 |
West
Bromwich Albion v Gillingham
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 10th April 2004, 3.00pm. |
| Back
to Reports Menu |
It was not pretty but
feel the points. Playing later than your rivals can be a huge boost
if they drop points, but with Norwich and Sunderland both winning
comfortably on Friday, the pressure was on at the Hawthorns, and
it showed. The football was scrappy, nervous and downright dreadful
at times, but the super-sub did the business again and promotion
is another step closer.
It was no surprise to see Koumas return to the starting line-up
after his impressive display against Ipswich last week and in otherwise
unchanged side, albeit with a formation change to 4-3-1-2 with Koumas
behind the front two. With Dyer, Facey and Hulse joining Clement
and Murphy on the bench, Megson had certainly left himself some
options should things not go well.
And they didn't. Robinson got himself booked with the game barely
a minute old for a dreadful challenge on Spiller, and the Gills
midfielder's lengthy treatment set the tome for the first half.
The Albion side was obviously feeling the pressure as passes went
astray, invention and ambition were absent and chances were at a
premium as they probed to break down a stubborn Gillingham defence.
At times the football was awful as Gillingham hassled and harried
the Albion players into a series of schoolboy mistakes. Robinson
seemed to have caught Clement's disease of getting a nosebleed in
the opposition half, Kinsella's experience seemed to have been forgotten
as he played his teammates into trouble on numerous occasions and
Koumas, albeit looking a class act once again, always tried to beat
one man too many when there was a simple ball on.
Up front, Horsfield and Hughes were both trying hard but with little
support from a midfield that was once again sitting too deep.
Having said all that, Albion did create one or two first half chances.
Gaardsoe should've done better when he had a free header eight yards
out from an exquisite Koumas free kick on 16 minutes and Horsfield
had a couple of opportunities from acute angles - the first his
miscued, the second found the side netting.
Ex-Wimbledon striker Agyemang posed the only serious threat for
the visitors and his forceful run on goal after a Chambers mistake
had to be halted by an excellent tackle from Gregan.
With the Albion side unable to raise the crowd, the referee obliged
with a couple of contentious decisions and by also allowing the
a series of Gills players to receive treatment and thereby kill
what momentum Albion may have had - but at least he added the time
on at the end as the first half had an incredible ten minutes of
stoppage time.
At half time, Lloyd Dyer replaced the disappointing Mark Kinsella
and Albion came out for the second half in a much more determined
mood with Darren Moore spending much of his time in the opposition
box trying to cause problems.
The first chance of the half saw Robinson go close with a 20-yard
shot following a lay off from Big Dave. Next, Koumas beat a couple
of defenders to reach the corner of the six yard box and, with two
players waiting for a square ball, JK went for goal only to see
his shot comfortable saved.
But it looked like being one of those days as Albion failed to find
a way through. At the other end, Agyemang threatened once more and
was stopped again, this time by Robinson, but Hoult's clearance
went straight to Sidebe on the edge of the box but somehow the Mali
international allowed the ball to go through his legs and Dyer was
able to take the ball away.
Koumas tried his luck with a volley from distance when the ball
sat up nicely, but it flew just wide of the post and Horsfield tested
Banks from a tight angle after a good ball from Chambers.
The front two were running that channels well, but far too often
the balls were misplaced. Hughes, in particular, was working hard
to harry and chase down the Gills and was seen helping out in defence
on numerous occasions.
Albion were still making one or two schoolboy errors and another
Rotherham was on the cards when Spiller's cross found Jarvis unmarked
inside the six yard box, but his header was weak and Hoult collected.
Then, eleven minutes from time, a Koumas corner was cleared out
to Dyer on the edge of the box. The youngster seemed to take and
age to move the ball onto his left foot before firing a low shot
that somehow evaded everyone in the area until HUGHES got a foot
on it to divert it past the defender on the post.
The game was won as Albion switched to a back five to protect the
lead. Horsfield could've made the last few minutes more comfortable
with a late chance, but the three points were secure.
I always thought to home games against the relegation-threatened
teams would be the difficult ones to win, because Albion have struggled
to break down such defences all season, and the pressure at this
stage of the campaign makes it that much harder. But they did it,
and it's another game chalked off, one less that Sunderland have
to catch us, one step closer to the finishing line.
RESULT - WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 GILLINGHAM
0
Marks
Hoult - 6 - Did OK, but some very poor distribution at times.
J Chambers - 6 - Defensively looked nervous, did OK going forward.
Gaardsoe - 6 - Didn't have a lot to do defensively, and his distribution
left much to be desired.
Moore - 7 - Worked hard, did the right thing most times.
Gregan - 7 - Another good display from Greegs.
Robinson - 6 - Awful in the first half, but much better in the second.
Koumas - 7 - Some great skill, but his decision making wasn't great.
Johnson - 6 - Did OK but didn't get forward enough.
Kinsella - 5 - The worst game he's had for the Baggies.
Horsfield - 7 - Worked hard but not on top form.
Hughes - 7 - MOM. Gets my vote purely for his drive, ambition and
his intelligent runs. Used the ball well too.
Dyer - 6 - Didn't have the usual impact as the Gills defenders used
their strength to keep him at bay.
Clement - 6 - No impact (but it was injury time).
The Manager - 7 - Changed it at the right time but should be sending
the team out much more fired up than they were today.
|
West
Bromwich Albion (4-3-1-2):
Hoult; J Chambers, Gaardsoe, Moore, Robinson; Gregan, Johnson, Kinsella
(Dyer 45); Koumas (Clement 90+1); Hughes, Horsfield. Subs not used:
Murphy (GK), Facey, Hulse.
|
Gillingham
(3-5-2):
Banks; Hope, Johnson, Cox; Southall, Spiller (Hessenthaler 86),
Pouton, Crofts, Rose (Hills 74); Sidebe, Agyemang (Jarvis 68). Subs
not used: Bossu (GK), Ashby.
|
Scoring: Hughes (78)
1-0.
Bookings: West Bromwich Albion - Robinson (foul 2), Gregan (foul
45+6). Gillingham - Southall (foul 45+9)
Referee: R Pearson (Peterlee).
Attendance: 24,524. |
| ^ Back to Top |
|
