Saturday
12th August 2006,
Coca-Cola Championship, St
Mary's Stadium, Kick-Off 3:00pm
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Southampton |
0 - 0 |
Albion |
|
|
24,233 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
Half-Time Score |
0 |
|
52% |
Possession |
48% |
|
6 |
Shots On Target |
2 |
|
15 |
Shots Off Target |
7 |
|
6 |
Corners |
3 |
|
8 |
Fouls Against |
20 |
|
5 |
Offsides |
6 |
|
1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
|
0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
Southampton:
Kelvin Davis, Alexander Ostlund, Chris Baird, Pele, Gareth Bale, Djamel
Belmadi, Jermaine Wright, John Viafara, Rudi Skacel (Andrew Surman 57),
Bradley Wright-Phillips, Grzegorz Rasiak (Kenwyne Jones 83). Subs not
used: Michael Poke (gk), Martin Cranie, Nathan Dyer
Belmadi
36 (ungentlemanly conduct)
Albion: Pascal
Zuberbuhler, Steve Watson, Curtis Davies (c), Chris Perry, Paul Robinson,
Zoltan Gera, Ronnie Wallwork (Junichi Inamoto 71), Nigel Quashie, Jonathan
Greening (Richard Chaplow 71), Nathan Ellington (Darren Carter 26), John
Hartson. Subs not used: Luke Steele (gk), Martin Albrechtsen
Hartson 12 (foul),
Quashie 34 (foul)
Referee: Steve Tanner (Somerset)
Assistant Referees: Simon Snarrt (Gloucestershire), Stephen
Tomlinson (Hampshire)
Fourth Official: Simon Beck (Essex)
Conditions:
Cloudy with sunny spells
ALBION
TEAM NEWS:
Baggies' boss Bryan Robson kept faith with the team that had
started the last two games. The only change
from Tuesday night's game at Cardiff came on the substitutes' bench with new
signing Luke Steele replacing Russell Hoult.
SOUTHAMPTON
TEAM NEWS:
With defenders Gareth Bale and Pele passing late fitness
tests, Saints' boss George Burley named an unchanged side to the one that
beat Coventry City
2-0 on Wednesday.
STALEMATE AT ST MARYS
For the second time in five days
Albion travelled to take on
a fellow promotion contender and for the second time in five days came home
with a point following a battling performance.
With
Albion's record in
Southampton truly abysmal - just 4 wins in 32 games - hopes of a victory
were not high but for the third successive game Bryan Robson's men got off
to a flyer. With just two minutes on the clock a clever back-heel by Nathan
Ellington gave Zoltan Gera the chance to swing in a cross from the right
which John Hartson met with a firm header that looked destined for the
bottom corner of the net. Unfortunately for
Albion, Kelvin Davis in the home goal produced a fine save to deny
Hartson his third goal of the season.
Albion continued to push
forward and just three minutes later,
Gera dispossessed Bale and hit an 18 yard drive which
Davis again did well
to save. Whilst Albion were dominating the opening spell of the game they
were lucky not to be reduced to ten men on twelve minutes when Hartson
commited an ugly chest-high challenge on Alexander Ostlund. Thankfully for
Albion referee Steve Tanner let the former Celtic star off with a booking.
Despite the Baggies' lively start the hosts began to get a
foothold in the game with former
Manchester City starlet
Bradley Wright-Phillips causing a number of problems in and around the
Albion penalty area. With pace, skill, and an eye for goal he is just the
sort of player we so desperately need at The Hawthorns, a need highlighted
even more on 26 minutes when Ellington once again limped out of the action
with his hamstring injury. As at Cardiff in midweek Darren Carter came on
for Ellington whilst
Gera was pushed up front to partner Hartson. Former Blues'
man Carter almost made a dream start, flashing a 20-yard free-kick just wide
with his first touch.
The hosts then began to dominate with that man
Wright-Phillips again the Saints' main threat. Seven minutes before
half-time he forced a good save out of Pascal Zuberbuhler in the visitors
goal before then trying his luck with a 25-yard drive which whizzed inches
wide with Swiss keeper Zuberbuhler rooted to the spot.
