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West
Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 25th August 2004, 7.45pm. |
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Match
Preview |
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| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
1 - 1 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| Scorers |
Zoltan Gera (3) |
Jermaine Defoe (34) |
| Attendance |
27,191 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
1 - Russell Hoult (GK)
19 - Neil Clement
6 - Darren Purse
3 - Paul Robinson
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
8 - Jonathan Greening
10 - Andy Johnson
11 - Zoltan Gera
9 - Geoff Horsfield
25 - Nwankwo Kanu |
4-4-2
(GK) Paul Robinson - 1
Erik Edman - 14
Ledley King - 26
Noureddine Naybet - 2
Noel Pamarot - 17
Timothee Atouba - 24
Sean Davis - 4
Miguel Pedro Mendes - 8
Jamie Redknapp - 15
Jermain Defoe - 18
Frederic Kanoute - 9 |
| Substitutes |
29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
5 - Darren Moore
18 - Lloyd Dyer
12 - Scott Dobie |
(GK) Kasey Keller -
13
Anthony Gardner - 30
Michael Brown - 11
Johnnie Jackson - 32
Robbie Keane - 10 |
| Substitutions |
L Dyer for A Johnson (54)
S Dobie for G Horsfield (61)
D Moore for Z Gera (81) |
R Keane for J Defoe
(67)
M Brown for J Redknapp (78)
J Jackson for T Atouba (88) |
| Yellow Cards |
None |
None |
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
B Knight (Orpington) |
There can be no complaints
about the entertainment value offered by the Baggies this season
as they were involved in yet another action-packed ninety minutes
at the Hawthorns. Once again, the spoils were shared with a 1-1
draw but it was probably the right result given the balance of play.
Megson managed to scupper my prediction of the starting line-up
by picking the man I hoped he would, Zoltan Gera. And what an impact.
Three minutes in, he latched onto a header from Riccardo Scimeca
as the Spurs defence pushed out, controlled the ball and struck
a classy shot into the corner of the net. He followed this up with
a cartwheel and somersault that Robbie Keane would've been proud
of; a true hero is born.
Gera was excellent throughout although his Albion teammates allowed
Spurs back into the game after ten or so minutes by sitting back
to defend the lead. One fault with the Baggies at the moment is
a slight lack of belief - if we'd have pushed on after scoring the
first goal, a second could well have arrived. As it was, we allowed
Spurs to dominate.
Don't get me wrong, Spurs are a very good side. The signings of
Pamarot, Naybet, Mendes and Atouba have brought some much needed
flair but the star of the show for them was Sean Davis. The free
transfer singing from Fulham was awesome as he took a real stranglehold
on the game.
It was no surprise when the visitors equalised although the manner
of the goal was disappointing from an Albion point of view. Defoe
was allowed far too much space and, while the shot was good, Hoult
should've done much better.
After the goal, Albion woke up again and pushed on once again. The
last ten minutes of the first half were all Albion and they had
the ball in the net once again. Johnson brought an excellent save
from Robinson, Kanu hit the rebound against the post and then returned
the second rebound into the net with a fine overhead kick. But the
linesman saw an offside somewhere and the goal was ruled out.
In all honesty, Spurs had the better of the second half although
they never really controlled the game. Defoe hit the post and there
were one or two close shaves for the Baggies, but there were chances
at the other end, particularly when Kanu played Horsfield through.
The Horse slightly overhit the ball and went down under the challenge
from the Spurs 'keeper Paul Robinson, but Barry Knight determined
that a goal kick was the right decision.
While one Paul Robinson was distinguishing himself with an excellent
performance, the other was proving himself to be out of his depth.
The Albion left back was found utterly wanting at times as his control
was poor and his decision making was awful - Clement seems to be
improving game by game, Robbo is going backwards. Joining him is
AJ who looked all at sea on Wednesday evening. It was so obvious,
particularly after Greening replaced AJ in the middle, that he is
way short of what the Premiership needs.
What is so encouraging is that Albion are short of true quality
in only three positions. As well as Robinson and Johnson, Horsfield
is short of what we need at this level and we can only hope that
a top quality striker will be brought in this week.
The man of the night for me was Jonathan Greening. I thought his
reading of the game was supreme and his intelligent use of the ball
excellent. Along with Scimeca and Purse, his quality is demonstrated
by the time he creates for himself when receiving the ball. Clement
is learning this now he is surrounded by quality players - AJ and
Robbo might, but they have further to go.
Another sign of progress is the confidence the team are showing
in Kanu. The first two performances by the Nigerian have encouraged
his teammates to trust him with a difficult ball and it is creating
more space. I can't wait for Koumas to join Gera and Greening in
the middle of the park to give Kanu the service he needs, although
he still needs a partner.
And what of Sakiri? Is he not worth a shot at this level? Dyer did
OK when he came on, and I thought he learnt quickly that Pamarot
had him clocked early on. He did not have the same impact as last
year, but the experience will stand him in good stead.
Three games in and I'm very bullish. The side is shaping up well
and, with one or two additions, a mid-table finish is not beyond
us.
Marks
Russell Hoult - 6 - At fault for the goal but otherwise good.
Neil Clement - 7 - Looking more comfortable in every game.
Darren Purse - 7 - Another solid performance.
Paul Robinson - 5 - Starting to look out of his depth; too many
mistakes.
Riccardo Scimeca - 7 - Good performance from Ricky.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 7 - Great partnership building with Purse and
Tommy is improving.
Jonathan Greening - 8 - MOM. Excellent performance, great distribution
and looked at home in the middle of the park as well.
Andy Johnson - 5 - Oh dear. The players around him are making him
look inadequate; squandered possession far too often.
Zoltan Gera - 8 - Justified his place in the starting eleven with
a great goal and a sparkling performance.
Geoff Horsfield - 6 - Another couple of opportunities went begging;
Kanu needs a partner.
Nwankwo Kanu - 8 - More quality from Kanu, unlucky to have his goal
ruled out.
Lloyd Dyer - 6 - Didn't have the impact we are used to, but he's
against much better players now. Promising for a Premiership debut.
Scott Dobie - 6 - Again, he added little bar one or two neat combos
with Gera.
Darren Moore - 4 - Looked completely out of his depth in the ten
minutes he played. Club captain or not, he could've easily cost
us a point.
Gary Megson - 7 - Good move to start Gera, good to see Dyer given
a chance. Dobie is not a Premiership player but with Hulse injured
and no other options, there's little else he could do. Big Dave
needs to improve before he's seen again!
Jon Want, 26th August 2004.
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