Showing posts with label West Bromwich Albion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Bromwich Albion. Show all posts
Tottenham Hotspur's frustrating start to the season continued when they were held to an entertaining 1-1 draw by West Bromwich Albion in their Premier League clash at White Hart Lane.
After Spurs had bossed the first half but hardly troubled West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster, it took until the 74th minute for the home side to open the scoring via Benoit Assou-Ekotto's deflected strike from range.
Not long before that goal Emmanuel Adebayor had come off the bench to make his second Tottenham debut, but it was West Brom substitute Romelu Lukaku who injected an urgency and attacking impetus into the visitors which culminated in James Morrison's stoppage-time equaliser.
Spurs head coach Andre Villas-Boas's first home game in charge at White Hart Lane came against the side he lost to in his final game as Chelsea manager back in March. The Portuguese coach was again put under pressure by the Baggies as the final whistle was greeted by more than the odd boo from the home crowd, despite the many encouraging signs in Spurs' performance and West Brom's own part in an exciting final quarter of the game.
Despite completing his return to the club on a permanent basis following last season's successful loan spell, striker Emmanuel Adebayor was only named on the Tottenham bench due to Villas-Boas's concerns over the Togolese's match fitness.
Gylfi Sigurdsson joined Adebayor among the substitutes but another summer signing, Jan Vertonghen, made his first start for the club alongside William Gallas in central defence. Michael Dawson was once more left out of the squad completely, with a move away from White Hart Lane seemingly imminent.
Like Spurs, West Brom boss Steve Clarke once again left his club captain out of the starting line-up as Chris Brunt was on the bench, just as he was for the 3-0 win over Liverpool on the opening day.
Spurs completely dominated the first half in every respect. They had 11 shots throughout an opening period in which they had 66 per cent of the possession, but it was not until the 45th minute when Ben Foster was called into action, and even then it was only to gather up Defoe's tame effort.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon were getting plenty of joy from wide positions, but the lack of both personnel and height in the area meant their aerial crosses were largely redundant and their low balls into the box were fired wide.
After the break West Brom were much more efficient in putting pressure on Tottenham's defenders, and while it took time for that pressure to be converted into chances it softened them up for the arrival of Lukaku midway through the half.
However, it was Tottenham who deservedly went ahead with a little more than a quarter of an hour remaining. Assou-Ekotto, who'd earlier had a well-taken free-kick tipped over the bar by Foster, was on hand to strike low as Sigurdsson's corner came all the way out to him. The strike took a significant deflection off Graham Dorrans that left Foster helpless to stop it hitting the back of the net.
Soon after coming on Lukaku forced a quality low save from Brad Friedel, and the Belgian's strength and movement began to unsettle the hitherto unruffled Spurs back line.
The intensity increased inside the home half to the point where an 89th-minute corner caused pandemonium inside the Spurs box, and Assou-Ekotto had to head Gareth McAuley's effort off the line via the crossbar.
Moments later, a clearly rattled Tottenham were finally breached in the first of four added minutes. As the second wave came following another West Brom corner, this time it was William Gallas who headed off the line and Morrison pounced to coolly stroke home a finish which gave Friedel no chance.
At the final whistle a share of the points was fair for the two coaches, who spent three years working together at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. The delight in the away end and the dissatisfaction around the rest of the ground was the perfect illustration of the differing expectations and fortunes the pair have experienced in their new jobs thus far.
Brendan Rodgers's first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool ended in a 3-0 defeat at West Brom as Steve Clarke gained revenge on his former employers in style.
Zoltan Gera put the hosts ahead with a wonderful long-range chest and volley late in the first half, before Peter Odemwingie added a second from the spot after Martin Skrtel fouled Shane Long just before the hour mark.
Long had only just missed a penalty himself, taken after Dan Agger brought him down, the Denmark defender sent off for denying a clear run at goal.
Playing the final half hour a man light took its toll as loanee Romelu Lukaku headed a third on his debut, with the Baggies denied a fourth by good goalkeeping from Pepe Reina.
