechtsen
overhit a pass to Gera down the right wing, but the Hungarian refused
to give it up. He managed to stop the ball on the goalline before
crashing into the advertising boards, and then jumped up quickly
and was able to challenge Lazaridis for the ball and won a corner.
Contrary to Greening's corners from the left, Richardson's flag
kick from the right was sublime and was met perfectly on the back
corner of the six-yard box by Clement, and his header beat Taylor
and a defender on the line to give the hosts a deserved lead.
There was almost an immediate response from Blues when substitute
Lazaridis' cross found an unmarked Heskey in the centre of goal,
but the former England striker somehow managed to divert the ball
onto the far post, and it was cleared.
Ten minutes later, Albion had the second goal. Wallwork did well
to win the ball inside his own half before feeding Campbell who
in turn found Gera; he fired a long cross-field ball towards Horsfield.
The Horse used his strength to keep Cunningham at bay and put Greening
in wide on the left; his cross was met by Campbell on the far post
who somehow managed to force the ball home, almost through Maik
Taylor, from an acute angle.
Blues tried to force things, but the Albion defence stood firm.
Long balls were dealt with well by Gaardsoe and Clement, Robinson
and Albrechtsen protected the flanks with the midfield and attack
all chased and harried hard. In all honesty, the visitors rarely
threatened and never looked like scoring and it was Albion that
should've socred a third when Horsfield set Campbell up with a clear
header at the near post, but the former Toffee could only put it
wide.
It was a comfortable win in the end for Albion, a win that lifts
them off the bottom of the table for the first time since November.
A small step in the right direction, but we'll need at least another
five victories in the last ten games to give us a chance of survival.
Marks
Russell Hoult - 7 - Good all round display.
Martin Albrechtsen - 7 - Another solid performance.
Neil Clement - 7 - Good goal; dealt with everything at the back.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 7 - Starting to look more like the Great Dane
of last season.
Paul Robinson - 7 - Solid performance.
Ronnie Wallwork - 7 - Good tidy passing; used the ball well.
Jonathan Greening - 7 - Other than his delivery from corners, he
played well.
Kieran Richardson - 8 - Excellent performance.
Kevin Campbell - 6 - He's played better, but did OK.
Zoltan Gera - 8 - Back to what we expect.
Geoff Horsfield - 9 - MOM. Outstanding; worked hard, stayed strong
and used the ball extremely well.
Nwankwo Kanu - Not enough time.
Riccardo Scimeca - Ditto.
Bryan Robson - 8 - Inspired decision to play Horsfield.
Jon Want, 6th March 2005.
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