Source: FOOTYMAD
A Fan's View: Albion 3 Preston 2
Kettering_Baggie gives his view on Albion's win Pre-match An unusually early start saw Northy and Geoff arrive in Kettering before 9am, for me to chauffer them along the A14 and M6. On arrival in West Bromwich, Donny was waiting outside the Sportsman at 10am! The Sportsman’s door was locked but Donny’s ‘secret knock’ resulted in us being ushered inside! A pint of Guinness at that time is not my normal breakfast drink but I drank it, anyway. An excellent traditional breakfast in a ‘greasy spoon’ went down well on top of that Guinness, after which we set off for the WBA training ground to watch the Academy match against Huddersfield Town. The first team squad were in the dining room, presumably having their ‘bacon and eggs’! Geoff went in search of a team sheet for the Academy game, who was it you asked, Geoff? Luke Moore was it? Those lads do look impressive and ran out 2-0 winners, with Mantom and Thorne giving fine performances. Then, it was back to the Sportsman for a swift pint and resume ‘business as usual’. Except that it wasn’t quite ‘business as usual’. The Vile v. Dingles game was on the screen in the pub, with the Dings winning 2-1. Sadly, the Vile fluked an equaliser, which prompted huge cheers! Was I hallucinating? Was this Albion fans applauding a Vile goal? Unbelievable! Northy, with steam issuing from both ears began a solo version of ‘Chimchimaroo.....’! So off we went to the Shrine. The Team The Loon was back at (right) back; Tamas and Meite centre backs; Watson in midfield and Miller the lone striker; the rest were as the previous game. Most people seemed OK with that and pleasingly, I didn’t hear any criticism of Carson as he took his place between the sticks. First Half The first few minutes produced nothing of note, then Robert Koren passed inside to Big Ish, the ball then rebounding to Ben Watson off St.Ledger’s legs. I’m sure Watson couldn’t believe his luck, being presented with the ball in front of goal with only Lonergan to beat. Which he did; easily. Then, just three minutes later, Graham Dorrans threaded a lovely pass through the centre for Brunty. With PNE appealing in vain for an offside that wasn’t, Mr Brunt had all the time in the world to line up a shot from his trusty left boot. Much ‘Boinging’ and merriment; cricket score coming up. However, we all know WBA better than that, don’t we? Carson pulled off a fine save that resulted in a corner. Now then, how many times have we seen what followed? Far too many times. No marking in the centre of the box, allowing St. Ledger to head a gift of a goal. Albion, though, were by far the better team and always looked more likely to increase their lead, with Brunt, Koren and Miller all having decent chances. It was a foul on Miller that resulted in the two goal lead being restored. From thirty yards, Graham Dorrans sent a sublime free kick into the top right corner of the goal; sheer class, that was. Young Graham also gave us a wonderful demonstration of his quality by flicking the ball over his and a defender’s head before setting off down the left, nutmegging another defender and sending over a threatening cross. Great stuff. In fact, Dorrans in the first half was a class above anyone else on the pitch. Again, though, we were all reminded that this was Albion. Somehow Neil Mellor was allowed a clear run at our goal (looked a mile offside, although, from the BRE it was not possible to tell if someone on the left played him on). Carson did well to force him wide but Mellor managed an excellent finish from a very tight angle. Half time, then, and only one goal to the good, when really, we should have been out of sight. Second half Right then, let’s start with the highlights. Carson saved well from a Chaplow free kick and Lonergan pulled off some excellent saves, from Watson and Miller especially. Luke Moore came on for Miller (more of that in a moment) and looked very lively, very nearly setting up a fourth Albion goal. We also had a couple of efforts cleared off the line in big scrambles. Preston, to their credit, were trying to play some football but without really threatening our goal. Most of the second half, though, was spent worrying if we could avoid any more clangers and hang on to the three points. On reflection, we managed to hold out quite easily and should have scored again to ease the nerves of people like me, who wish that occasionally, we could ‘do it the easy way’. This is Albion, though! Summary The team as a whole played quite well, apart from gifting PNE two opportunities. The Loon played OK, apart from threatening to gift them another towards the end, almost a ‘Reading’ moment. Barnes came on and looked pretty good; he has strength and pace. Mulumbu was outstanding; nothing spectacular, just doing what a defensive midfielder should do but doing it very well indeed. As for Graham Dorrans, what can I say? Newcastle’s Nolan has been voted the player of the Championship; rubbish, Graham is a class above Nolan and younger, too. Surely, a top class career lies ahead. Now for Luke Moore. I think every Albion fan was disappointed that he came on for Miller; why not Simon Cox, they all asked. However, some ‘fans’ decided to boo his arrival on the pitch but decent folk that most Baggies are, a chant immediately rang out, ‘Luke Moore, there’s only one Luke Moore....etc, etc’. It is certainly true that there is only one Luke Moore! The booing, though, was way out of order. I have been as big a critic as anyone of Moore but when he comes on in those navy blue and white stripes, I want him to excel. I would be genuinely pleased if, one day, he came on and netted a hat-trick. Whether the chant inspired him, I don’t know, but he played as well as I have seen him play to date. He very nearly created a goal with a very good piece of individuality. We need every player to give it their all to secure promotion, so they all, including Luke, should receive full support from now to the season’s end. No more booing, please.
