this was the kind of match most people wouldn't read much into, and could easily be dismissed as an expected result... and so what? but considering the circumstances - and keeping in mind the immediate problems of the differing styles between cup football and league football - this was a big win for the baggies.
first off, five players were away on international duty: koren, cech, brunt, meite, and mulumbu; and true to the prescribed tactics of cup play, the gaffer kept starters scott carson, chris wood, luke moore, and captain jonathan greening on the bench. surprisingly, dimatteo is finding some depth in the team which tony mowbray was never able to at all last season. casting my mind back to the corresponding fixture of last year where - as a premier league side - they lost 3-1 in extra time to hartlepool united, who finished 19th in league 1 last year, i can't help but feel this performance was world's away from that.
simon cox got his first competitive start for the baggies; and he looked every bit the promising prospect he's been touted, being only inches offside on a couple of occasions that saw the ball in the back of the bury net. graham dorrans is the best signing all around in the last year and could comfortably step into a starting role for the club at any level. so it was fitting that with about five minutes gone, he opened his scoring account with the baggies by calmly slotting home a ball that had fallen to him directly in front of goal from a ben futcher tackle on teixeira in the bury penalty area.
craig beattie is one of the players who has seen a real revival under dimatteo. called back from his perpetual loan duties of last year, he has started regularly throughout the pre-season and showed his skills by exchanging passes with a surprisingly effective reuben reid in a counter-attacking move by the baggies following a bury free-kick. going down the right flank and directly attacking the shakers penalty area, beattie drove in a low hard cross that took a deflection off bury midfielder mike jones for the second goal.
the move started as a cool and cleverly placed clearance by leon barnett following a shakers' free-kick, and created the counter attack opportunity for reid and beattie. indeed, this was the most solid performance i think i have ever seen by barnett; and it is in the improvement of players that mowbray seemed distinctly disinterested in that the club has found a new depth. the players who struggled under TM, seem - to a man - to be suddenly flourishing and playing with renewed skill and confidence under dimatteo.
besides another good scoring chance from open play, beattie looks to be no small talent in dead ball situations, as he proved late in the game curling in a free-kick on target, but over the cross-bar. you could see though, from the general quality of the delivery and pace that he can hit them from 20-25 yards out and is capable of scoring goals.
there are still some weaknesses in the baggies' game, though, that they shall need to get sorted out. being 2-0 up at halftime was problematic - and the shakers determined resolve to get back in the game aside, the albion, as a team were a little perplexed as to how to play when they've got a lead. i think this was also the case against newcastle on the weekend, and a big problem in the premier league last year. on the one hand, the team is at its best when in possession and on the attack; but there is also the consideration of successfully protecting a lead, and how does a an attacking team do that? i think the key to sorting this out will be in finding a balance of how to defend deep, get the ball out to the midfielders, look for the counter-attacking opportunities, or slow it down and keep the ball going forward through a tidy short passing game. if they learn to keep their natural shape and playing style when they've got a lead, they would be a good counter-attacking team that would worry other teams when going forward and trying to get a goal back.
indeed, the baggies were a little shakey for entire first half hour of the second period, and an efetobore sodje goal in the 66th minute was called back for offside; and similarly to the two tight offside decisions against simon cox: just too close for comfort.
the other key elements to this match - and in the bigger picture - is that it was the first away win for the baggies since september last year. after defeating middlesbrough away in the waning days of autumn, they even required a replay with peterborough in the FA Cup, only managing a draw in the initial away fixture. not to forget that their loss to hartlepool in the league cup was also an away match.
another bogey that was dispelled in this game was roberto dimatteo registering his first win ever as a manager in a cup game. last year his mk dons went out to bradford city 2-1 in the FA Cup, and after winning in the first round of the league cup 1-0 against norwich city under paul ince, they lost the second round 2-1 to cardiff city under dimatteo.
Roman Returns
the albion gets another boost to its currently expanding stable of strikers with the ruling being reported in today's news that roman bednar is to receive an official warning and serve a three-month retro-active suspension; which, in effect, puts him back in training monday morning after this weekend's match against nottingham forest. i won't offer any opinion about what i think about getting high and illegal drugs right here and now, but bednar is lucky that he is not an american sports personality (or he'd be screwed), and i'm looking forward to him rejoining the team and adding to this years goals total.
No comments:
Post a Comment