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West
Bromwich Albion v Leeds United
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 24th August 2002, 5.30pm. |
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After their Premiership debut at the Theatre of Dreams, it was back
to the Shrine for the first top flight game at the 102-year-old
venue in 16 years. The strange kick-off time did little to affect
the atmosphere, in fact it may just have meant that many will have
spent a little longer than usual lubricating their vocals chords
in one of the local hostelries. The noise when the teams emerged
was immense. And in complete contrast, the minute's silence in memory
of Holly and Jessica was perfectly observed.
And so to the action, what a start. With Dobie in for Dichio, the
Baggies looked much more potent. In the first half hour, the Baggies
played some scintillating football to throw scorn on Rodney Marsh's
"Pig in Lipstick" comments. But unless we start taking our chances,
his prediction of relegation will come true. Dobie was the first
culprit; after being put through by McInnes, he scuffed his shot.
Minutes later, Roberts, who terrorised Woodgate and Matteo throughout,
turned quickly to set up Johnson, but he blazed his shot well over
the bar.
But AJ's major crime came on 17 minutes. Dobie picked the ball up
just outside the centre circle and took it into the box with a forceful
run. Sigurdsson, strangely further forward than any other Albion
player, tried to find Roberts with a square ball, but it went behind
the striker but came straight back to the Icelander off a Leeds
defender. This time he cut the ball back perfectly for Johnson,
but he placed a measured shot wide of the post from six yards. If
he wants more money, he'll have to put those away.
It was all Albion, but Leeds provided a reminder of how dangerous
they could be a few minutes later. Bowyer skipped past Clement on
the right wing and fed Mills whose shot from twenty yards beat Hoult
before striking the inside of the post and flashing back across
the goal.
A few minutes later, Balis and Roberts beat Ian Harte with a one-two.
The Slovakian's cut back found Roberts twelve yards from goal, but
JR shot inches over the bar. Another fine cross from Balis towards
McInnes at the far post was well defended by Matteo.
Albion were on top, but in the back of your mind, you felt that
if they didn't score soon, they'd be punished. It almost happened
when great movement from Viduka and Smith gave Kewell space to back-heel
beautifully into the path of Bowyer. He only had to lob the stranded
Hoult, but he put his attempt wide.
But, as Leeds began to exert some control, the breakthrough came.
Ironically, it came from a Baggies attack. Another Balis cross found
Clement unmarked on the left side of the box, but rather than going
for goal or heading back into the danger area, he inexplicably headed
it backwards, straight to the opposition. He never recovered his
position and Leeds broke quickly. Bowyer found Mills who exploited
the empty space on Albion's left side and passed back into the box
agonisingly beyond Big Dave's outstretched leg into the path of
KEWELL who, unlike Johnson, found the target from six yards.
Leeds started the better team in the second half and were now in
control. Bowyer and Kewell were bossing the midfield. A clipped
pass over the defence from the almost-convict found the Australian
who shot firmly to Hoult's near post, but the Albion keeper stood
firm to deflect the ball wide.
On 52 minutes, the game was all but over. Kewell ran unchallenged
diagonally towards the right side of the Albion penalty area. He
passed it back to Bowyer who in turn found Smith. He passed it into
Kewell who had continued his run to edge of the box. With a neat
back-heel, he found BOWYER again who hit a fantastic curling 25-yard
shot just inside Hoult's right-hand post.
Megson had decided to chase the game and bring Dichio on for Sigurdsson
(apparently). But Moore went down with a twisted knee, and it was
the big Jamaican that went off.
Albion tried and tried to get back into the game, but they were
always going to leave gaps at the back as the two full-backs pushed
forward. When Gilchrist went to clear a long range pass towards
Bowyer, there was no cover. He sliced his kick directly into the
Leeds man's path, and he passed it to an unmarked VIDUKA. The Australian
coolly skipped passed Hoult to put the game well and truly beyond
reach.
Now it was down to pride. We needed a goal to not only give us something
to cheer, but also to keep us off the bottom of the table. Dichio
and Clement both went close before substitute Wallwork and Roberts
combined on the edge of the box. The ball broke to MARSHALL, another
substitute, who scored the Baggies' first Premiership goal by neatly
slotting it past Robinson into the far corner. And so, we could
"Boing" at last.
In short, Albion had Leeds on the ropes in the first half hour but
didn't take one of many chances, and we all know that you cannot
afford that in the Premiership, especially against sides with the
quality of Leeds. United played some superb football in the second
half and Bowyer and Kewell were outstanding. Thankfully, we won't
be playing teams of that quality every week.
RESULT - WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 LEEDS
UNITED 3
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Made some great saves.
Balis - 7 - Great attacking runs and crosses, but one audacious
dive when he should have shot should have earned him a booking.
Clement - 5 - No confidence what so ever, needs something to happen
for him.
Gilchrist - 6 - Played well until that awful mistake.
Moore - 7 - Another solid performance until his injury.
Sigurdsson - 7 - Good defensive performance, got forward well too.
Gregan - 8 - Some great passing, another good game.
Johnson - 6 - A good box-to-box performance, but that miss!!
McInnes - 7 - Looking better in the more attacking role, his distribution
appears to be improving.
Dobie - 8 - Much more potent than Dichio as the first half proved.
Roberts - 8 - MOM. Apart from the chance he missed, he was excellent.
Dichio - 5 - Made little impact.
Wallwork - 6 - Did okay, but not much to go on.
Marshall - 7 - He finished where others failed.
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West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Sigurdsson, Moore (Dichio 60), Gilchrist; Balis, McInnes
(Marshall 73), Gregan, Johnson (Wallwork 73), Clement; Roberts,
Dobie. Subs not used: Jensen (GK), Taylor.
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Leeds
United (4-3-3):
Robinson; Mills, Woodgate (Radebe 60), Matteo, Harte; Bowyer, Bakke,
Barmby; Smith, Viduka, Kewell (Keane 83). Subs not used: Martyn
(GK), Kelly, Dacourt. |
Scoring: Kewell (39)
0-1, Bowyer (52) 0-2, Viduka (71) 0-3, Marshall (90+1) 1-3.
Bookings: West Bromwich Albion - Sigurdsson (foul 72). Leeds United
- Woodgate (foul 58).
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol)
Attendance: 26,618 |
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