Paddys Review! Pool vs WBA
By Paddy
April 9 2008
Blackpool welcomed West Brom to Bloomfield Road after failing to win since the excellent performance at Norwich. They welcomed a West Brom side who knew that a win at Bloomfield Road would see them go top of the Championship. Blackpool made one change to the sixteen that battled out a point at Crystal Palace, welcoming Keith Southern back into the squad after a hamstring strain.
But it made no sense to change a settled side, and the tenacious midfielder sat on the bench. The other recovered hamstring, Michael Jackson, couldn’t force his way into the sixteen, along with Joe Martin, who had been tipped for a place after an excellent performance in the reserves in midweek.
West Brom boss Tony Mowbray sprung shocks in his squad, with the evergreen Kevin Phillips only making the bench, along with fellow regular Roman Bednar, with the former Hibs boss choosing to bring in Luke Moore and Ishmael Miller in attack, and even more surprising was the complete omission of Zoltan Gera, who dropped out completely, and bringing in Pele, with Blackpool fans hoping he wasn’t as good as his namesake, and James Morrison, whose late goal sunk the Seasiders at the Hawthorns earlier this season, also had to settle for a place on the bench.
Blackpool made a bright start, and looked to make early pressure tell, with Ben Burgess having kept his place from Paul Dickov, and the big man was keen to try and keep his place. However, West Brom had the first half-chance, when Neil Clement headed a tough header well wide, after being picked out by a Chris Brunt cross.
Blackpool then came very close to the opener, when Stephen Crainey’s delightful, curling free kick picked out a great run from Burgess, whose header looked goal bound, until the experienced Dean Kiely somehow managed to twist and touch it onto the bar, and from the rebound, Shaun Barker was about to pull the trigger, until Clement proved his worth at the defensive end, blocking it behind for a corner.
West Brom started to hit their stride, and clever work in midfield by Pele sent Miller away on the right, but he selfishly went for goal, and was denied by a block by Evatt, earning the Baggies a corner, when Brunt was in space inside him, and would have had a free sight of goal. Then, not to be denied, Brunt hit a fantastic dipping volley, which just went over, with Pool keeper Rachubka stranded off his line.
The title chasers then nearly threw away their early work, when Clement lost the ball to Hoolahan, who fed the brilliant McPhee, but the diminutive Scot could only fire wide under pressure from Hoefkens. Soon after, an early change from the Baggies, as Martin Albrechtsen was forced off after being made to stretch in the heat, with the belief of a muscle pull, and he was replaced with Leon Barnett, who took a while to settle in against the strength of Burgess and the work rate of McPhee.
Blackpool were quick to capitalise, with a dodgy free kick decision on the far side, Crainey floated over another excellent cross, which picked out the run of Burgess, who rose highest to divert the ball into the bottom corner, for his 9th goal of the season in the League, and this coming from a man who was hinted at leaving at the end of last season, so it is an excellent achievement from the big man.The Pool faithful then came close to seeing a goal of the season contender. A corner for Pool was cleared well by the Baggies, but Ian Evatt came steaming in from the half way lone, and from 40 yards he hit a screaming half volley, which dipped and curled just wide of Kiely’s post, with the former Charlton keeper looking worried.
Blackpool then started to press for more against the beaten FA Cup semi-finalists, with McPhee being denied by Kiely from a tight angle, and the Kaspars Gorkss’ fine volley from an angle was going in, only for it to be deflected just wide. Blackpool needed to make their pressure tell, but couldn’t break down the Baggies again in the first half, and the front runners of the division were glad to get in just a goal down.
Half Time: Blackpool 1-0 West Brom
Before the second half had even began, Mowbray in the dugout had made two changes for the Albion, his second being one which brought on James Morrison for the ineffective Pele, and looking to bolster the midfield, stopping the impressive Flynn from having it all his own way.
Blackpool weren’t to be denied their dominance, and they carried on where they left off, with McPhee making a great run and squaring the ball well, only to see the flying Flynn horribly miscue, sending the ball closer to the corner flag than the post. This was a sign though, of something that Blackpool had failed to do in the first half, which is to get more men forward from midfield, and Flynn’s efforts were hopefully signs of things to come.
Blackpool then came close again when Burgess won another header against the shaky Barnett, but McPhee’s first time effort was well saved by the Irish keeper. West Brom finally started to show why they had scored 99 goals in all competitions before the evening game, with clever football in midfield saw Hoefkens chase down a Miller flick, but Evatt managed to block the cut back out for a corner.
Then came the moment many Pool fans were dreading, when Mowbray made his final, inevitable substitution. Chris Brunt made way, after being restricted to very little by the excellent Barker, and on came 22-goal Kevin Phillips, and immediately Blackpool fans were starting to regret not turning the lion’s share of possession and chances into goals.
Pool then had a great chance to make the game safe, when Burgess decided to run the channels, bringing the defence with him, and clipping a delightful ball to the back post, where Taylor-Fletcher arrived late, only to see his free header go straight at the recovering Kiely, when anywhere else would have found the net.
Phillips was almost destined to make the Seasiders pay for their missed chances, and the got the perfect chance to do so. Hoefkens charged into the box with Crainey lagging behind, and the full back went sprawling, after what seemed to be nothing from the backtracking Scot, but the referee deemed it fit to point to the spot, leaving Phillips with a golden opportunity. He stepped up, and the former England man placed it perfectly in the corner, just beyond Rachubka’s despairing dive, and clipping the post on the way in.
Cue 5 minutes of madness, in which Blackpool completely imploded. First Miller skipped beyond three tame challenges, with Seasiders desperate not to concede another penalty, and squared it perfectly for Phillips who bundled home his 24th of the campaign. Then, Koren sent and wonderful long through ball to Miller, and instead of squaring it, he clipped it over the backtracking keeper into the top corner to complete the comeback, and send West Brom top of the Championship.
Blackpool will feel hard done by, but West Brom showed their class in the final 10 minutes, sending themselves top of the league with 4 games to go, and with Cardiff away on Saturday, Blackpool don’t have long to dwell on a disappointing last few minutes which followed a magnificent 80.
Final Score: Blackpool 1-3 West Brom
My Man of the Match: Michael Flynn
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:04:11:13:35:32 by nippywinger.