Despite acquiring a highly-rated young manager and several new signings, Liverpool showed no improvement from last season: Luis Suarez was as skilful - and wasteful - as ever, spurning a handful of good chances after wowing the crowd with his dribbling ability.
Meanwhile his team-mates constantly gave the ball away, Steven Gerrard responsible for the incident which saw Agger dismissed and the likes of Fabio Borini, Lucas and Stewart Downing constantly failing to find their destinations.
The Baggies, meanwhile, had a new manager of their own as former Reds assistant Clarke finally started his career as a number one. The hosts were tidy in possession, direct on the counter attack and solid in defence, but they were helped by a shaky Liverpool defence that constantly got its wires crossed.
The first half was even and entertaining, with Liverpool seeing plenty of the ball but making few telling passes, West Brom more accurate as both sides created some decent opportunities.
The first went to Liam Ridgewell, who toe-poked over after a fine passing move involving Claudio Yacob, a free-transfer debutant who controlled the midfield and effectively snuffed out Gerrard.
Liverpool did have their moments but, as per last season, were wasteful, Suarez particularly guilty as he headed over from point-blank range after a fine Glen Johnson cross, before firing one effort straight at Ben Foster and another well wide as he continued to show great dribbling but poor composure in front of goal.
The Uruguayan did unleash one rasping drive that was well-saved by Foster, but his frustration was all-too evident as he picked up a booking for dissent late in the half.
That came after the Baggies had opened the scoring, and it was some goal too as, after Liverpool cleared a corner, Gera took the ball on his chest before firing a wonderful volley into the top corner.
Gera’s shared delight with his fans came with context: the Hungarian returned to West Brom from Fulham last summer, but missed the majority of the season through injury.
Rodgers needed to liven things up in the second half. While they started directly and promisingly, the bad habits of last season – poor final balls from Downing, Gerrard going missing, Suarez unable to match his ability with any kind of finish – all resurfaced.
There were two new signings but neither had their best game. Joe Allen was the most composed of Liverpool’s midfielders but had little overall impact, while Fabio Borini had a poor Premier League debut, missing one good chance, taking a few dives but otherwise AWOL.
Liverpool were committing bodies forward but that just played into West Brom’s hands. The over-commitment was punished when, just before the hour mark, Gerrard gave the ball away: Long raced clear, was fouled by Agger, winning a penalty as the Dane was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
When Long finally stepped up to take the spot-kick – Liverpool had replaced Downing with Jamie Carragher in the interim – he practically passed the ball into Reina’s arms, one of the worst penalties you will see.
Self-destruction does not come lightly to Liverpool but, when it does, it is usually spectacular. With Agger gone, it was Martin Skrtel’s turn as the Slovakia defender dithered on the ball in his own box, allowing Long to nick it away from him before tripping the Ireland forward for a second penalty in almost as many minutes.
Long stepped aside for this one and it was a good decision as Odemwingie smashed a ferocious low spot-kick past Reina.
James Morrison then missed a Suarez-style sitter after unselfish play by Marc-Antoine Fortune, but Liverpool continued to commit - while the bravery of introducing Joe Cole was commendable, that too ended in farce as he re-injured his hamstring minutes after coming on.
That was the signal for Liverpool to turn full-circle back to last season as Andy Carroll was thrown on, the long balls subsequently chucked high into the Baggies box. In the meantime, West Brom had added a third as on-loan Chelsea striker Lukaku rose unmarked to head home his first Premier League goal, courtesy of a lofted cross by Ridgewell.
Lukaku had a few more half chances to add to his tally, as did Youssuf Mulumbu and Fortune, who forced an excellent stop by Reina.
The away fans were leaving in droves but they missed little as both sides willed on the final whistle, West Brom having done more than enough and Liverpool just desperate to go home.
West Bromwich Albion stunned Everton with a 4-1 at Goodison Park that saw both teams reduced to 10 men.
