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 Monday 1st January 2007, Coca-Cola Championship, Roots Hall, Kick-Off 3:00pm
Albion: Russell Hoult, Martin Albrechtsen (Neil Clement HT), Curtis Davies, Paul McShane, Paul Robinson, Zoltan Gera (Nathan Ellington HT), Jonathan Greening, Darren Carter, Diomansy Kamara, Jason Koumas, Kevin Phillips (John Hartson HT). Subs not used: Pascal Zuberbuhler (gk), Richard Chaplow
Referee: Trevor Kettle (Rutland)
Half-Time:
Southend United 3-0 Albion
Attendance: 9,907 Conditions:
Cool, clear, sunny day
Birmingham Post:
Jamal Campbell-Ryce struck twice as Southend threw the form
book out of the window to secure a vital home victory against previously
in-form West Bromwich Albion. The winger had failed to score a single
goal for the Coca-Cola Championship's basement side before the visit of
promotion-chasing Albion but he produced two superb first-half finishes against Tony
Mowbray's men. Former
Derby defender Lewis Hunt then headed a third for the home
side five minutes before the break to stun the visitors, who had gone six
matches without defeat before their visit to Roots Hall. Substitute John
Hartson scored a goal for
Albion just after the hour but it proved to be no more than a
consolation as the Shrimpers boosted their hopes of avoiding the drop by
claiming three precious points. Defeat for
Albion leaves them without a
victory on their travels since the 2-0 success at Crystal Palace on October
17.
The Baggies started brightly and forced two early corners but
it was Southend who broke the deadlock after 11 minutes with the goal coming
from an unlikely source. Campbell-Ryce received a loose ball 25 yards from
goal and unleashed a venomous right-foot strike that flashed past Hoult and
found the bottom the corner of the net. Then, just before the half hour,
Campbell-Ryce doubled the home side's advantage with another clinical
finish. Lee Bradbury was the architect, cushioning a neat header into the
path of the 23-year-old winger who smashed the ball home from 20 yards out.
Albion looked
vulnerable in defence and were punished once again when Hunt rose highest to
nod home Mark Gower's pinpoint cross. The Baggies' leading scorer Diomansy
Kamara almost pulled a goal back a minute before the interval but his
left-foot drive was superbly kept out by the agile Darryl Flahavan.
Mowbray boldly made a triple substitution at the break, with
Zoltan Gera, Martin Albrechtsen and Kevin Phillips replaced by Nathan
Ellington, Neil Clement and Hartson. Just as in the first half,
Albion started the second 45
minutes positively, with Jason Koumas trying his luck with a long-range free
kicks but failing to test Flahavan. Then former Manchester United midfielder
Jonathan Greening also failed to hit the target with a powerful strike from
25 yards. With the visitors committing men forward Southend were always
likely to be dangerous on the break and they almost scored a fourth goal
when Freddy Eastwood crossed for Adam Barrett whose header produced a fine
save from Hoult. A scrappy period of play ensued but
Albion were
thrown a lifeline when Hartson bundled home Darren Carter's inswinging
corner with 62 minutes on the clock. Some resolute Southend defending
frustrated Mowbray's men and they began to lose their discipline with
Robinson, Paul McShane and Carter joining Greening and Phillips in the
referee's notebook. To their credit, Albion continue to press and Koumas
flashed a vicious left-foot strike narrowly wide of Flahavan's left-hand
post on 82 minutes but the hosts comfortably held out.
wba.co.uk
Tony Mowbray: "It's almost like a long-play record. Away from home we have deficiencies. We keep searching for the answers to put them right but haven't found them yet. "To be fair, you've got to give the Southend lad a bit of credit. He won't strike two better shots than that from 20 yards. We were then chasing the game. But from our point of view, we just weren't good enough on the day. People score great goals. We've also got people who can score great goals, like Jason Koumas did on Saturday. But we didn't move the ball or play off the front well enough. "We've struggled away from home all season and today was deja vu. It was pretty typical of our away performances. We found ourselves 2-0 down at Plymouth last time. We are very fluent at home but we don't seem to find that fluency away. We looked at a different formation today to try to change things but the result suggests it didn't work. "You make substitutions to try to change the course of the game and give the team a different direction and focus. I asked the players to go out and try to win the second half, not that it mattered in the end, but they did. We didn't concede in the second half, scored a goal and could have had one or two more. "Fortunately, we've been pretty formidable at home and that is keeping us in touch and there or thereabouts." Source: wba.co.uk
Steve Tilson: "The lads believe we can get out of it. If we don't believe we can stay up we may as well not turn up. "We know it is going to be tough, but you never know. I think we thoroughly deserved our victory today. The displays against Luton, Norwich and Coventry were good and we carried on the good work of the last month." Source: bbc.co.uk
The result is Albion's heaviest ever defeat against Southend. Nathan Ellington makes his 50th appearance for the club.
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