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Match
Preview |
 |
 |
| Result |
Fulham |
1 - 0 |
West Bromwich Albion |
| Scorers |
Papa Bouba Diop (90) |
None |
| Attendance |
16,180 |
| Teams |
4-3-3
1 - Edwin Van der Sar (GK)
3 - Carlos Bocanegra
6 - Zat Knight
21 - Zeshan Rehman
2 - Moritz Volz
14 - Papa Bouba Diop
4 - Steed Malbranque
7 - Mark Pembridge
11 - Luis Boa Morte
15 - Collins John
17 - Tomasz Radzinski |
4-4-2
(GK) Russell Hoult - 1
Martin Albrechtsen - 14
Neil Clement - 19
Darren Purse - 6
Paul Robinson - 3
Ronnie Wallwork - 24
Jonathan Greening - 8
Andy Johnson - 10
Kevin Campbell - 21
Robert Earnshaw - 34
Zoltan Gera - 11 |
| Substitutes |
12 - Mark Crossley (GK)
37 - Liam Rosenior
10 - Lee Clark
5 - Sylvain Legwinski
8 - Brian McBride |
(GK) Tomasz Kuszczak
- 29
Riccardo Scimeca - 2
Jason Koumas - 7
Geoff Horsfield - 9
Nwankwo Kanu - 25 |
| Substitutions |
L Clark for S Malbranque
(22)
B McBride for C John (79) |
R Scimeca for A Johnson
(70) |
| Yellow Cards |
Luis Boa Morte (67)
Carlos Bocanegra (74)
Lee Clark (84) |
Jonathan Greening (37)
|
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
P Walton (Northampton) |
As I sat slumped in
my seat after Diop's header hit the net, still with a slither of
false hope that we could nick one back in the seconds that remained,
I remember my thoughts from a short time earlier. As Fulham prepared
to take the corner, I thought to myself how gutting it would be
were they to score then. I don't know why I thought that - Albion
had looked solid all afternoon in defence and all set pieces had
been dealt with efficiently. Maybe it was just the fact that I'm
an Albion fan and I've seen it all before. Last season was one where
we scored vital late goals, this season it is turning into the reverse.
At Portsmouth, Bolton and now Fulham, goals in the last five minutes
have cost us six points, points that would've raised us up to 17th
place. It could be argued that had we held on at Portsmouth, a more
confident team would've picked up even more points in the intervening
period, but it's all history now, and Albion have to pick themselves
up once again and prepare for another televised game at home to
Manchester City next week. In reality, losing the point is of little
importance as it was three that Albion needed; the only worry is
what it will do to the players' confidence.
Despite the result, and the dreadful manner in which it came, there
were plenty of positives to take from today's game, and it is those
that Bryan Robson needs to stress as he tries to pick the side up
for the next match. I don't think Albion have played better this
season than they did today, but they failed to find the net and
were punished with their only defensive lapse of the game. The player
responsible for that lapse, Neil Clement, was otherwise excellent
along with the rest of the defence. Paul Robinson had by far his
best game in an Albion shirt and Albrechtsen and Purse both performed
well. In midfield, Johnson had a superb game until his untimely
injury, Wallwork looked good and Greening impressed for the most
part. The one disappointment in the middle was Zoltan Gera who,
while he tracked back well and performed the defensive part of his
roll well, his distribution was poor and he was caught in possession
on more than one occasion. Up front, Campbell had an impressive
debut, and Earnshaw was lively although he was the main culprit
when it came to missing chances.
The first of those came as early as the first minute, when Earnie
was put clear by Campbell. But with the 'keeper to beat, Albion's
record signing skied his effort on goal well over the bar. It set
the stage for a first half that Albion dominated.
Earnshaw had another chance after good work from Wallwork. The Welshman
turned well but his shot was weak and straight at Van der Sar. Fulham
did have a few chances, but the Albion defence coped well with the
vast majority and Hoult only had to save once from Malbranque's
20-yard effort. Gera had another chance from Albrechtsen's long
throw before Earnie created a chance for himself. He anticipated
Zat Knight's header back to the 'keeper and nipped in and attempted
to prod the ball home, but Van der Sar made himself big, hardly
a challenge for the Dutchman, and managed to smother the shot.
