Posts Tagged ‘chris brunt’

Dorrans Penalty wins the spoils for the Baggies

West Brom moved a step closer to the Premiership after a second 5 goal thriller with Blackpool this season. This was the fifth double for the Albion of the season and a mirror of the Bloomfield Road game earlier in the season. The last game was won by a debatable penalty and the same happened at the Hawthorns this afternoon.

Charlie Adam’s scored in the 12th minute before Ishmael Miller equalised a minute later and by half time there was only one team in the game, or so it seemed.

Koren put the Baggies in front in the 53rd minute, however, the Tangerines fought back and equalised through Brett Ormerod on 72 minutes. 6 minutes later, however, Dorrans fired home another penalty and Albion held on for all 3 points.

After Blackpool opened the scoring they had another chance almost from the kick off, however, seconds later Steven Reid’s header was cleared off the line and Albion started to take control. Miller’s pace allowed him to get the better of Tangerines defender Rob Edwards and reach Chris Brunt’s pass and he put the ball through the legs Matt Gilks in to the back of the net.

Jonas Olsson had a header come back off a post but neither Reid or Miller could get the ball to score.

Giles Barnes replaced James Morrison when the teams came back out. Koren hit a 25 yards shot over the bar when Brunt was in a far better position in the 52nd minute, however, he made up for it just 80 seconds later from more or less the same position. That was the Slovenian’s second goal in 2 games.

On the hour Miller was replaced by Roman Bednar and from this point Blackpool started to get a foothold back in to the game. Miller was looking very tired and the lack of games was obviously showing through. In the 72nd minute they got their reward when Brett Ormerod headed of the underside of the bar and the ball smashed in to the back of the net from an Adams cross.

Just 6 minutes later, history repeated itself when the Albion were awarded a decisive penalty that Blackpool were very unhappy with. It was certainly no clear cut penalty, however a penalty it was and Graham Dorrans happily scored from the spot. That was more or less it, Albion closed the game down and held on to gain all 3 points.

This win saw them claw to within 4 points of Newcastle who have a game in hand, but more importantly see’s the Albion go 5 points clear of Forest who lost this afternoon, meaning Albion have their promotion chances down to their own performances now. Albion now need to do better than Forest in 10 of their 11 remaining games and they will most likely be in the premiership.

QPR West Brom Preview – Baggies March On

It is the first game of March for the Albion, and March could be the operative word!

West Brom stuttered a little in February, however, highly obviously down somewhat to the amount of games they had to play. 8 games were played in just 25 days, including the FA Cup double header versus Reading. In the league the Albion won 4 lost 1 drew 1, but would surely have won all had they not been so tired. Now the Albion are expected to March on in to battle, they have not to play a game every 3 days like February. A March it could well be, facing Warnock, could today be another battle? Surely not like the Battle of Bramall Lane, although when it comes to Neil Warnock who knows, anything could happen.

New Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Warnock, the former Crystal Palace boss took over the reins on Tuesday and would likely do anything to beat the Baggies, he would like nothing better than to kick off with a win.

Roberto Di Matteo will not want to gap at the top to develop any further than 6 points, so Albion will be out to win this and spoil Warnock’s party.

Warnock will check on the fitness of Lee Cook, Matt Connolly and Kaspars Gorkss ahead of the game.

Winger Cook has been struggling with a cold this week and defender Connolly has an ankle injury.

Centre-half Gorkss has also not trained this week after picking up a knock and all three are battling to be fit to face the second-placed Baggies.

Warnock will be hoping playmaker Akos Buzsaky returns from international duty with Hungary in one piece.

Strikers Tamas Priskin (groin) and Marcus Bent (hamstring) should be fit but teenager Antonio German could keep his place after signing a new contract this week.

Midfielders Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands remain long-term absentees with knee injuries.

Roman Bednar will most likely be missing as his groin injury is not responding as would be liked, although the Baggies can score without him as was showed last week when they knocked 3 past Derby.

Good news on the Baggies front is of course the news that Ishmael Miller will be available and he is a likely starter. Another surprise and more likely to start than Miller is Giles Barnes, the lad has recovered much faster than expected and played a full ninety minutes in the reserve game against Walsall midweek.

