Derby County 2-2 WBA

if nothing else, this was a testament to all the weaknesses that i have seen in the baggies at their worst this year, and was like a microcosmic reflection of how roughly 20% of the season is going to go - in so far as, it's going to be tough against teams capable of disrupting the setup play of the albion central midfielders, especially graham dorrans. this is where west brom are going to get beaten for points this year; not against the good footballing sides, but against defensive midfielders that can put off the albion passing game.

live text replay

the baggies came within two minutes of winning a game that they really didn't deserve, and their tendency of not knowing what to do with a one-goal lead was on display in the most dramatic of fashions. although a draw was probably the fairest result, the albion - having surprisingly scored the apparent winner in injury time - switched off and allowed the rams to equalize two minutes later and with only about 15 seconds left till the final whistle.

fortunately, west brom will usually play a lot better than they did in this match, and the accompanying good fortune that winning teams make for themselves will more regularly see things swing in their favour than not. still, this is going to happen and the club just have to pick themselves up and see to it that they don't fall into a run of poor results. an average of 2-points a game, at this point, would probably see the baggies attain their goal of automatic promotion and maybe even win the division.



luke moore's game has picked up in the last couple of weeks, and the struggling striker has started playing well again. in spite of this, things just won't fall for him at the moment, and it seems he's picked up another small inury which will see him miss the cardiff match tomorrow. it might be just as well, as roman bednar probably needs a start and this will also, no doubt, put young chris wood on the bench. luckily simon cox is continuing to be the player that everyone hoped he would be. the ex-swindon town striker scored a late equalizer in this one to bring his current record to 5 goals in 5 games; a run of form which he hopefully can continue. he looks top value for the money at this point though.

tomorrow's match against cardiff is arguably the most important fixture of the year so far, so the baggies will have to be ready for this one.