Fulham suffered a big blow when Malbranque had to be substituted
due to an injury he received in a challenge with Andy Johnson. Minutes
later, Albion had another chance when Campbell's header found Wallwork
and his powerful shot was turned away by Van der Sar. It was then
Campbell's turn to have a go when he was put through by Purse, but
once again the giant Dutchman was equal to the shot. Shortly afterwards,
Albrechtsen's long throw was flicked on by Campbell to Earnshaw,
who then laid it off for the former Everton to strike at goal, but
it lacked power and Van der Sar collected with ease.
Fulham had a couple of chances as the half drew to a close. The
first was thanks to the referee when he obstructed Wallwork in the
middle of the park. Clark found Boa Morte and Hoult had to be alert
to save well. On the stroke of half time, a header from Boa Morte
looped just over the bar with Hoult beaten.
We all expected an onslaught from Fulham after the break, but it
failed to materialise as Albion continued to dominate the game.
Greening did well on the right hand side, beating two players before
squaring towards Earnshaw, but Knight managed to get a foot in to
divert the ball behind for a corner. Gera put Earnshaw through for
yet another chance, but he was forced wide by Van der Sar and couldn't
find the net from a tight angle.
Fulham's first chance of the second half came on the break from
Boa Morte, but he fired over from 20 yards. On 70 minutes, it was
Albion's turn to suffer an injury blow. Boa Morte's reckless challenge
left Johnson in a heap on the floor. The Portuguese international
was booked; AJ was stretchered off being replaced by Scimeca.
Fulham had a little more of the possession as the game drew to a
close, and Wallwork had to be alert to block a shot from Diop. Wallwork
was then unlucky at the other end as he met a high ball sweetly
in the box with a volley, but the ball hit Campbell and flew just
inches wide of the post.
Campbell appeared to be bundled over in the box by Zat Knight but
referee Walton, who's given Albion very little and been generally
poor all game, waved away the protests.
And then it all went wrong as Clement went to sleep from the corner
and Papa Bouba Diop was unmarked to head home.
The fact that Albion played so well makes it all the more frustrating
to lose it so late, but it also gives hope. We haven't lost any
ground on the three clubs ahead of us, although we've missed a big
opportunity to put ourselves right back in the mix. If we play as
well as we did today for the rest of the season, we will win more
games than we lose, but whether we will win enough to stay up is
another matter. The fact that Fulham were so poor could suggest
that the seven point gap they have opened up over Palace may not
be enough to keep them from the dogfight.
I'm angry, frustrated and disappointed, but I'm still hanging on
to hope. The Man City game will only be a must win if Palace, Norwich
and Southampton pick up points; the three league games after that
are already must-wins. Those three hold the key to revival. Win
them and we have a chance, fail to win them and we don't. Simple
really.
Marks
Russell Hoult - 7 - Didn't have much to do, but did what he had
to well.
Martin Albrechtsen - 7 - Another good performance from the Dane
as he starts to look more like a £2.7 million player.
Neil Clement - 8 - Excellent barring that last minute lapse.
Darren Purse - 7 - Good solid display.
Paul Robinson - 9 - MOM. Fantastic display; he didn't put a foot
wrong all afternoon and got forward well too.
Ronnie Wallwork - 8 - Excellent display giving rise to the chant
of the day: "There's only one Ronnie Wallwork, we thought he was
sh*te, but now he's alright."
Jonathan Greening - 7 - Good performance with some excellent runs
and crosses.
Andy Johnson - 8 - Game of the season from Jonno; shame about the
injury.
Kevin Campbell - 7 - Impressive debut although he should've scored
at least one
Robert Earnshaw - 6 - His movement was much better today as he got
himself in the right positions, but he needs to convert more often.
Zoltan Gera - 6 - Good work defensively, but not his usual spark
going forward
Riccardo Scimeca - 6 - Did OK
Bryan Robson - 6 - Didn't do much wrong, but I felt we needed a
fresh spark halfway through the second half and I would've like
to have seen Koumas on for Gera.
Jon Want, 16th January 2005.
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