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 Wednesday 20th July 2005, Pre Season Friendly, Municipal Stadium, Cartaya, Spain, Kick-Off 9:15pm
Sevilla FC: Palop (Notario HT), Alves (Gallardo 84), Navarro, Alfaro (Puerta 67), David, Sales (Ocio 67), Marti, Vera (Jordi 52), Adriano (Blanco 67), Kepa (Carlitos 84), Fabiano (Jesuli HT). Subs not used: Prieto, Oscar, Lopez Albion: Kuszczak, Scimeca, Moore, Clement (Gaardsoe HT), Albrechtsen (Robinson 67 (Carter 81), Greening (Watson 67), Johnson, Inamoto, Dyer (Gera 67), Earnshaw (Horsfield 75), Kanu (Campbell 75). Subs not used: Kirkland (gk), Wallwork Referee: Nunez Garcia Half-Time: Sevilla 1-0 Albion Attendance: 2,000 approx
Evening Mail: GOOD
news and bad news were the order of the night for Bryan Robson as Albion
slumped to defeat against Sevilla in sweltering conditions. The
bad part was the result, with Sevilla beating an Albion team that started
slowly but improved. The Baggies huffed and puffed as they interrupted
their stay in Portugal for a few brief hours in the Spanish town of
Cartaya. But the Spaniards, who finished sixth in last season's La
Liga, held on after taking an early lead thanks to Luis Fabiano - despite
being without Arsenal and Spurs target Julio Baptista and ex-Albion man
Enzo Maresca last night. The
good news was the second-half display. An
Albion side that included several peripheral players, as well as
first-team regulars, took a while to settle down but improved dramatically
after the break.
Giving the Baggies boss plenty of food for thought were the returning Kanu
and Inamoto. Kanu, who had been given extended leave due to international
commitments, looked sharp and impressive throughout in his first Albion
match of the pre-season. He had their best chance when his stinging
57th-minute snapshot was brilliantly saved by Notario. 'Ina', playing a
first full match in an Albion first-team XI, was effective both in his
distribution and in his tackling. He rarely squandered possession and
looked confident and fit - a far cry from the limp midfielder sent out to
Cardiff last winter. His emergence could be as good as a new signing if he
continues his form. UEFA
Cup qualifiers Sevilla were clearly better suited to the hot and humid
conditions, taking the initiative early on when the Baggies back-line
failed to deal with a low cross, allowing Fabiano to drive his shot low
into the bottom corner on four minutes. He could have scored a second just
eight minutes later but blasted his shot high over the goal. The Baggies
coped with the pressure, without looking really threatened, before slowly
coming back into the game with Kanu's second-half strike the pick of their
chances. They could have snatched a late equaliser when
Gera's late header left keeper Notario stranded. As the
loose high-ball fell, Horsfield's first touch let him down, allowing the
Sevilla defence to make the clearance. With
the night-time temperatures showing no signs of cooling off, matters on
the pitch started to reach boiling point with the local officials failing
to punish Sevilla's shirt-pulling and time-wasting tactics. Albion passed
the test of nerve and discipline, resisting the provocation of their
opponents. Next
up is Albion's toughest test of the summer - tomorrow night's clash
against Benfica in Albufeira.
Bryan Robson: "Sevilla's movement was really good and we took our time settling into the pace of the game. We deserved to go a goal behind because they started a lot brighter than us. But when we settled down, I thought we put in a reasonable performance. Once I put a more physical side on in the final half hour, I thought we were the better team. Sevilla were getting irritated because they couldn't cope with our power and as the game went on, I thought it was us who looked most likely to score. Unfortunately, it's another defeat but the lads worked very hard." "Everybody came through the Sevilla game okay and I thought our general fitness looked strong towards the end of the match, which is really pleasing. I think a lot of the lads hit the brick wall against Crewe because of all the hard work they'd done in training. I think that's what caused the poor performance. Last night, the fitness levels were pretty good.” "To play as we did in very hot conditions which the players aren't used to, it was a good performance even though we got beat. Sevilla are used to the heat while we've only trained in it for two days so it will be interesting to see how we get on against Benfica on Friday." Source: wba.co.uk |
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