Albion had a lucky escape in
the final minute of the half when the otherwise excellent Chris Perry
misjudged Gareth Bale's curling cross to allow a clear shot on goal for
former Spurs' striker Grzegorz Rasiak. Luckily for Perry and
Albion the striker could only shoot weakly at Zuberbuhler.
Saints started the second-half in a similar fashion to how
they ended the first and should have taken the lead when Rasiak broke
through on goal, this time following a Davies mistake, thankfully once again
a poor finish from the Polish international let
Albion off the hook.
The home side came even closer to taking the lead on 59
minutes when John Viafara's blocked shot fell to Ostlund, whose low drive
across the six-yard box flew inches wide just missing the outstretched boot
of Wright-Phillips who himself was the next player to try his luck, flashing
a15-yard piledriver narrowly wide.
Baggies' boss Robson made a double substitution on 63 minutes
replacing the ineffective Ronnie Wallwork and Jonathan Greening with Junichi
Inamoto and former St Mary's loanee Richard Chaplow.
Still the hosts continued to dominate though and twice in the
matter of four minutes almost took the lead. First Saints' substitute Andrew Surman's corner broke kindly in the box for Chris Baird only for the
centre-half to screw his effort horribly wide from 12 yards out. Rising star
Bale came even closer in the 78th minute when his delightfully curled
free-kick struck the foot of Zuberbuhler's right-hand post before being
cleared to safety.
With the home side perhaps sensing this was not to be their
day Albion started to
get themselves back into the game and if anything looked the most likely
scorers as the game approached it's climax although an overhead free-kick
from Gera which drifted wide was the closest they would come to a goal.
ALBION MAN OF THE MATCH: Chris Perry
SOUTHAMPTON MAN OF THE MATCH: Bradley Wright-Phillips
PLAYER RATINGS OUT OF TEN
Zuberbuhler
6 - His best performance yet although still looks unsure with crosses into
the box.
Watson 5 - Struggling for form.
Robinson 6 -
Another steady and solid performance.
Davies
7 - Defended well as per usual but distribution was poor at times.
Perry 8 - Forming an excellent
partnership with Davies, looks a fantastic signing.
Wallwork 5 - Yet to find his best form.
Quashie 7 - Shrugged off the taunts of
the home fans to enjoy his best game of the season so far.
Greening 4 - Made no impact.
Gera
6 - Worked hard but looks lost when asked to play up front.
Hartson 5 - Almost scored with early header but otherwise
quiet.
Ellington 2 -
Contributed nothing and went off injured.
SUBS:
Carter 6 - Much improved from last season's efforts, worth a start?
Chaplow 5 - As usual put himself about
but achieved little.
Inamoto 4 - Struggled to get into the
game.
REF
WATCH
Steve Tanner 3 - Far too whistle happy in favour
of the home team.
FAN
WATCH
Albion
5 - Subdued for the majority of the game.
Southampton 8 - Very impressive vocal support. Mark Thomas
Teenage sensation Gareth Bale narrowly missed out on his third wonder strike in
three games as West Brom somehow escaped with a point against
Southampton. Bale, the 17-year-old left-back, struck a post from
25 yards out as St Mary's held its breath following his carbon-copy goals
against Derby and
Coventry.
Bradley Wright-Phillips and Grzegorz Rasiak also went close for Saints who can
feel aggrieved at not claiming all three points from their fellow promotion
hopefuls, although both sides kept their unbeaten starts to the season intact.
Both teams were unchanged from midweek outings, with Bale and fellow defender
Pele passing late fitness tests for Saints and Nathan Ellington starting in the
visitors' attack alongside John Hartson. Nigel Quashie lined up for the Baggies
against the club he quit in January, although he would have been hard pushed to
find many former team-mates with only Chris Baird and Djamel Belmadi surviving
George Burley's overhaul at St Mary's.
