Boss says Albion 'must keep going'

05 January 2011 09:03
Defensive absentees sorely missed Roberto Di Matteo says Albion must continue fighting for points after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham condemned them to their fifth straight defeat. Albion held their own in the opening stages and should’ve taken the lead when Jerome Thomas burst through the middle but saw his weak effort saved from 18 yards. Peter Odemwingie then passed instead of shooting before Scott Carson’s blunder gifted Fulham the lead a minute before half time. After the break the Baggies’ makeshift backline crumbled under Fulham’s aerial threat from corners with Clint Dempsey and then Brede Hangeland making the most from free headers. "The timing of the first goal was bad for us, with it being just before half-time," said the Baggies boss. "We thought we could have gone in at 0-0 and that would have been very helpful for us - but the timing was poor. "Until then, I thought we were good and we had a chance to go ahead early on through Jerome Thomas. "Peter Odemwingie also had a chance where maybe he could have had a shot. "In the second half, they scored the second and third goals straight away and it's difficult when you're down like that and you don't have much to react with. "We knew we were up against a big side and we were missing five centre-halves. "We don't quite have the resources to put another XI out that could have handled Fulham. "On the corners, my players were with their men but Fulham were just bigger than us and they took advantage of it. "Earlier in the season, we were okay in dealing with corners but in the last three games we have conceded from set-pieces. "That's been creeping in a little bit with the players so we have to improve, try to be stronger, stick to our task and make it better." The Italian also revealed the disappointment of captain Scott Carson after his performance at Craven Cottage. The former England international flapped at Fulham’s first and failed to connect with the second on a poor night for the stopper. "Scott is disappointed. "He knows he should have done better there. "He is big enough to realise that. "I think everybody's mood at the moment is a little bit down because we are on a bad run. "But we have to keep going. "We need a few days to get over this game and regroup and try to stay positive. "We have to pick ourselves up and try to win a game. "That, I'm sure, will lift everybody's mood."

Source: FOOTYMAD