Chris Brunt has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the Northern Ireland team midweek and he like all the other internationals are all available too. It remains to be seen, however, those that had international games could be rested in favour of the players who have had a full weeks rest. This becomes more apparent when you consider how many games were played in February and the drop in form that a few players and the coaching staff have blamed on tiredness.

Steven Reid returns to QPR wearing blue n white stripes as opposed to the blue and white hoops he wore when on loan there earlier in the season, he could well be another starter today.

So, all things considered, Albion should march on today and kick March of to a perfect start. They will have no excuses and should easily brush QPR aside.

You can get a great 11-10 on the Albion with Sky today and West Brom blog has secured you a free £10 matched bet if you open a new account there.

Follow this link to Sky Bet for Championship Betting, you will get a free tenner matched bet.

Keep The Albion Tradition Alive And Vote For Player Of The Year.

In the 5 years since the Football League Awards in association with FourFourTwo have been around, Albion have had 2 winners. The awards are designed to reward players from the world’s oldest league competition and voting is by fans and not players or staff so they are seen as the true awards in the game.

FourFourTwo are also using the awards to help compile their top 50 players in the Coca Cola league so not only can an Albion player get an award, however, they can also get in the top fifty list.

In the 5 years, of which the Albion have only been in the Championship for 2 of them, we have seen 2 awards come to the Albion, kevin Phillips and Jason koumas. So lets get voting and try for a hat trick.

You can go ahead and vote for any of the players in the list or add your own choice if desired, however, to make sure that an award comes to the Albion perhaps some strategic voting is required.

The current list is shown below:

Chris Brunt
Gianni Zuiverloon
Graham Dorrans
Jerome Thomas
Joe Mattock
Jonas Olsson
Simon Cox
Youssuf Mulumbu

We here are voting for Graham Dorrans, who will you vote for?

Vote Now

Facebook Page where we start our Dorrans campaign.

Last gasp Brunt saves the night for Albion.

A Chris Brunt injury time goal gave West Brom a deserved point against Ipswich at Portman Road, Albion certainly did not deserve to lost this one.

On a night of great football there was almost 40 shots on goal with the result of a 1 1 draw quite deceiving. Both sides will feel the result is unfair, although without a doubt, the Mariners will feel more cheated than Albion.

Graham Dorrans was again showing how good he is and was the engine in the Albion,s midfield. He was involved in most of Albion’s attacking play, both for delivery and shots too.

Bednar could have had a hat trick before the break, missing 3 decent chances, the best where the Ipswich keeper brought him down 1 on 1 in the box. How a penalty and a red card did not come in to the equation only the ref will know. In typical of late Albion fashion, however, had it not been for Scott Carson being top of his form there would have been a goal deficit too.

Olsson appeared to have won an ariel delivery in to the Albion box with 20 minutes to go when beating Delaney, however, even the Ipswich fans were a little surprised when a penalty was awarded. Grant Leadbitter gave Carson little chance from the spot.

West Brom responded immediately, bringing on Ishamel Miller, however, Ipswich were now going to defend for their lives and moved all but a lone striker in to their own half. They did get a few more chances, however, Albion did not.

The, in the third minute of injury time, Ipswich failed to clear a corner, Simon Cox a late sub had a great shot that was blocked, and in the ensuing scramble, Brunt was able to push the ball in to the net.

Nothing unusual in this though, as Roy Keanes men seem to concede more late goals than anyone else in the league.

Ipswich (4-4-2): Lee-Barrett; Rosenior, McAuley, Delaney, Wright (Balkestein 72); Peters, Norris, Leadbitter, Colback; Stead (Priskin 79), Counago (Edwards 65).
Subs: McLoughlin, Garvan, Martin, John.
Booked: Lee-Barrett, Leadbitter.
West Brom (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Olsson, Tamas, Cech; Thomas (Teixeira 76), Dorrans, Mulumbu (Cox 80), Koren (Miller 68), Brunt; Bednar.
Subs: Kiely, Mattock, Zuiverloon, Martis.
Booked: Dorrans, Mulumbu, Olsson.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Nuneaton).

Albion Fitness Boost’s

Both Chris Brunt and Gianni Zuiverloon are fit as Albion travel to Newcastle with an almost full strength team.

Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo can rest in the knowledge that midfielder Brunt has recovered from illness, right-back Zuiverloon has overcome an ankle problem he picked up in last Friday’s 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest and he can pick a team from the full squad less two.

