 |
Sunderland
v West Bromwich Albion
Stadium of Light,
Sunderland. 18th April 2004, 4.00pm. |
| Back
to Reports Menu |
It may not have been pretty, but it sure was beautiful. The mathematics
say that we're not there yet, but as after the win at Bradford two
years ago, it's all over bar the shouting. And how loud that shouting
will be. Make no mistake, this was a stunning defensive performance
that produces a statistic that speaks volumes - neither of the other
two teams in the top three have managed a goal against us this season.
It was no surprise that Megson opted for a defensive line-up. Albion
would've been extremely happy with a point and Sunderland needed
all three. Robinson came back into the side after recovering from
illness but Clement retained his place lining up in midfield in
place of Koumas. Kinsella returned to the midfield in place of James
O'Connor and a change up front saw Scott Dobie get his first start
for 15 games in place of Facey.
By packing the bench with attacking options, Megson made sure he
had the ability to change things should it not go to plan - Hughes,
Hulse, Dyer and Koumas filled the bench alongside Joe Murphy.
McCarthy's plans were soon in tatters when he was forced into an
early change when a committed Johnson clashed with George McCartney,
which saw the full back stretchered off.
Albion came out of the blocks fairly quickly and forced the first
corner of the game but Gregan was soon called into action to intercept
a cross from stand-in full back Phil Babb.
Sunderland were soon being allowed the majority of possession as
Albion surrendered to the halfway line, but there was little penetration
from Sunderland and, in terms of goalmouth incident in the first
half hour, they were restricted to a single appeal for handball
against Darren Moore which was waved away by the referee.
It was then Albion's turn to suffer an injury blow when, as he prepared
to make a break up field, Darren Moore pulled up with a hamstring
injury. He was replaced by Koumas with Clement dropping into the
back three.
With Albion largely forcing Sunderland to pass along their back
four by closely marking all the players ahead of them, it was the
visitors who had the first real opportunity of the game. Dobie managed
to beat the offside trap for the first time to latch onto Gaardsoe's
throughball but as he advanced towards the Sunderland goal, he seemed
to be looking for a pass rather than to go for goal as a confident
striker should. With noone close enough to him, he was forced into
the shot which went high and wide of the goal.
Koumas, who was doing a good job of closing down players in the
middle of the park, was finally given a chance to show his skills
with a wicked corner that almost caught Mart Poom unawares as it
curled towards the near corner, but the Estonian managed to keep
the ball out. It was the first effort on target from either team.
Sunderland's best opportunity of the first half came just before
the break when, for once, they managed to get behind the Albion
defence. Oster was the danger man who crossed for Arca, but Gaardsoe
was on hand to make the crucial interception.
Just after half time, the home side had a much better chance. A
good cross from Babb, who was surprisingly impressive as an attacking
full back, put in a great cross that put Hoult under pressure. With
Oster in close attendance, the Albion 'keeper could only punch unconvincingly
straight to Carl Robinson, but the ex-Wolves midfielder approached
the chance all wrong and ended up diverting the ball over the bar
with his knee.
On 54 minutes, Horsfield was forced off with a niggling ankle problem,
but Megson surprised most of the Albion faithful by electing to
put Hulse on rather than Hughes. Whether that was a reaction to
the abuse Hughes had received from the Sunderland fans when warming
up, I'm not sure.
Immediately afterwards, McCarthy also made a change replacing John
Oster with Kevin Kyle and switching to a 4-3-3 formation.
Sunderland finally had an attempt on target a few minutes later
when Robinson tried a volley from well outside the area that Hoult
saved comfortably. Then Kyle, who had made a positive impact to
the Sunderland attack, went close when he fired wide from Arca's
corner.
But in all honesty, Albion looked relatively comfortable with Sunderland
reduced largely to pumping high balls into the box. Although Kyle's
introduction had made things more difficult, Gaardsoe and Gregan
were happy to mop things up.
With 25 minutes left, Dobie and Clement both moved into midfield
as Megson switched to a 4-5-1 formation to try and cut out the small
amount of service that Kyle was getting.
Ten minutes later, Albion fans cheered as super-sub Lloyd Dyer replaced
the disappointing Scott Dobie, and the youngster forced a corner
within seconds of his introduction.
Sunderland continued to have the majority of possession, although
most of it was on the halfway line, but as they pushed forward they
looked evermore susceptible to the counter.
In the closing minutes, the hosts had their best opportunity when
Chambers lost Phil Babb on the far post and the former Liverpool
defender had a free header just six yards out, but the ball went
straight to Hoult.
Albion looked to have the point they craved as they sought to run
down the clock at every opportunity - but nobody told Lloyd Dyer.
WIth Sunderland pressing in the second minute of injury time, Kinsella's
clearing header was picked up by the young substitute. He proceeded
to sprint past Whitley before exchanging a one-two with Clement
who had somehow managed to keep pace. He then beat Williams on the
edge of the box before showing experience well beyond his years
but squaring the ball to the unmarked KOUMAS who seemed to take
an age to look up and calmly slot the ball into the corner of the
net.
It was a sweet, sweet moment and you knew from the reaction of the
Albion players how much it meant.
There was only time for a few seconds play from the restart before
the referee blew time and the three points were Albion's.
Sunderland may feel mugged, but we've seen similar things at the
Hawthorns in recent years. As I walked from the stadium with a barely-concealed
smirk on my face, one Sunderland fan commented that Megson should
be banned from managing for using such defensive tactics - personally,
I'd have called it a masterstroke.
RESULT - SUNDERLAND 0 WEST BROMWICH
ALBION 1
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Had little to do but his kicking seemed much improved.
Gaardsoe - 8 - Awesome.
Moore - 7 - Had done well, shame about the injury.
Gregan - 9 - MOM. Another monumental display from the skipper.
J Chambers - 7 - Worked hard, occasionally wasteful with possession,
but did well defensively.
Johnson - 8 - Typical AJ; covered every inch of the pitch.
Kinsella - 8 - All his experience showed as he closed down well
and used the ball intelligently.
Clement - 7 - From midfield to defence to midfield. Looked comfortable
and assured for the most part although he did make the odd mistake.
Robinson - 8 - Excellent defensive display.
Dobie - 5 - Looked jaded and lacking in confidence and ideas.
Horsfield - 6 - Not surprised that he almost didn't make the game
as he didn't look his lively self.
Koumas - 8 - Not the silky skills we expect from JK, but hard work,
good closing and lots of running, plus of course the coolest of
finishes.
Hulse - 6 - Did just about enough but never looked dangerous.
Dyer - 8 - Purely for the sheer audacity he showed in the final
seconds - he's fast becoming a class act.
The Manager - 10 - Tactically brilliant. His players did everything
he asked of them, the substitutions and formation changes were spot
on. You can argue about the forwards as Dobie and Hulse didn't really
perform, but it probably wasn't the right atmosphere for Hughes.
|
Sunderland
(4-4-2):
Poom; Williams, Breen, Babb, McCartney (Bjorklund 8); Oster (Kyle
55), Whitley, Robinson, Arca; Byfield, Smith. Subs not used: Myrhe
(GK), Stewart, Thornton. |
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Gaardsoe, Moore (Koumas 29), Gregan; J Chambers, Johnson,
Kinsella, Clement, Robinson; Dobie (Dyer 75), Horsfield (Hulse 54).
Subs not used: Murphy (GK), Hughes.
|
Scoring: Koumas (90+3)
0-1.
Bookings: West Bromwich Albion - Gaardsoe (foul 26).
Referee: T Leake (Lancashire).
Attendance: 32,201.
|
| ^ Back to Top |
|
