Nottingham Forest (1) v West Bromwich Albion (0)

F.A. CUP 3RD ROUND
By Stuart Kidson
January 3 2004

A DUBIOUS PENALTY DECISION AT ONE END AND A CLEAR CUT PENALTY DENIED AT THE OTHER MEANT THAT THE BAGGIES FELL AT THIS YEARS FIRST HURDLE IN THE OLDEST KNOCKOUT CUP COMPETITION.

Nottingham Forest (1) v West Bromwich Albion (0)
The City Ground, F.A. Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 3rd January 2004

The Baggies suffered F.A. Cup heartache today at a deserted City Ground. Forest's fans had stayed away in droves and the rumour was that it was a protest at the current League position of the club. Some 3,150 Albion fans made the trip and filled the allocation in the Lower Tier of the Bridgford End.

Manager Gary Megson decided to swap things around with the team following their alarming run of form in the league campaign and switched from the usual 3-5-2 formation to an attacking 4-4-2. Neil Clement was moved from left wing back to midfield along with Artim Sakiri, who was getting his first start in 13 games.

The Baggies started the game by applying some early pressure to the home side, who had not won in the last 11 games, with two quick corners from Jason Koumas and Sakiri, but little came from the flag kicks as Forest defended with numbers to stop the aerial threat of Darren Moore, Thomas Gaardsoe, Rob Hulse and Geoff Horsfield.

The visitors then carved the home sides defence apart minutes later when Koumas and Horsfield combined but veteran defender Des Walker was on hand to scramble the ball away to safety.

The home side had to wait until the 12th minute before they posed any real threat to the Baggies goal, when Andy Reid, a target for Tottenham Hotspur, sent over a dangerous ball for Gareth Taylor. However, 'Big Dave' was on hand to deny Forest getting a shot in from six yards out.

The Baggies next chance came when Koumas picked up a loose ball in midfield and ran into space before finding an unmarked Neil Clement out wide. Clement hit a first time shot which had Darren Ward struggling to scramble across the goalmouth but the shot went inches wide of the post.

Albion were then stunned by a refereeing decision that denied them a clear cut chance on goal when Hulse found his way around the Forest off side trap to run onto a through ball from Robinson. Ward had committed himself and was stranded off his line when Hulse found Horsfield with a neat pass. The former Blues hit man looked certain to be opening his goal account for the Baggies but was bought down by a clumsy challenge from Wes Morgan. Horsfield had been denied a clear cut goal scoring opportunity but referee Mr. A. Kaye, decided not to punish the Forest defender and merely awarded a free kick for the visitors. Koumas sent the ball wide of the upright.

Taylor had been jumping all afternoon with trailing arms and it came as no surprise to the away fans when he finally caught Horsfield on top of the head with his elbow. The impact was such that Horsfield required treatment off the pitch to stem the flow of blood from the wound before returning with a heavily patched wound. As the half hour mark arrived Sakiri tried his luck from 20 yards but his effort was comfortably held by Ward.

Up until now the only real chances had been all from the visiting side, but frustration amongst the travelling support was growing as both Hulse and Horsfield were constantly being ruled offside from some very tight decisions. The referee and his assistants were, in the opinion of the majority of Baggies fans, giving the home side a distinct advantage. 'Big Dave' required treatment as Taylor added him to his list of 'elbow victims' but again the Forest striker was unpunished.

The half finished goalless as each side had failed to find any sort of will or resolve to open the scoring.

Following the break, the cold really began to bite around the stadium and a mist began to trickle past the Trent End stand off the river. Forest looked to have more fight in them but again they were let down by sloppy passing and poor clearances. The game was looking likely to be settled in a replay even at this early stage of the second half. People in the interval could be heard calling friends on mobile phones saying that they should put money on the game ending as a 0-0 draw, but the game finally exploded in the 54th minute when Mr. Kaye decided that the home side should be awarded a penalty after Horsfield held onto Matthieu Louis-Jean's shirt inside the area. The referee reached for his pocket and yellow carded the striker despite being unable to find the same card for the numerous infringements committed by the home side.

Former Gills player Marlon King slotted the ball past Russell Hoult and the few fans attending for the home side woke up from their slumbers to immediately goad the travelling support with a chorus of 'You've Never Won **** All' Maybe these fans should read their club history to see that they have only won one trophy in 11 years and been relegated twice.

James O'Connor was next to find his way into Mr. Kaye's book for a foul on the edge of the area, his fifth of the season which now means he will serve a one match suspension. The situation could have been made worse if it was not for Hoult, who made a terrific save after the Baggies defence had failed to deal with Reid's free kick and Brynjar Gunnarsson shot from close range.

Albion should have equalised when Sakiri headed towards goal but Walker blocked the effort and the home defence desperately scrambled the ball to safety. King could have given the home side a 2 goal lead but his header was straight at the former Derby County keeper. Albion were now applying more and more pressure but Forest still posed a considerable threat as they attacked on the break on several occassions. A hesitant Moore lost possession to King just outside the Baggies area and a desperate challenge from O'Connor saved the day fr the Baggies.

The frustration of the fans at some of the refereeing was beginning to show amongst the Baggies players and Bernt Haas found himself booked for throwing the ball down in disgust when Mr. Kaye deemed that it was a Forest throw despite hitting one of their players and going out. Moore then found himself in the book as his personal battle with Taylor continued as both sides lined up for a corner from the right by Koumas.

Lloyd Dyer and Scott Dobie replaced Horsfield and Sakiri as the Baggies went looking for the equaliser and both substitutes bought new life to the Baggies attack as the visitors forced the home side into defending with numbers again. Mr. Kaye topped off a poor performance when he noticed a Forest player sitting in the area and stopped play as the Albion were bearing down towards goal. To the amazement of the away fans he took the ball and awarded a drop ball and instructed Forest to kick the ball back to Hoult, denying the Albion the chance to continue their attack.

Dobie had the neasure of the pace of the defenders on the right and punished them with his speed and it was from one of his runs that Albion were awrded a free kick outside the box. Koumas flicked the ball up and gaardsoe could only scoop the ball high over the bar and into the fans behind the goal.

As injury time approached Albion were awarded a throw in but the ball boy seemed reluctant to hand the ball over and hid it behind his back as O'Connor approached. The Irish midfielder pushed the ball boy and had to wrestle the ball from the youth.

The Baggies were not looking likely to grab the equaliser as Forest defended well and denied them on numerous occasions. The Baggies afternoon was summed up in the dying minutes when Dobie was wrestled to the ground in the box by an arm around his neck. Mr. Kaye blew straight away and the Albion fans were stunned to see him point the opposite way and award a free kick to the home side.

The game finished with an undeserved win for Forest and referee Mr. Kaye.

The baggiesworld Man of the Match was selected by Jake Kidson of Smethwick and he decided that substitute Lloyd Dyer deserved the award.

Teams
Forest Ward, Louis-Jean, Walker, Morgan, Robertson, Thompson, Williams, Gunnarsson, Reid, King, Taylor
Subs Roche, Jess, Gardner, Sonner, Doig

Baggies Hoult, Haas, Moore, Gaardsoe, Robinson, Koumas, O'Connor, Clement, Sakiri, Hulse, Horsfield
Subs Murphy, Dobie, Dyer, Gilchrist, N'Dour