Paul Scharner's header and Chris Brunt's wonder free-kick gave West Brom an unlikely first-half advantage before Tim Cahill's eighth goal of the season halved the deficit just before the break.
In the second-half Everton saw captain Mikel Arteta sent off before West Brom scored two goals to seal victory.
Youssouf Mulumbu was also dismissed in the dying minutes but the Baggies were not to be denied.
The win sees Roberto Martinez's climb to 11th in the table, while Everton are now just two points from the relegation places.
Everton had the first chance of the game and it fell to Victor Anichebe, playing his first game of the season.
Tim Cahill fed the striker on the right wing. He stepped inside Marek Cech before sending a swerving, left-footed effort towards the far corner.
But Scott Carson stuck out a right hand to divert the ball away to safety.
West Brom opened the scoring against the run of play after 16 minutes when Chris Brunt, who passed a late fitness test, curled an out-swinging corner to the near post.
Phil Jagielka looked to have it covered but he reckoned without Paul Scharner, and the charging Austrian got to the ball first and buried his header from six yards out past Tim Howard, who had no chance.
Everton almost drew level seven minutes later when Mikel Arteta's arching 20-yard free-kick was expertly tipped away by Carson at full stretch.
Barely 90 seconds later West Brom had doubled their lead with a wonderful free-kick.
Cahill fouled Youssouf Mulumbu 25 yards out in a central position, and Chris Brunt stepped up to whip a tremendous shot into the top right corner that left Howard grasping for mid-air.
Four minutes before the break Everton were back in the game through a familiar source.
Yakubu won a corner on the left which was delivered by Leighton Baines to the edge of the goal area, where Cahill leapt above Gabriel Tamas to score his eighth goal of the season with a thumping header past Carson.
Substitute Jermaine Beckford looked to have hauled Everton level 10 minutes after the restart but Gabriel Tamas performed heroics with an overhead kick off the line.
Just before the hour the real drama of the afternoon unfolded when Gonzalo Jara made a reckless lunge at Arteta near halfway.
The Spaniard appeared to stamp on the Chilean defender and referee Lee Mason immediately showed the Everton captain a red card.
West Brom sensed their opportunity and pushed forward at every chance.
Beckford's blazing volley from eight yards out that threatened to clear Goodison Park summed up the afternoon for David Moyes' team.
West Brom made sure of victory with two fine strikes in the final 15 minutes.
First, substitute Somen Tchoyi cut inside on the left of penalty area before dispatching a right-footed effort into the far corner.
Then, with time running out, Mulumbu exchanged passes with James Morrison before firing low past Howard to send Baggies' fans into a frenzy.
Mulumbu received a caution for his celebration and was dismissed just 30 seconds later following a soft foul on Steven Pienaar.
But nothing could dampen West Brom's day as their inflicted yet another home defeat on one of the Premier League's big boys.
Everton visit Chelsea in their next league game while West Brom host Newcastle United.
We could not maintain our focus nor our urgency for 90 minutes on Saturday because some players dropped their level. At the same time if you look at the stats and the numbers it's very difficult to understand how we lost the game.
There was a drop of concentration, some basic errors, some bad luck as well because I don't think it should have been a free kick in the build-up to the penalty. But overall I was speechless after the game; it's a mystery how we could lose it like that.
We were in control in the second half as well as the first half. It was a free kick for us and then a goal for them. We were caught on the counter-attack at 2-0 and after that we were punished. We dominated Tottenham but we lost it and we can only look at ourselves.
I believe what is difficult to accept is that when you are 2-0 up, you have a free kick and you are caught on a counter-attack. That is very difficult to understand. Once a team comes back to 2-1 they have hope again. And we couldn't take our third chance. We had plenty of chances to score: we had Chamakh, Koscielny, one or two shots, but we didn't take those chances.
I don't think we lacked focus - if we had not started the game well maybe you could say that. But I felt some players who played midweek - who played Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday - could not maintain the pace in the game so we had some heavy legs in the second half.
