West Brom were very good. They weren't as dazzling as they were at the Hawthorns, but they controlled possession and the tempo and didn't put a foot wrong at the back. It was a perfect away performance. The sort of smooth but unspectacular effort that win promotions. We struggled to break them down. They didn't race forward and leave gaps at the back, they defended in number, happy to let their 4 or 5 forward players attack us. We passed pretty well in the first half and kept the ball rather than hitting and hoping. Despite the groans from the stands, the players were clever in possession and we were pretty comfortable, aside from one Phillips' chance.
In the second half, they stepped up a gear and we were unable too. The truth was, we just didn't have the players to break them down. We grafted and created a couple of opportunities from corners, but not from open play. Marney hit two fantastic corners, the first one of which, Delaney headed over when he should've done much better. Marney did OK in general, he tried to get involved and made good supporting runs. Along with the tireless Forster, he was probably the pick of the forwards. Forster got at them down the left quite a few times, but didn't have the tricks to get past the full-back enough.
As an attacking force, that was really about it. Windass had no affect on the game whatsoever. He was calm in possession but offered nothing else. Parkin struggled to win headers against top defenders and had nothing in the way of crosses to work with. The subs were of little use. France did OK in Marney's place, but wasn't creating anything. Elliott was pointless. He had a great effect against QPR because we were making chances and needed someone to poke one in. Today, we weren't creating and he just isn't good enough to change that. Michael Bridges? Wasn't he a footballer once?
Defensively, we were pretty solid. They had the Phillips chance and Bo made a superb triple save in the second half, but they never had any sustained spells of pressure because we tackled and headed well. Ash and Livermore put them under pressure and Delaney and Turner read the game well. We had one or two hairy moments, such as when Damo thought he was Franco Baresi, but we did OK.
At this moment, the decision to sell Craig Fagan is looking a bit costly because we have absolutely nothing coming down the right hand side. I'm sure that will change when Steve McPhee is fit. We're back in the bottom three but there isn't a lot of point in worrying. We're going to be there for another three weeks because of the fixtures we have. The important thing is to put in a good effort against Derby and Brum and get something at Barnsley. We'll be in good shape to have a stab at putting a run together in March if we maintain a good level of confidence in the side and don't let our heads go down.
As supports, try supporting. The players are working hard and so is the manager. Save the stupid criticisms for the pub afterwards. In the ground, give the team a bit of support and a bit of credit.
Ratings: Bo 8, Ricketts 7, Dawson 6, Turner 8, Delaney 7, Ash 7, Livermore 6, Marney 7 (France), Forster 8, Parkin 6 (Bridges), Windass 5 (Elliott).