The Italian tactician vowed to make changes after losing the second automatic promotion place because of the ridiculous home defeat to Notts Forest last friday, central midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu could find himself back in the starting XI against the Championship leaders at St James’ Park tonight as Robbie wields the axe.

Striker Ishmael Miller who came on as a substitute against Forest following a 13-month knee injury absence looked much better than he ever was and will at the very least be guaranteed a place on the bench if not a starting position.

James Morrison remains the only squad player sidelined due to injury as his heel problem has kept him out for nine months now, while defender Abdoulaye Meite remains at the African Nations Cup with Ivory Coast and unavailable for the coming weeks.

Cider Boys defeated as easy as crushing apples

In a game that threatened to put a stop to the Albions winning run, a match that pitted one of the best form teams in the division against  a bouyant Albion, the Baggies pointed out within 12 minutes that the winning streak was to continue.

West Brom massacared Bristol City 4-1 to climb above Newcastle at the Championship summit, although the Toon have a game in hand.

Much of the damage was done inside the first 12 minutes as Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt both fired home.

A Louis Carey own goal and Simon Cox’s second Championship goal of the season then killed off any hope Bristol City had at the start of the second half, before Paul Hartley netted a consolation in the 83rd minute.

The teams were welcomed on the pitch by very typical British autumn weather, the Black Country was awash, with rain and wind swirling around The Hawthorns. The crowd of over 23,000 were kept warm if not dry by a very entertaining match, although 3,000 of them were doomed to a sad journey back to the cider fields of Bristol.

Gianni Zuiverloon had to clear Cole Skuse’s effort off the line in the 3rd minute, but a fresh Albion side counter atacked at speed and opened the scoring at the other end just 30 seconds later.

Thomas rounded off a sweeping move as he cut in from the left before firing a fierce shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Scott Carson was forced to tip Carey’s header over the crossbar before Brunt doubled West Brom’s lead with just 12 minutes gone.

Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans found his Northern Irish team-mate with a great throughball and he rounded Dean Gerken before firing home from an acute angle to put the home side in control.

Chances

But Carson was soon called upon to deny the lively Nicky Maynard before Dorrans himself side-footed wide from close range when he really should have put the result beyond doubt.

Chances were coming at either end as City midfielder Hartley then lashed a free-kick inches wide and, with the visitors more than holding their own, the difference at the half-time interval proved to be Albion’s ability to take their chances.

But if the game was still somewhat in the balance at the break then it was all over just two minutes after the restart.

Cox picked up the ball and sent a shot goalwards, which appeared to be going wide, until Carey stepped in to intercept and could only fire the ball into his own net.

Albion were threatening a rout as they made it 4-0 just 53 seconds later – Cox sliding in to convert Marek Cech’s cross from close range and put his name on the scoresheet.

From then on in it was a case of going through the motions for Albion, with Zuiverloon failing to pull the trigger when in a great position to make it 5-0 while Danny Haynes wasted a good chance at the other end.

But the Robins did grab a consolation in the 83rd minute through Hartley’s stunning free-kick, which deserved to be worth more.

The Albion enjoyed a series of superb performances throughout the team – Brunt, Cox, Jara and Zuiverloon were all on top of their game, helping the Albion once again pull clear of the play-off contenders.

Joe Mattock was stretchered off before the break with a foot injury and will undergo xrays this evening to find out the extent of the injury.

Todays four goals took Albion’s total to 11 in three games and sees them top of the Coca-Cola Championship scoring table with 35 from 17 games.

ALBION (4-4-2): Carson, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Mattock (Cech 30), Brunt, Jara, Dorrans (Mulumbu 57), Thomas, Moore, Cox (Koren 78). Subs not used: Kiely, Wood, Martis, Teixeira.

CITY (3-5-2): Gerken, Carey, McCombe, Nyatanga, Skuse, Elliott (Johnson 78), Sno (Clarkson 78), Hartley, McAllister (Williams 17), Maynard, Haynes. Subs not used: Basso, Fontaine, Sproule, Saborio.

GOALS: ALBION – Thomas (3), Brunt (12), Cox (46, 48). CITY – Hartley (83).

BOOKINGS: ALBION – Cox (simulation 78).

Ref: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

ATTENDANCE: 23,444.