Saints were almost caught cold after just one minute when a delightful Ellington
backheel found Zoltan Gera, whose cross was met with Hartson's firm header which
forced a smart save from Kelvin Davis. Hartson was lucky to stay on the pitch
following an ugly chest-high challenge on Alexander Ostlund after 10 minutes,
referee Steve Tanner giving the Welshman the benefit of the doubt and showing
him a yellow card. Ellington, who had been a doubt before the match with a
hamstring problem, lasted only 25 minutes before being replaced by Darren Carter
with Gera moving up front. Rudi Skacel then sent Bale tearing
down the left and the teenager's superb cross deserved a better finish than
Rasiak's clumsy air-shot. Quashie and Skacel found themselves in the referee's
notebook for needless fouls before Wright-Phillips' drive forced Pascal
Zuberbuhler into his first save of the afternoon. Wright-Phillips sent another
shot fizzing just wide and Rasiak hit an overhead kick straight at Zuberbuhler
as Saints finished the first half the stronger.
Rasiak should have given Saints the lead 10 minutes into the second half
following an uncharacteristic error from sought-after defender Curtis Davies,
whose weak header let the Pole in on goal. But once again his shot was too close
to Zuberbuhler, who saved comfortably. Ostlund then sent a low pass across goal
which Wright-Phillips, at full stretch, just failed to make contact with as West
Brom began to feel the pace. Just after the hour mark Rasiak fed a quick
free-kick to Wright-Phillips with the West Brom defence daydreaming, but the
summer signing from Manchester
City
hit his drive across Zuberbuhler and inches wide. Bryan Robson threw on Junichi
Inamoto and Richard Chaplow - who spent much of last season on loan at St Mary's
- but Saints continued to attack with Baird next to try his luck, shooting wide
following a corner. And 12 minutes from time Bale's superb curling free-kick
cannoned off the foot of Zuberbuhler's right-hand post with the keeper rooted to
his line. Chaplow and Gera squandered late half-chances for the Baggies but it
is Southampton who will wonder how they failed to take maximum points.
Sporting Life
Bryan Robson:
"It was a tough game and the players' attitude and commitment
in the last two games has pleased me.
Cardiff and Southampton are
both teams who are going to be challenging at the top.
"If my players had come into this division with a slack
attitude we could have lost the last two games. They've been resilient and
defensively I thought we were good today. Our passing was poor in the second
half but we can improve on that.
"I thought the three lads that came on performed quite well
and gave us some energy. They did the same in the week against
Cardiff. I was pleased with
them.
"It was a good save from their keeper to deny John early on
and I thought we played well in the first 25 minutes. But
Southampton came back into
it in the second half and I thought the draw was a fair result for both
teams.
"Once we get Nathan fit and sharp, he can live off John's
flick-ons because that's two games where it's a shame we haven't had anyone
to get on the end of John's good flicks. Even though I played Zoltan up
there, and he tries hard, his tendency is to come short and play with the
midfield players rather than run beyond. For us to be a real threat in this
division we need someone running through and that's why we're looking for
strikers."
George
Burley:
"It would have been nice to have had more points - and we
might well have done. We were a couple of minutes away from winning at
Derby and I thought
we had the better chances today.
"We were disappointed not to win but it was a decent
performance. For me,
West Brom have the strongest squad in the league and we more than matched them.
You want to judge yourself against the favourites and we were disappointed
not to get three points.
"We started slowly again which showed we are still a new side
in the early stages of getting to know each other. But we got on top in the
second half and created a number of good chances which we could not quite
take even though I thought our strikers were excellent.
"And young Gareth was very unlucky with the free-kick. There
was no question in my mind that he should take it after scoring two in two.
The keeper did not move and it was flush on the post. Someone could have got
a touch to put it in but I suppose it was asking too much for him to get
three in three. It certainly is not beginner's luck with him because he has
shown that in training. He has had a good pre-season and is full of
confidence. He is a young boy with a lot of pressure on him but he has come
through and done very well and has a big future in the game. We will have to
monitor his progress as the weeks go by and maybe take him out of the side
if need be but right now we do not have any experienced cover at left-back.
We are a bit short in the centre of defence too. It is not the biggest squad
so we will be looking to strengthen."
Zoltan Gera
makes his 50th start for the club.
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