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  • Campbell (7), Greening (32)
  • Date:2006-02-04
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:The Hawthorns
  • Attendance:23993
  • Referee:Foy, C

Live Commentary

94mins

It's full time. West Brom claim a crucial three points despite a nervous second-half showing.

93mins

Referee Chris Foy issues a cautions for Ronnie Wallwork and Sergio Peter after their clash.

92mins

Ronnie Wallwork and Sergio Peter square up but the incident is over quickly.

90mins

The fourth official has indicated four minutes of added time.

87mins

Martin Albrechtsen skys his clearance high into the stand.

85mins

Geoff Horsfield is substituted after a typically hardworking performance. Jan Kozak comes on for him.

84mins

Paul Robinson makes a great sliding tackle on Lucas Neill.

82mins

West Brom make a rare break forward as Nathan Ellington's acrobatic volley whistles over the bar.

80mins

Ryan Nelsen leaps the highest from Sergio Peter's free kick but his powerful header is just wide.

78mins

Nigel Quashie goes off for the Baggies to be replaced by Darren Carter. The midfielder has impressed on his debut.

77mins

Martin Albrechtsen's first-time cross comes off Michael Gray and goes out for a throw-in.

75mins

Morten Gamst Pedersen is replaced by Sergio Peter. The Norwegian must have picked up a knock.

73mins

Paul Robinson motors forward and cuts inside but he has no support and Andy Todd makes the tackle.

71mins

Lucas Neill does just enough to deny Nathan Ellington a run on goal.

69mins

Albion are struggling to get out of their own half as Rovers enjoy plenty of possession.

67mins

Paul Robinson puts Morten Gamst Pedersen's close-range header out for corner as Rovers go agonizingly close.

65mins

The impressive Kevin Campbell is replaced by Nathan Ellington for Rovers.

63mins

Ronnie Wallwork makes a crunching tackle on Steven Reid as the Baggies look to up the tempo.

61mins

Jonathan Greening is caught offside in what has been a scrappy second period so far.

59mins

Michael Gray gets behind the Albion defence but Florent Sinama Pongolle is unable to add the finishing touches to his cross.

57mins

Brad Friedel saves low down to his right from Junichi Inamoto as West Brom enjoy a rare second-half foray upfield.

55mins

The home fans erupt as Lucas Neill appears to catch Kevin Campbell.

53mins

Florent Sinama Pongolle replaces Shefki Kuqi for Blackburn as Rovers look to add pace up front.

52mins

West Brom have looked out of sorts since the break as Rovers push for a goal.

50mins

Jonathan Greening clears upfield from a disappointing Morten Gamst Pedersen corner.

48mins

Geoff Horsfield is waved offside, much to the anger of the Baggies faithful.

46mins

Brett Emerton is a half-time substitute for Rovers, replacing Kerimoglu Tugay.

45mins

It's half time. The Baggies are worth their two-goal lead against a generally below-par Rovers.

44mins

Ronnie Wallwork makes a great challenge to dispossess Morten Gamst Pedersen.

42mins

Robbie Savage's 25-yard strike goes straight down the throat of Tomasz Kuszczak.

40mins

Junichi Inamoto and Michael Gray are receiving treatment after picking up knocks.

38mins

Steven Reid slices the ball wide as Rovers continue to struggle to find their range in front of goal.

36mins

Nigel Quashie is enjoying a good debut, giving bite to the Baggies midfield.

34mins

David Bentley fires over the cross bar when well placed.

32mins

Jonathan Greening scores a cracker, shooting left-footed into the top corner past a despairing Brad Friedel.

30mins

Rovers are enjoying better possession now, getting to the ball first in midfield.

28mins

Tomasz Kuszczak makes an acrobatic save from Morten Gamst Pedersen's deflected cross.

26mins

Michael Gray sticks a foot out to take the ball off Geoff Horsfield with the Yorkshireman poised to shoot.

24mins

Steven Reid fires straight into the West Brom wall from a Rovers free kick.

22mins

Junichi Inamoto cuts in from the right and fires just wide of the upright. The Japanese star is enjoying a good game.

20mins

Kevin Campbell busts a gut to keep Junichi Inamoto's pass in play but is just unable to stop the ball going out.

18mins

Nigel Quashie and Robbie Savage battle for the ball. The duel between the pair looks set to be an interesting one.

16mins

Robbie Savage makes a crucial challenge to deny Geoff Horsfield a shooting chance.

14mins

After a nervous start Blackburn are beginning to get into their stride.

12mins

Steven Reid's drilled effort is charged down by Paul Robinson and goes out for a corner as Rovers enjoy their first genuine chance.

10mins

Brad Friedel stretches to collect Curtis Davies's centre under his cross bar.

8mins

Jonathan Greening's 25-yard drive is pushed round the post by Brad Friedel. West Brom are dominating.

