Reading F.C. 2-2 WBA

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i saw this one live on TV through SETANTA SPORTS CANADA. thank god that the FA cup still takes precedence over the premier league somewhere!!! i also had the opportunity to see the day's early kick-off with chelsea dispatching cardiff city by a sizable score-line of 4-1, making sure that the so-called "BIG FOUR" will be represented in the quarter-finals.

i had speculated about the fitness of both graham dorrans and chris brunt, imagining that one or the other (and perhaps dorrans more than brunt) might need to sit out a game for the sake of rest and recuperation. however, it seems that as long as both are injury-free, they will probably always be starting. as i noted when i made this speculation: dorrans and brunt on half-steam are still capable of making things happen and create situations that will lead to goals.

i was unsure about this match, and being a lover of the FA cup, hoped desperately that the baggies got through. i guess because i hadn't seen the albion since simon cox scored deep into injury time at the hawthorns to earn a scrappy little home draw with QPR, i was much more anxious about this match than i would have been for a regular league match, and kebe's goal on 9 seconds was not a good sign.



it didn't really worry me though. i mean, how many times have we seen west brom win a match in which they have trailed 1-0 at some point? myself, i saw it two games in the space of four days at the hawthorns back in september where the albion trailed 0-1 on early goals (both eventually won by a 3-1 score-line), so i wasn't about to sweat it. i was, of course, vindicated when chris brunt's superbly placed cross landed squarely at robert koren's feet and the slovenian mid-fielder walked the ball home for the baggies' opener in the 17th minute.

after that, i couldn't see the baggies losing. to make it even better the royals were down to ten men in the second-half through the sending off of forward brian howard for a particularly bad tackle on abdoulaye meite. but the albion often find a way of not making life easy for themselves, and a second yellow card issued against youssouf mulumbu saw the congolese midfielder sent off to bring things level again.

while the baggies have a tendency towards late goals and one learns never to worry until the final whistle (witness last year's victory over manchester city at the hawthorns), but i was positively despondent when simon church, coming off the bench for the royals, beat the baggies' offside trap in the 72nd minute. scott carson made the initial save but was ultimately beaten as the ball skipped over and behind him for church to finish with a tap-in into the open goal.



while the match was refereed by a senior official who is generally considered a "premiership" referee, it was not officiated terribly well. it occurred to me that he was letting some pretty hard tackles go early on, and then there were some pretty harsh and unnecessary calls later in the game. i wondered, for example, if mulumbu's second yellow-card - while a definite and flagrant foul - was really warranted?

if the measure of good officiating is consistency then this guy was way off the mark. in fact, he ran this match rather like a gym-master overseeing a school-boy game where he had different standards set for different players, in order to compensate for varying levels of skill and with the particular intention of teaching whatever lessons are needed by the various individuals involved.

when a referee considers his own performance, judgments and prestige above that of the players, the teams and the game that he is officiating, then you are in real trouble and are going to get some bad calls. it was even suggested by the TV commentary that so-called "premier league" referees often do not take matches involving league teams seriously.



true to form, the baggies added a new name to their list of goal-scorers on the season as joe mattock scored his first for the albion. throwing everybody forward the baggies launched a late assault on the royals' penalty area. about 12 yards out and in possession of the ball, simon cox, seeing that mattock was in space behind him over his right shoulder, turned and delivered the ball for the teenage full-back to drill home the equalizer.

the albion will now have to replay this one at the hawthorns a week from wednesday with the winner set for a home quarter-final draw against either crystal palace or the villa. assuming that the baggies win the replay, i have every reason to believe i can start to dream just a little about the possibility of a wembley appearance for the albion this year.

the downside of all this is that roberto di matteo has now got some real selection headaches to deal with over the next three or four matches. jerome thomas is on a four-game suspension. likewise, youssouf mulumbu will be starting a short suspension with missing tomorrow's match; and both meite and jara are out with injuries - the chilean international gone for the season with a broken metatarsal. that leaves gianni zuiverloon as the only real choice at right-back, for example.

the next three of four games will be a real test of depth and character of the players that roberto di matteo has available to him. he's been astute enough to make a couple of important loan deals and has managed his forwards superbly in keeping roman bednar healthy and productive and making good use of simon cox as a utility player, who has made important contributions in crucial situations this year.

if the baggies can manage to keep their unbeaten run going at cardiff tomorrow, it will go a long way to maintaining the goal of automatic promotion.