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 Monday 2nd May 2005, Barclays Premiership, The Hawthorns, Kick-Off 8:00pm
Albion: Hoult, Albrechtsen (Horsfield 80), Gaardsoe, Moore, Clement, Robinson, Greening, Wallwork, Richardson, Gera (Kanu 80), K Campbell (Earnshaw 80). Subs not used: Kuszczak (gk), Scimeca Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Cole, Fabregas (Edu 74), Vieira, Gilberto, Pires, Reyes, Van Persie (Bergkamp 74). Subs not used: Almunia (gk), S Campbell, Alliadiere Referee:
Neale Barry (North Lincolnshire)
Assistant
Referees:
Dave Babski (Lincolnshire), Roy Burton (Staffordshire) Half-Time: Albion 0-0 Arsenal Attendance: 27,351 Conditions: Calm clear night
MATCH REPORT BY: Mark Thomas
Due to the result against Blackburn Rovers six days earlier this was a game that we couldn’t afford to lose and badly needed to win. With both Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg missing for the visitors there would be no better chance of defeating them and taking three vital points. The major talking point amongst Albion fans prior to kick-off was boss Bryan Robson’s decision to play just one striker up front when most fans were expecting the Kevin Campbell and Kanu partnership to start the game. The thinking behind it was obvious enough, the idea seemed to be to contain Arsenal and for the first half hour of the game it worked perfectly, we played some excellent football and were by far the better team although at no stage did we really threaten Jens Lehmann in the Arsenal goal. Lone striker Campbell tried as hard as he could and indeed won numerous flick-ons but with no support up front his efforts were to no avail. Albion started the second half in much the same way, very dominant and making Arsenal look second best but still there was no real threat up front, most Albion fans watching could see Campbell needed help up front but it was not to come. Arsenal took the lead in the 66th minute against the run of play but you couldn’t help but feel it was not unexpected, too many times this season and indeed in our previous Premiership campaign we have dominated games only to fall to a sucker punch. Robin Van Persie was the man that gave the Gunners the lead. We have improved tremendously over recent months but there is still a lack of ‘Premiership know-how’ amongst one or two players. Kieran Richardson was particularly guilty of it, far too often he was caught in possession tonight and Neil Clement too goes from brilliant to terrible in the space of a few seconds, it’s these sort of lapses that have cost us numerous points. Albion did pile on the pressure looking for an equaliser but with Campbell still battling it out by himself up front we never really looked like scoring. Ten minutes from time and at least ten minutes too late Robson did make changes, off went Campbell, Gera and Albrechtsen and in their place came Kanu, Horsfield and Earnshaw. The biggest disappointment to me in recent weeks has been Robson’s reluctance to give ‘Earnie’ more time on the pitch, sure he misses chances but with 13 goals this season he should have been given more of an opportunity by the Albion boss. I for one would not be surprised to see him wanting to leave the club in the near future and can anyone blame him? Arsenal could and should have increased their lead in the latter stages of the game, only a goalline clearance by Neil Clement and a superb Darren Moore tackle prevented them doing so although three minutes into injury time Arsenal’s Brazilian star Edu did make sure that all three points would be heading down South after netting from close range. With two games left and one of them a trip to Old Trafford the likelihood is that we will be playing Championship football next season. It will be particularly hard to take because we do actually now look quite at home in the Premiership, no longer is there the feeling that we are there just to be whipping boys for the more established clubs. If we do go down as is now expected one thing is for certain, we will have the best fans in the Championship, the atmosphere tonight was one of the best experienced at the ground in recent years, it’s just a pity it was to no avail. MAN OF THE MATCH: Paul Robinson PLAYER RATINGS OUT OF TEN
Hoult 7 - Kicking has
improved tremendously recently, excellent first half save.
Albrechtsen 6 - Defended and
attacked well.
Gaardsoe 7 - Looked
comfortable, used ball well.
Clement 6 - Much improved
from Blackburn performance, excellent goal line clearance.
Moore 7 - Commanding, excellent goal saving tackle
towards end of game.
SKY SPORTS
Arsenal dealt West Brom's survival hopes a major blow with a 2-0 win at
The Hawthorns. Second half goals from Robin van Persie and Edu proved to
be enough to give Arsenal all three points against a battling Baggies
outfit. The win restores Arsenal's four point
lead over Manchester United in the race for second place, while West Brom
remain second from bottom with just two games left to save their
Premiership status.
