 |
West
Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 27th March 2004, 3.00pm. |
| Back
to Reports Menu |
Megson afterwards described
his team as having "more staying power than a Duracell bunny" as
after playing some of the best football we have seen at the Hawthorns
for some time in the first half, they battled their way through
a a frustrating second half before producing two quality moments
to win the game. With all three substitutes involved in one of the
goals, Megson must get a pat on the back and those who booed the
substitution should admit they were wrong.
The cat had been let out of the bag before the postponed game last
week that Koumas would be dropped to the bench, and Megson stuck
to his plans and gave a first start to Sakiri since the game against
Walsall in January. James Chambers' transfer request obviously did
him no harm as replaced Haas at right wing-back and the injury to
Geoff Horsfield saw Hulse return to the starting line up.
With Gregan dropping back into a back three, Albion lined up with
a 3-5-2 - it seems that the team are now comfortable in switching
formations to suit the situation.
Palace had the first two chances of the game with Butterfield firing
over from a quickly taken free-kick before Popovic also missed the
target from 15 yards.
Sakiri, who was relishing his return to the first team, flung in
one of his trademark curling corners which fell invitingly for Gaardsoe
at the back post, but the Great Dane was not expecting it and he
could only bundle the ball out for a goal kick.
Albion were starting to control the game despite getting little
help from the referee. He first drew the wrath of the home fans
when he waved away penalty appeals when Butterfield controlled the
ball with his arm - it was much more a penalty than the one Haas
conceded against Wigan, but went unpunished as the linesman, who
had a clear view, bottled the decision.
Sakiri showed what the first team had been missing when he bamboozled
Butterfield on the left wing and advanced into the box. His low
cross came back to him, but he failed to convert from a tight angle.
A Palace break saw the referee controversially award them a free-kick
on the edge of the Albion box. A neat set piece saw the ball fired
across the six-yard line by Julian Gray which the other Andy Johnson
failed to connect with.
Sakiri was having one of his best games in an Albion shirt and almost
broke the deadlock with a sublime free kick that Vaesen just managed
to claw away from the top corner. Minutes later, Chambers swung
in a cross from the right that the Macedonian rose to head inches
wide of the left hand post with Vaesen beaten.
With Kinsella, Hughes and Johnson all having attempts in the closing
minutes of the half, Albion were well ahead on points but a great
tackle from Robinson was required to prevent Palace's top scorer
having a clear opportunity.
Into the second half, and Hughes was almost rewarded for his hard-working
first half performance with a goal. He skipped past Popovic before
first a curling shot towards the top corner that Vaesen managed
to get a hand to.
Ten minutes into the second half, boos were heard when Megson opted
to withdraw Sakiri to bring on Koumas. I may not have agreed with
the substitution at the time, but booing will hardly have done Koumas's
confidence any good. Five minuted later, Facey also came on to replace
the disappointing Hulse.
Throughout the second half, Albion failed to find the rhythm that
they had in the first half as the game became much more even. Palace's
Andrew Johnson had the best chance of the early stages when he had
a free header just eight yards out that he could only direct straight
at Hoult.
As the game seemed to descending towards a nil-nil draw, Megson
made his final change bringing Dyer on for Kinsella and, switching
Gregan into the middle, changing to a 4-4-2.
It seemed to have the desired effect as it seemed to release Koumas
and Dyer to make more attacking runs to support the front two. It
was Koumas that broke from a Palace corner and released Facey on
the right wing. The former Bolton striker teased the Palace defenders
all the way down the right wing to win a corner.
Koumas's outswinging flag kick was perfect as Darren MOORE rose
to plant the header low to Vaesen's right to give Albion the lead
they deserved.
Five minutes later, in the best move of the match, Dyer picked the
ball up in the centre of midfield and started a swift passing move
that saw Facey attack the byline from the left wing. His perfect
cut back found DYER who planted a well struck shot into the corner
of the net for his first senior goal.
Although Shipperley struck the cross bar late on, the points were
Albion's.
The second half wasn't pretty as Dowie changed the way Palace played
after being battered in the first 45, but Albion showed their mettle
and Megson's substitutions made the difference to bring the fourth
straight win for the Baggies.
RESULT - WEST BROMWICH ALBION 2 CRYSTAL
PALACE 0
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Good solid game.
Gaardsoe - 7 - One comedy moment when he went forward and fell over,
but a fairly solid performance from the Gaard.
Moore - 8 - Another solid game, and a great goal.
Gregan - 9 - MOM. An awesome display from the skipper - couldn't
fault him.
Chambers - 7 - Solid at the back and occasionally threatening in
attack.
Sakiri - 8 - Excellent first half, unlucky to be subbed.
Johnson - 7 - Typical workman-like performance from AJ.
Kinsella - 7 - Another solid performance from Kinsella.
Robinson - 8 - Excellent defensively and supported well up front.
Hulse - 5 - We maybe didn't play to his strengths, but he looked
poor.
Hughes - 8 - Another lively, hard-working display from the man that
seems to have re-cemented a first team place.
Koumas - 7 - Still not seeing the best of him, but one or two quality
moments and a great corner for the opening goal.
Facey - 8 - Did really well, good on the ball, excellent work to
set up both the corner for the first goal and the cut back for the
second. Due a goal.
Dyer - 8 - Great to see him score and he's growing in confidence
with every appearance.
The Manager - 8 - I didn't agree at the time, but Koumas for Sakiri
worked well as did the other substitutions. Glad to see he's not
upset by Chambers' transfer request.
|
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Gaardsoe, Moore, Gregan; J Chambers, Johnson, Kinsella (Dyer
75), Sakiri (Koumas 75), Robinson; Hughes, Hulse (Facey 60). Subs
not used: Murphy (GK), Clement.
|
Crystal
Palace (4-4-2):
Vaesen; Butterfield, Hudson, Popovic, Granville; Routledge, Leigertwood
(Black 85), Hughes, Gray; Johnson, Shipperley. Subs not used: Berthelin
(GK), Derry, Riihilahti, Borrowdale.
|
Scoring: Moore (81)
1-0, Dyer (86) 2-0.
Bookings: Crystal Palace - Gray (unsporting behaviour 54), Butterfield
(foul 78).
Referee: P Robinson (Yorkshire).
Attendance: 24,990. |
| ^ Back to Top |
|