6mins

Kevin Campbell knocks the ball past an onrushing Brad Friedel from Junichi Inamoto's long ball.

5mins

Kevin Campbell shoots inches wide from close range to the despair of Bryan Robson.

4mins

Shefki Kuqi tries his luck from distance but Tomasz Kuszczak saves comfortably down to his left.

2mins

Martin Albrechtsen leaps well to beat Morten Gamst Pedersen to the ball as Rovers push forward.

0mins

Referee Chris Foy gets what is set to be a cracking encounter underway.

0mins

New Baggies signing Nigel Quashie is set to make his debut for the Baggies.

Match Preview

A battling goalless draw at Charlton Athletic on Tuesday at least helped to erase West Bromwich Albion's desperate home defeat to rock-bottom Sunderland in their previous Premiership clash.

However, with relegation rivals Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough all picking up midweek points, Bryan Robson's side remain in danger of the drop.

Albion's inconsistency has dragged them into the mire this term with impressive victories against Arsenal, Wigan Athletic, Manchester City, Everton and Spurs being interspersed by defeats to the Black Cats, Birmingham and Portsmouth.

Robson tinkered with his squad in last month's transfer window, bringing in three players including Nigel Quashie and letting four - including Robbie Earnshaw and Darren Moore - leave The Hawthorns as he bids to mastermind a second successive battle against relegation.

Kevin Campbell is a doubt for the visit of in-form Rovers on Saturday after the veteran striker sustained a groin injury in Tuesday's draw at The Valley.

Paul Robinson plays his last game before serving a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against the Addicks, while Ronnie Wallwork is available again after suspension.

Steve Watson is still struggling with a groin problem while Thomas Gaardsoe and Zoltan Gera are unlikely to be available following groin and hernia injuries respectively.

Kanu and Diomansy Kamara are still on African Cup of Nations duty

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes has guided his Rovers side into contention for a European spot after a run of five wins and one draw in their last six Premiership encounters, culminating in their memorable 4-3 victory against Manchester United on Wednesday.

David Bentley's hat-trick against United eased the pressure on Hughes' strikeforce that has had to contend with injuries to Craig Bellamy (hamstring) and Paul Dickov (broken collarbone) recently.


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Match Report

Nigel Quashie inspired relegation battlers West Bromwich Albion to a priceless success as Blackburn Rovers came crashing down to earth with a heavy bump at The Hawthorns.

Scottish international midfielder Quashie made a highly impressive debut following his arrival in a £1.4million move from Southampton as first-half goals from skipper Kevin Campbell and Jonathan Greening earned Albion a win that has given their survival hopes a major boost.

With Quashie running the show in midfield, Albion secured only their second win in eight games to keep themselves clear of the relegation zone.

It was a victory against the odds as Blackburn were the Premiership's form team before they arrived in the Midlands.

They had won five and drawn one of their previous six games - taking 16 points from a possible 18.

But they were a pale shadow of the side who had fired four goals past Manchester United in their previous game as their hopes of qualifying for Europe next season suffered a setback.

They never recovered from Campbell's seventh minute opener and their fate was sealed when Greening struck 13 minutes before half-time.

Campbell should have fired Albion ahead seconds before his opener as he missed a golden chance in the sixth minute.

The former Arsenal and Everton marksman was unmarked at the near post, but somehow conspired to fire wide after a cross from Greening.

Campbell must still have been cursing his poor finishing when the chance to make amends arrived 60 seconds later.

Blackburn skipper Andy Todd was powerless to cut out a raking crossfield ball from Junichi Inamoto. Campbell collected it in his stride and took a couple of paces forward before drilling his shot past goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

It was a setback that Blackburn struggled to get to grips with and they would have fallen further behind three minutes later only for Friedel to pull off an acrobatic save to deny Greening who let fly from 25 yards.

When Blackburn did pose a threat of their own, they lacked a cutting edge with David Bentley struggling to reproduce the form that had seen him score a hat-trick against United.

In a flurry by Blackburn, Steven Reid had a shot blocked by Paul Robinson and Morten Gamst Pedersen saw a free-kick turned away by goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.

They were made to pay again for their lethargic display when Greening doubled Albion's lead.

He cashed in on a misplaced clearance from left-back Michael Gray that flew back towards his own penalty area.

Greening collected the ball and held off the challenge of Tugay before firing a 25-yard effort past Friedel.

That secured the win for Albion with Blackburn wasting one golden chance to force their way back into the game.

Reid's 68th minute centre caught the Albion defence flat-footed only to be missed by Robbie Savage on the six-yard line.

When the ball found its way to the unmarked Pedersen at the far post he could only steer his header across the face of goal. It really was one of those days for Blackburn.

West Bromwich Albion

Blackburn Rovers

Corners

47

Fouls

1610

Goal attempts

910

Shots off target

46

Offsides

23

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