West Brom
started brightly and they created the first opening on seven minutes when
Zoltan Gera attempted an acrobatic overhead kick wide on the left which
flew wide of the target. The home side fashioned another opening on 17
minutes when Kevin Campbell flicked Martin Albrechtsen's throw-in to
Jonathan Greening on the edge of the box, but under pressure from Philippe
Senderos he volleyed his effort well wide. Kieran Richardson wasted a good
opportunity on 28 minutes when he won a free kick wide on the right, but
instead of crossing the ball he tried his luck with a shot which flew well
over the crossbar. It took Arsenal until 34 minutes to have their first
shot of the contest when Robert Pires fed Patrick Vieira on the edge of
the box and he fired in a powerful shot over the crossbar. Gilberto Silva
fluffed a good opening on 38 minutes when he swapped passes with Cesc
Fabregas inside the box only to miss his kick when he went for his shot. A
minute later Arsenal fashioned the best chance of the half when Lauren
slipped Robin van Persie clear on goal, but Russell Hoult was quickly off
his line to block the Dutchman's effort. Arsenal were now getting a
foothold of the game and Senderos should have done better on 42 minutes
when he rose to meet van Persie's free kick only to loop it over the
crossbar. West Brom had the last chance of the half when Gera played in
Ronnie Wallwork just outside the box and he fired in a shot over the
crossbar.
The
second half began in much the same pattern as the first with West Brom
refusing to give Arsenal any time or space on the ball. The Baggies were
determined to get the crucial breakthrough and Paul Robinson saw a shot
inside the area blocked by Lauren right in front of goal five minutes
after the restart. Neil Clement was unlucky not to hit the target on 57
minutes when he rose highest to meet Greening's corner only to see it
deflect wide off the back of Gilberto. Arsenal were struggling to make any
inroads in the final third, but they broke the deadlock on 66 minutes with
a fine strike from van Persie. Reyes picked van Persie out inside the box
with an incisive pass and the Dutchman wasted no time in curling his shot
beyond Hoult and into the net. Arsenal should have made the game safe six
minutes later when van Persie repaid the compliment to Reyes by sending
him clear on goal and he looked certain to score after rounding Hoult only
for Clement to rush back and clear his shot off the line. Clement wasted a
great opening on 76 minutes when he burst past Pires and Lauren to charge
clear on goal, but he took too long to get his shot off allowing Arsenal
to get players back to clear the ball. The clearance fell to Richardson 30
yards out and the young midfielder fired in a swerving shot which Lehmann
did well to palm away. Baggies boss Bryan Robson threw caution to the wind
ten minutes from time bringing three strikers in the shape of Geoff
Horsfield, Robert Earnshaw and Kanu in a desperate bid to get back into
the game. Darren Moore came to his side's rescue five minutes from the end
with a last-ditch tackle to deny Reyes as he bore down on goal and when
the ball dropped to Arsenal substitute Edu he tried his luck with a chip
from the edge of the box which sailed over the crossbar. Arsenal made sure
of the win deep into injury time when the two substitutes Dennis Bergkamp
and Edu combined with the Brazilian clipping his shot over Hoult to kill
off West Brom.
arsenal.com baggies.com wbaunofficial.com arsenal-world.co.uk premierleague.com sportinglife.com
Bryan Robson: "Sometimes there is no justice in the game. I think the players deserved something for the way they played, but that's how cruel football can be. We matched a team like Arsenal all over the pitch and I thought the commitment of the players was different class. I've just told the lads if they perform anything like they have against Arsenal, then they should get their just rewards.” "I'm not saying we deserved to win because Arsenal played and kept possession well but until they scored they didn't really create one chance against us. That was disappointing and we'll have to look at why van Persie had so much time in our box to score the first goal. That's the quality you're up against when you face Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. They're always really dangerous because they can always score a goal in a game. However, the overall commitment, effort and some of the football we played was top draw against a side like Arsenal." "How some of the players could question whether they are Premiership players or not after the way they performed tonight, I don't know. There were quite a few players that questioned themselves when I first arrived at the club but since performances and results have gone a little bit better they have a belief they could stay here.” "If we get the breaks at United we could get a result there. My aim is to get as many points as we can in the next two games and try and stay in the Premiership. I'm not looking any further ahead than that. We were looking at the games we had left before tonight's game and we were always going to need someone to slip up. The teams down at the bottom have been finding it difficult to win games away from home so we hope that trend continues to help us. We've just got to prepare for Manchester United now and look no further ahead than that. "We knew it was going to be hard to stay up when I came into the club and the lads have battled hard to put themselves in this position. I feel we haven't had the breaks along the way but we've been performing really well and that's all I can ask from the players. I can't ask for anymore than what they did against Arsenal. They just didn't get a break. If results go favourably for us we could go into the game at United knowing a draw would be good." Source: wba.co.uk
Arsene Wenger: “West Brom played five across the middle and it looked like they were playing with the idea that a draw was not a bad result. You can understand that but for us a draw was not good enough. I felt in the first half we rushed our decisions and were not patient enough. In the second half we slowed down and played better technically. When we scored the goal it was much more difficult for them. They played cautiously and were committed. We had to be patient and wait for an opening.” Source: arsenal.com |
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