 |
West
Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 4th February 2006, 3.00pm. |
| Back
to Previous Page |
Match
Preview |
 |
 |
| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
2 - 0 |
Blackburn Rovers |
| Scorers |
Kevin Campbell (6)
Jonathan Greening (32) |
None |
| Attendance |
23,993 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
6 - Neil Clement
19 - Curtis Davies
3 - Paul Robinson
24 - Ronnie Wallwork
8 - Jonathan Greening
33 - Junichi Inamoto
7 - Nigel Quashie
21 - Kevin Campbell
9 - Geoff Horsfield |
4-4-2
(GK) Brad Friedel - 1
Michael Gray - 33
Lucas Neill - 2
Ryan Nelsen - 6
Andy Todd - 4
David Bentley - 29
Morten Gamst Pedersen - 12
Steven Reid - 14
Robbie Savage - 8
Kerimoglu Tugay - 16
Shefki Kuqi - 9 |
| Substitutes |
20 - Chris Kirkland
(GK)
5 - Williams Martinez
17 - Darren Carter
13 - Jan Kozak
22 - Nathan Ellington |
(GK) Peter Enckelman -
13
Aaron Mokoena - 15
Brett Emerton - 7
Sergio Peter - 31
Florent Sinama Pongolle - 17 |
| Substitutions |
N Ellington for K Campbell
(67)
D Carter for N Quashie (78)
J Kozak for G Horsfield (86) |
B Emerton for
K Tugay (45)
F Sinama Pongolle for S Kuqi (54)
S Peter for M Pedersen (76) |
| Yellow Cards |
Ronnie Wallwork (90) |
Sergio Peter (90) |
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
C Foy (St. Helens) |
After an absence of
more than a month, what we all hope to be the real Albion returned
to the football field and produced a performance that suggests that
the Baggies may yet earn the mid-table position we all crave. There
were signs of a return at the Valley on Tuesday, but the display
against Blackburn was on a par with those against Spurs and Man
City that gave us all hope last year. What is even more encouraging
is that is was achieved without the services of Kamara and the mercurial
Kanu that were such an influence in those two previous games.
It would be unfair on his fellow players to put the improvement
down to one man, but Nigel Quashie's performance epitomised the
renewed vigour of the team with a forceful display that was full
of energy, commitment and excellent passing. But even he was overshadowed
by his central midfield partner, Ronnie Wallwork. The man whose
Albion career has had more ups and downs than a well-used bungee
rope was once again the key man as he repeatedly broke up Blackburn's
attacks and found the perfect ball to launch the counter. His tireless
display allowed Quashie the freedom to get forward and support the
forwards.
The other two in midfield also impressed. Jonathan Greening continued
in the vein that has seen his performances improve of late, getting
back to something like the consistency that we saw last season,
and he capped it off with a fine goal. It was a wayward clearance
by Gray, but Jonno controlled it well with some neat skill before
firing an unstoppable volley into the top left corner, the same
corner of the same net into which he fired his other goal for the
Baggies last September. Inamoto was in an unfamiliar position on
the right wing and his performance suggests that Robson should have
tired him there before, particularly given the way Darren Carter
has been struggling out wide. He linked up well with Albrechtsen
and he was always a useful outlet. His ability to beat players was
shown on numerous occasions, although his best contribution was
a superb diagonal crossfield ball that put Campbell through for
the opening goal. We all know that KC doesn't have much pace these
days, but the quality of the ball meant that he was though clear
on goal and had the simplest of tasks to slot the ball past Friedel
and celebrate his 36th birthday in style.
I'm sure the skipper was glad of the opportunity having missed a
fantastic chance just sixty seconds earlier when some excellent
skill from Greening produced a low cross that Campbell managed to
put wide from six yards. It was the culmination of a superb start
from the Baggies when they battered Rovers from the first minute.
They also followed it up with continued attacks until the second
goal went less than half an hour later. Both Inamoto and Greening
tested Friedel during that spell.
Campbell may have got a goal, but it was Geoff Horsfield that really
impressed up front. With the prospect of a move to the Championship
emerging last week, the Horse has produced two excellent displays
that could well secure his future at the Hawthorns for the time
being; most fans would surely hope so. At the Valley last Tuesday,
and again against Blackburn, the former brickie showed the best
of what he can bring to a forward line. An impeccable first touch,
intelligent link-up play and seemingly boundless energy to chase
lost causes and make bad balls into good ones, it was a performance
that earned him a standing ovation when he was replaced late on,
and one that his second half strike partner, Nathan Ellington, would
do well to learn from.
The Duke is having a tough time at the moment, and that did not
change on Saturday. With Albion defending the lead after the break,
there weren't too many opportunities for him to shine, but he fluffed
a couple of good opportunities with a poor first touch, and never
seemed that willing to put the effort in to close defenders down.
He needs a break, but he perhaps needs to earn it with a bit more
hard work.
Rovers are no pushover and, while they may have made it easy for
Albion with a few mistakes in the first half, they had a good go
after the break. Remember, this is a side that had just beaten Manchester
United 4-3 to make it five wins and a draw from six Premiership
games. They pressed hard in the second half but rarely threatened
Kuszczak's goal.
The Pole in Goal had to make one or two comfortable saves, but he
was largely well-protected by his defence. Clem remains the weak
link, but the other three were excellent with Davies and Robinson
in particularly good form. "Little Dave" was able to cover
form Clem's mistakes on more than one occasion as he produced another
performance to reinforce the belief that he will one day soon don
and England shirt in a full international. But the defence's task
was made easier by the tireless work of all four midfielders, but
of Ronnie Wallwork in particular.
With other results also going their way, it was a superb day for
the Baggies. And with more good players to come into the side, including
new signings, returning Africans and hopefully a certain Hungarian
recovering from injury, Albion fans can once again be optimistic.
The acid test is, of course, whether they can reproduce such performances
on a regular basis, a feat that has eluded them to date.
Marks
Tomasz Kuszczak - 7 - Little to do, but all done impeccably.
Martin Albrechtsen - 7 - Got caught once or twice, but his pace
generally got him out of trouble, and he got forward well once again.
Neil Clement - 6 - Still makes too many mistakes, but one or two
good moments.
Curtis Davies - 8 - Another excellent display.
Paul Robinson - 8 - Back to the Robbo we know and love.
Ronnie Wallwork - 9 - MOM. An outstanding display marred only by
a late booking.
Jonathan Greening - 8 - Good tricks, hard work, some excellent crosses
and a wonderful goal.
Junichi Inamoto - 7 - Some excellent play that has been missing
from Ina of late, although he tired late on.
Nigel Quashie - 7 - Impressive debut that leaves Robson with some
tough selection problems.
Kevin Campbell - 7 - Another good performance and a great finish
that atoned for a poor miss.
Geoff Horsfield - 8 - Another tireless display with some excellent
football.
Darren Carter - 6 - Did OK in his more comfortable central midfield.
Jan Kozak - 6 - A brief debut; little chance to impress.
Nathan Ellington - 6 - Continues to find it tough, but I expect
him to come good again.
Bryan Robson - 8 - The choice of Ina out wide looked inspired and
begs the question why it wasn't tried before; can't fault the team
selection and nobody let him down. All in all, a good day for Mr
Robson.
Jon Want, 5th February 2006.
|
| ^ Back to Top
|
|
