Source: SKY_Sports
Baggies dumped out of cup
Premier League West Bromwich Albion were dumped out of the FA Cup after they went down 3-1 at Burnley in the fourth round replay.[LNB] Steve Thompson was the hero for the home side with two goals as Owen Coyle's men claimed another memorable top-flight scalp.[LNB]Wade Elliott volleyed them ahead on the stroke of half-time before Thompson fired home from close-range.[LNB]Gianni Zuiverloon's goal gave West Brom some hope but Burnley made sure of their place in the next round as Thompson grabbed his second.[LNB]Coyle's impressive Coca-Cola Championship outfit bundled Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal out of the Carling Cup and came agonisingly close to overcoming Tottenham in an epic semi-final encounter.[LNB]With one Wembley dream having died, another remains firmly alive after this latest success which left Albion to focus solely on their grim fight to avoid relegation.[LNB]This was the 41st game of Burnley's marathon season but they were never going to be overawed by a Baggies side who stand just eight league places above them.[LNB]Bright startThe Clarets fans who braved the freezing temperatures were warmed by the prospect of a possible trip to Emirates Stadium in the next round as Burnley will face Arsenal or Cardiff.[LNB]In the 12th minute, Robbie Blake's low strike from distance was palmed around a post for a corner by Scott Carson before Roman Bednar cleverly engineered the space to drive a cross-shot hopelessly off target.[LNB]The Baggies continued to produce passages of play in keeping with their reputation as football purists, but Burnley's defence held firm.[LNB]Blake's trickery with the ball emerged as Burnley's most potent attacking threat and he twice crafted the space to curl right-footed shots just wide of Carson's goal.[LNB]Albion, so typically, kept the ball alive at every opportunity around their opponents' penalty area without ever really threatening to score and Burnley were not much more menacing at the other end.[LNB]The visitors were dealt a blow in the 36th minute when on-loan Arsenal striker Jay Simpson, who had looked lively, picked up a knock and was replaced by Chris Brunt.[LNB]However, Albion carved Burnley open four minutes before the interval when Marc-Antoine Fortune beat the offside trap and laid the ball back to Bednar, whose vicious, rising strike from 14 yards was diverted for a corner by Brian Jensen.[LNB]Albion defender Ryan Donk then saw his far-post header smartly saved by Jensen before Burnley went ahead.[LNB]OpenerA long punt upfield from Jensen was headed up into the air by Donk and Elliott was on hand to strike a superb volley into the far left-hand corner from 20 yards out.[LNB]Bednar headed weakly wide when well placed within two minutes of the restart and Burnley soon capitalised by doubling their advantage in the 52nd minute.[LNB]Christian Kalvenes crossed dangerously from the left flank and although Martin Paterson's far-post header was blocked by a Baggies defender, Thompson lashed in the loose ball right-footed from six yards out.[LNB]Yet the visitors responded impressively and when Zuiverloon was given space on the right side of the Burnley penalty area, he expertly drilled a fine low shot past Jensen and into the bottom corner.[LNB]A third goal should have arrived for Burnley in the 70th minute when Blake's long-range free-kick was parried weakly by Carson.[LNB]The ball fell straight into the path of the lurking Paterson but he was not sharp enough and the chance of a simple tap-in was spurned.[LNB]Albion pushed hard for an equaliser but their few hundred fans in a crowd of just 6,635 were left disappointed as Burnley added a third when Blake's brilliance saw him cross low from the right to give Thompson the easiest of tap-ins.[LNB]