Obviously three defeats at home is too many. In the first two games against West Brom and Newcastle we didn't deliver the performance and we can only say that we got what we deserved. On Saturday we delivered the performance but what is worrying for me is that we had an opportunity to go to the top of the league and when we had to deliver we couldn't.
That's worrying because that's part of our job.
Goals from Youssouf Mulumbu and Marc-Antoine Fortune gave West Brom a 2-1 win over Fulham at the Hawthorns that put the Baggies in the top four of the Premier League and extended Fulham’s woeful away record.
An unlucky own-goal from Scott Carson had given the Whites an early lead but the home side refused to compromise their philosophy as they played their way to victory, with all the goals coming in the first half.
Fulham, who have not won away in the league since August 2009, took the lead against the run of play when, on nine minutes, former Baggies midfielder Zoltan Gera’s excellent long-distance drive smacked the inside of the post and went in off the head of the unfortunate Carson.
Until that point West Brom had bossed possession while Fulham barely left their own half, but it should have been 2-0 to the Whites soon after the opener when Diomansy Kamara drilled wide after a dreadful pass across the face of goal by Gonzalo Jara had put him in.
The Baggies continued to play their attractive brand of passing football and it reaped dividends in some style when, on 17 minutes, the impressive Mulumbu capped off a slick move with a low finish past Mark Schwarzer, the livewire Chris Brunt weighing in with a superb assist.
Steven Kelly cleared Jonas Olsson’s header off the line as the home side looked the more likely, and they took the lead on 40 minutes with Brunt again the principle architect.
The Northern Ireland international’s inch-perfect through ball released Jerome Thomas on the left side of the penalty area, the linesman’s flag stayed down and he cut the ball back for Fortune to roll a low finish into the bottom right.
Paul Scharner headed into the side netting in injury time as the half-time whistle blew to the relief of Fulham’s players.
Fulham came closest to an equaliser after the break when a Jonathan Greening corner skipped off the head of Gera but flew clear of the assembled bodies on the edge of the six-yard box.
Mark Hughes spotted the deficiency and brought on Andy Johnson, absent since January with chronic injury problems, as Fulham continued to hem the Baggies back.
But the Baggies could have extended their lead as first Brunt found James Morrison unmarked at the far post but Schwarzer kept out his low finish, then Scharner fired just wide after superb centre-forward play by substitute Roman Bednar, while Thomas was denied a good call for a penalty when Kelly slid into him from behind, taking man before ball.
Fulham had lost their rhythm and when they did get a chance to break their promising counter fell apart when Moussa Dembele again tried a complicated turn with options either side of him.
West Brom almost got a third with an uncharacteristic route-one move as Morrison raced on to a Carson punt that left the visiting defence floundering, the Scot firing just wide as Schwarzer made himself big.
The visitors cranked up the pressure in the latter stages as Carlos Salcido’s excellent cross just missed the outstretched boot of Johnson and Nicky Shorey putting behind as Bjorn Helge Riise prepared to tap in at the far post.
But West Brom were able to weather the late storm to hold on for a deserved win, their fourth so far this season.
We have to make sure we respond well.
West Brom played well on Saturday but we made it difficult for ourselves because we were not at our usual level. Not defensively, nor offensively.
Overall everything was difficult for us - passing the ball, winning the ball back, winning the one against ones - and we got what we deserved which was zero points. We didn't deserve more.
The positive is that we did fight until the last minute but it was just not good enough at that level to get three points.
Manuel Almunia was criticised for his mistake but there were question marks over many players. We made massive mistakes defensively and were collectively poor.
It was a bad team performance and we have to analyse why and make sure we respond well because we have an important game in Belgrade on Tuesday.
It would have been even more disappointing on Saturday if Chelsea had won because they would be seven points clear of us. But we can't look at the results of the other teams, we have to turn up with our own performance and we didn't do that against West Brom.
Next week's trip to Stamford Bridge is important of course and I believe we will see that Saturday's performance was an exception - until then we had very, very good games.
