match text commentary
this was probably the worst performance - beginning to end - that the baggies have delivered all season. while there was plenty of moaning over the reverse fixture played at the hawthorns back in december, this really was a mediocre performance. the home side attacked aggresively right from the outset and didn't let up. the baggies were under pressure from the kick-off and could find no answer to a wigan side who came forward at will with an impressive display of precise passing football. in fact, it was a mystery how they weren't 3-0 up at the half!
on the part of the albion this was el stinko football of the worst kind and i can only hope it bodes nothing in regards to form for whatever fixtures are left to be played this season. while the baggies are probably already safe, realistically they still need 4 more points to call it job done.
to be fair, wigan have become a little bit of a "bogey" team for the baggies as of late. west brom have taken only two points from their four encounters with the latics over the last two seasons, and have not won this fixture since a late season victory during the ill-fated 2008-09 campaign.
since then, and their subsequent return to the PREMIER LEAGUE, there are few teams that the baggies have had such a tough time getting results from. the albion have had historic wins over the likes of arsenal, liverpool, chelsea, aston villa, newcastle, stoke city; and over the course of last season they were the only team in the league to take points at old trafford! in some cases these were fixtures in which the albion had not seen success in over 30 years.
of course, the fact that they took an away point from this encounter should be regarded as a good result. however, they were lucky that wigan couldn't make more of their chances and aren't the best at defending set plays. paul scharner, who has been the hero in several of the baggies' away wins this season, headed the equalizer from a chris brunt corner in the second half to claim a valuable point. there was little else to take as a positive from this match besides a measure of defensive grit and the continued fine form of goalie, ben foster.
anyone can have a bad day at the office, so i will be generous and happy with the away point. however, if the baggies don't show better form than this they will quickly find themselves looking over their shoulder, struggling to find the one win that they'll need to ensure top-flight football at hawthorns next year. let's just hope that this was just one of those days.
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