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Derby
County v West Bromwich Albion
Pride Park, Derby.
30th August 2003, 3.00pm. |
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I didn't make it to Pride Park for the victory that put us top of
the table, but here is another guest match report from ALEX TILSLEY
who was lucky enough to see the Baggies take top spot in a league
for the first time in more than ten years.
Backed by a bumper 4,000 away following Albion made it four league
wins in a row to move to the top of league, a position many predict
we'll be in come the end of the season.
Yet again the performance was nothing to shout about, but so far
this season, as in 2001/2002, Albion have shown the ability to scrape
a 1-0 victory.
Derby, searching for their first win of the season, were a more
impressive attacking force throughout. This started as early as
the 11th minute when Lee Morris, a former Albion target, made a
surging run through the midfield only to be upended by Larus Sigurdsson
when through on goal. Only a free kick was awarded and a yellow
card shown to Sigurdsson; many Derby fans felt hard done by as he
was the last defender and the challenge was dangerously close to
the penalty area.
More chances followed for Derby, including a mistake from Joost
Volmer that gifted Charlton loanee Mathias Svensson a golden opportunity,
only for him to shoot over when it seemed easier to score.
Albion's only clear cut chance of the first half fell to Scott Dobie,
who had replaced the injured Lee Hughes. An exquisite cross from
Jason Koumas found the head of Dobie, and the Scottish international
headed past Oakes in the Derby goal. However, Dobie was stopped
from celebrating his first league goal of the season with the assistant
referee's raised flag.
Just before half time, Derby captain Ian Taylor was presented a
free header from a Costa's free kick, only for him to power the
ball over the bar. The half time whistle couldn't come soon enough
for Albion as they were clearly struggling.
Not much changed after the interval, as Albion offered little, and
Derby's Morris again tested Hoult, but Albion's shot stopper was
equal every time.
Koumas was failing to provide the ammunition for the strike force,
and half way through the second half the Welshman, and the busy
James O'Connor, made way for Artim Sakiri and Andy Johnson. This
led to a change of tempo for West Brom, and a breakthrough was made.
Sean Gregan thumped a free kick into the box, the ball was cleared,
but when the ball returned off the head of Sakiri, Rob HULSE was
on hand to hook the ball past the stranded Oakes.
This was enough for Albion as the defence stayed solid, and the
three points shot Albion to the top of the league. If the team can
play this poorly and win, hopefully there are exciting times ahead
when the players begin to gel and play as a team.
RESULT - DERBY COUNTY 0 WEST BROMWICH
ALBION 1
Marks
Hoult - 8 - Had plenty of work to do, but was equal to everything
thrown at him for his third clean sheet in a row.
Sigurdsson - 5 - Seemed to lack pace and was lucky to stay on the
pitch after ten minutes.
Gaardsoe - 9 - MOM. Excellent on the ball and great positioning
to make goal saving challenges.
Volmer - 6 - Made the odd mistake in the first half, but stayed
solid throughout the second.
Haas - 8 - His best game for the club especially for the first time
in defence with a series of vital challenges, also ever eager to
get forward to support the strikers.
Koumas - 6 - Not his best game, at times tried to take on one too
many defenders when he had better options available, but provided
rare openings, notably for Dobie.
O'Connor - 7 - Gave his all, always looked strong in the challenge,
unlucky to be taken off.
Gregan - 7 - First match of the season in the middle of the park,
and did his job well.
Clement - 7 - Reacted well to the arrival of a new left back, eager
to get forward and take people on.
Hughes - 6 - Not on the pitch long enough to make an impact.
Hulse - 8 - Held the ball up well, and was in the right place at
the right time for the goal.
Dobie - 7 - Unlucky with disallowed goal, frustrated by lack of
service.
Sakiri - 7 - Looked good on the ball and made some promising runs
down the wing.
Johnson - 7 - Showed he wanted his place back in the starting 11,
full of energy.
The Manager - 7 - 4 wins out of 4, kept the fans happy. Took a risk
taking Koumas off, but this paid off as soon after as Sakiri set
up the goal for Hulse.
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Derby
County (4-4-2):
Oakes; Jackson, Mills, M Johnson (Junior 68), Boertien; Casta, Taylor,
Huddlestone, Valakari; Svensson, Morris. Subs not used: Grant (GK),
Bolder, McLeod, Caldwell. |
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Sigurdsson, Gaardsoe, Volmer; Haas, Koumas (Johnson 75),
O'Connor (Sakiri 75), Gregan, Clement; Hughes (Dobie 26), Hulse.
Subs not used: Murphy (GK), Gilchrist.
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Scoring: Hulse (76)
0-1.
Bookings: Derby County - Svensson (foul 15), Boertien (foul 63),
Taylor (dissent 76). West Bromwich Albion - Sigurdsson (foul 11),
O'Connor (dissent 45).
Referee: M Ryan (Lancashire)
Attendance: 21,499 |
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