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West Bromwich Albion v Everton
The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. 3rd April 2005, 4.05pm.
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Match
Preview
Result West Bromwich Albion 1 - 0 Everton
Scorers Zoltan Gera (63) None
Attendance 26,805
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) Nigel Martyn - 25
Tony Hibbert - 22
Alessandro Pistone - 3
Alan Stubbs - 4
David Weir - 5
Mikel Arteta - 6
Tim Cahill - 17
Lee Carsley - 26
Kevin Kilbane - 14
Leon Osman - 21
Marcus Bent - 7
Substitutes 5 - Darren Moore
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
12 - Richard Chaplow
34 - Robert Earnshaw
25 - Nwankwo Kanu 		(GK) Richard Wright - 1
Steve Watson - 2
Joseph Yobo - 20
Guillaume Plessis - 24
Duncan Ferguson - 10
Substitutions D Moore for K Richardson (86)
R Scimeca for M Albrechtsen (89) 		J Yobo for A Pistone (45)
D Ferguson for L Carsley (75)
S Watson for A Stubbs (85)
Yellow Cards Kieran Richardson (28) Tim Cahill (27)
Mikel Arteta (45)
Red Cards None None
Referee G Poll (Hertfordshire)
The most popular expression on leaving the Hawthorns on Sunday evening was "Game on!". Three points against Champions League-chasing Everton is certainly the biggest result of the season so far, lifting the Baggies up to 18th place level on points with Southampton. I dared to hope that Albion's recent revival coupled with Everton's current poor form might see the Baggies snatch the victory - it was hope rather than belief, but the actuality has put us right back in the mix.

Everton's five-man midfield managed to stifle the flowing football we have seen of late from Albion, but the fight, determination and self-belief were evident and it was a moment of pure quality that won the game. A tireless back four were all excellent and limited the visitors to a handful of chances - it was tense, it was tight, but ultimately it was tremendous.

Robson opted to keep the same starting line up from the victory at the Valley meaning that hat-trick hero Robert Earnshaw had to be content with a place on the bench. But as he did in the last home game against Birmingham, he kept his options open on the bench by choosing five outfield players and no goalkeeper - in fact, it was exactly the same sixteen that were victorious against the Blues.

In contrast to the noon kick-off against Birmingham, a couple of hours in the pub for a fair proportion of the crowd meant that the atmosphere was electric. The victory at Charlton had also created a sense of anticipation and there was a genuine sense of hope that, perhaps, the Great Escape was actually on. The teams emerged to Elmer Bernstein's famous theme tune and the scene was set for Albion to grab all three points.

However, the first half failed to really ignite as the sides seemed to cancel one another out. Albion's "creative" midfield trio of Gera, Richardson and Greening struggled to find space amongst Everton's five, and the back four managed to cope well with Marcus Bent up front as well as breaks from Cahill and Arteta.

It was the Spaniard Arteta that was Everton's main creative threat but his preference for falling over rather than going past a player blunted most of his attacking flair.

The first chance of the game, and the best of the first half, came on ten minutes. Alessandro Pistone needlessly brought down Geoff Horsfield near the corner flag, and Greening's resultant free kick was met powerfully by the head of Thomas Gaardsoe but his effort cannoned off the bar and was cleared.

There was little other goalmouth action in the first half and the closest Everton came to a goal was when Gaardsoe and Hoult failed to communicate to deal with a long punt and Osman almost nipped in. At the other end, a fierce shot from Gera left Carsley pole-axed after it struck him in the head, although the Coventry man was able to recover after treatment.

In fact, it was not until the hour mark had passed that the game finally sprung into life. On 62 minutes, the only decent passing move from the visitors in the entire game resulted in Mikel Arteta presenting a great chance for Marcus Bent, but the former Ipswich striker skied the ball into the Smethwick End. A minute later, Greening broke down the left and, with Robinson drawing the defender with a run outside, the former Boro man swung in a superb outswinging cross. Zoltan Gera timed his run to perfection and leapt inside Joseph Yobo and plated the perfect header just inside Martyn's left hand post.

The Hawthorns erupted.

The goal sparked Everton into life. Cahill went down in the box under challenge from Gera five minutes later claiming a penalty, but with the Australian having been cheating for much of the game, Poll ignored his protests and waved play on.

At the other end, a wonderful piece of skill from Richardson put Albrechtsen in behind, but the Dane struck the post from a tight angle.

Moyes brought on big Duncan Ferguson and started hitting long balls that Clement and Gaardsoe dealt with effectively. The visitors were pressing but the Albion defence were holding firm. There was a scare went the otherwise outstanding Paul Robinson misread a ball the spun away from a challenge leaving Bent with a clear run on goal. His vicious swerving shot had Hoult moving the wrong way but he struck out a firm left arm to make a superb save.

There was little else for Albion to worry about, particularly after Darren Moore came on to add further solidity to an already sturdy defence. They almost sealed the points late on when Horsfield broke along the byline and squared for Gera - only an excellent save from Martyn denied the Hungarian his second goal of the game.

There were groans when, simultaneously, Poll gave Albion a free kick when Horsfield was through on goal and the fourth official indicated five minutes added time, but the concerns of the Albion fans were unfounded as they easily saw it through to the final whistle and three precious points.

In all honesty, Everton were a poor side and it says much about the quality of the Premiership outside the top three when they sit in fourth spot. They don't concede many but their pattern of play also means that they will never score too many either. Albion's back four were all excellent with Robinson, in particular, putting in an outstanding performance. Greening, Gera and Richardson all had mixed performances, but showed flashes of quality and they ultimately won the game.

It was a day to be proud to be a Baggie. Albion's first back-to-back Premiership wins since September 2002 have brought them to within touching distance of a Great Escape. Adrian Chiles always says that it is the hope that kills you, not the despair. Albion remain odds on to go down, but by golly they are fighting.

Marks

Russell Hoult - 7 - Kicking and communication remain a worry, but one excellent save and several commanding punches made it a good performance
Martin Albrechtsen - 8 - An excellent performance that was almost capped by his first Albion goal.
Neil Clement - 9 - With the game in front of him, Clement has emerged as an outstanding centre back that improves game by game.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 8 - A good solid performance from the Gaard.
Paul Robinson - 9 - MOM. Simply outstanding. With excellent cover from Clem, he got forward well while he frequently made crucial tackles to put an end to Everton attacks.
Ronnie Wallwork - 7 - Solid simple stuff from Ronnie.
Jonathan Greening - 7 - Much improved, particularly his dead ball delivery, and produced a wonderful cross for the goal.
Kieran Richardson - 6 - At times excellent, but drifted in and out of the game too much.
Kevin Campbell - 7 - Fired up against his old club, he produced a hard-working solid performance.
Geoff Horsfield - 7 - Looked a little out of sorts in the first half, but was back to his usual forceful self in the second.
Zoltan Gera - 7 - A little in and out, but produced an outstanding finish to win the game.

Darren Moore - 7 - Did all that was required.
Riccardo Scimeca - 6 - Did OK.

Bryan Robson - 7 - Right to leave Earnshaw on the bench, but perhaps should've used substitutions earlier.


Jon Want, 4th April 2005.
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