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West
Bromwich Albion v Preston North End
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 25th August 2003, 3.00pm. |
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Another three points
on the board puts the Baggies second in the table, but the team
still aren't gelling yet and they made very hard work of beating
a decent Preston side. But if we keep winning when we're not playing
well, it bodes well for the rest of season as this team are definitely
capable of playing much, much better.
Megson made changes again bringing Koumas and Sakiri in at the expense
of Chambers and Johnson, Dichio was up front alongside Hughes and
the captain's armband went back to Sean Gregan.
Hoult was the first 'keeper called into action saving from the American,
Eddie Lewis, but it was Albion who had the better of the early exchanges.
Albion only created one real chance, though, and former Baggie Jonathan
Gould managed to keep out a deflected volley from Hughes.
After the opening fifteen minutes, Albion began to lose their was
and presented Preston with another chance for the impressive Lewis
to test Hoult from eighteen yards. From then on, Preston looked
the better side keeping possession well with some pretty football
in midfield but without being too incisive. It did, however, require
a couple of excellent blocks from Gaardsoe to keep the scores level.
Five minutes before the break, Albion were gifted the lead. North
End right back Graham Alexander underhit a back pass to Gould and
Hughes just beat the stopper to the ball and went down under the
challenge. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and produced
the red card for Gould for a professional foul. The visitors protested
the 'keeper's innocence, adamant that there had been no contact,
and Hughes was forced to stand around for about four minutes while
the argument raged. Eventually, it was Alexander who was take off
to make way for the substitute 'keeper, Lucas.
Despite the lengthy delay, HUGHES kept his cool and sent the new
arrival the wrong way to give Albion the lead scoring his fourth
goal in three games. Minutes later, it was nearly two after a Koumas
corner found its way to Haas at the far post, who swivelled and
hit a fierce volley that was excellently saved by the new 'keeper.
The extended delays leading up to the penalty meant that the referee
allowed six minutes of added time, and in the last of those, the
visitors claimed for a penalty when Fuller went down in the box.
But referee Alan Kaye, who was awful throughout the game, was unimpressed
but failed to book the Preston forward for the dive it surely was.
The second half was dominated by Albion as they searched for the
second goal against the ten men, but Preston had several opportunities
on the break. The first was a free kick from 25 yards that was saved
easily by Hoult. Albion had a couple of chances before Megson made
the obvious change and brought Hulse on to replace the disappointing
Dichio. He also brought on Andy Johnson to replace Sakiri.
With Hulse in the action, Albion's play was much improved as the
new man worked hard to win his place back with some intelligent
runs and good link up play. But Preston continued to frustrate the
home side with the new 'keeper David Lucas in fine form. Hulse tested
him shortly after coming on, skipping past two Preston defenders
before firing a firm shot that was parried by Lucas. Hughes got
to the rebound but his effort was headed off the line by Broomes.
Clement provided Hughes with a gilt-edged chance to make it two-nil
on 70 minutes. His left wing cross was perfectly placed, but the
Ninja got the call caught between his legs and the ball ran through
weakly to the 'keeper.
The visitors had another penalty shout when Fuller went down once
more, but again the referee was unimpressed although it looked a
bit more of a shout than the one in the first half.
Megson went for broke for the last 12 minutes, replacing Volmer
with Dobie and changing the formation to a 4-3-3. Albion made a
few more chances with Lucas saving well to keep out both Dobie and
Hulse, but there was time for further scares at the other end with
Gregan letting the ball slip through his legs leaving Cresswell
with a good chance, but he could only find the side-netting.
Albion certainly had the chances to make it secure in the second
half without really playing that well, but found Lucas in fine form
in the North End goal. Albion will need to play better than this
to win most weeks you would think, although under par performances
have brought six points (if not nine). The defence looked fairly
solid once more, so at least that part of the team seems to be working
well together. If we can get the midfield and attack linking up
properly, this league is there for the taking.
RESULT - WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 PRESTON
NORTH END 0
Marks
Hoult - 7 - His best showing this season.
Gregan - 8 - An excellent performance from the skipper
Gaardsoe - 9 - MOM. He's found his feet and is dominating the defence
- top drawer.
Volmer - 7 - Solid.
Haas - 7 - Seems to have got the right balance as a wing back -
always looks dangerous going forward.
Koumas - 7 - Better from JK, but not the sparkling display we expect.
O'Connor - 8 - Another great terrier-like performance from the Irishman.
Sakiri - 6 - Didn't really get going.
Clement - 8 - Probably his best game so far this season - put in
some excellent crosses.
Hughes - 7 - Lively once more, did well to keep his cool from the
spot.
Dichio - 4 - Was brought in to win headers and hold up the ball
- did neither.
Hulse - 7 - Being dropped had the required effect - looked much
more lively when he came on.
Johnson - 7 - Good performance from AJ - needed his influence to
get hold of midfield.
Dobie - 6 - Did OK - really played as a right winger and put at
least one good cross in.
The Manager - 7 - Dichio was obviously a mistake although after
Deech's showing at Watford, I can't really blame Megson for the
decision. He maybe could've made the change earlier to bring Hulse
in. AJ was probably the right decision although I was surprised
at the Dobie substitution - not Megson-like to go for goals when
we were already winning.
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West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Gregan, Gaardsoe, Volmer (Dobie 78); Haas, Koumas, O'Connor,
Sakiri (Johnson 54), Clement; Hughes, Dichio (Hulse 59). Subs not
used: Murphy (GK), J Chambers.
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Preston
North End (3-5-2):
Gould; Lucketti, Davis (Jackson 72), Broomes; Alexander (Lucas 44),
McKenna, O'Neil (Healy 85), Keane, Lewis; Fuller, Cresswell. Subs
not used: Etuhu, Edwards. |
Scoring: Hughes (44
pen) 1-0.
Bookings: West Bromwich Albion - Koumas (foul 58), Gregan (foul
90+1). Preston North End - O'Neil (dissent 43), McKenna (foul 59).
Sending Off: Preston North End - Gould (professional foul 40)
Referee: A Kaye (Wakefield)
Attendance: 24,402 |
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