West Brom 1 – Middlesbrough 2
Scorers: Robert Earnshaw (WBA), o.g Purse, Bolo Zenden (Middlesbrough)
2:00pm 14/11/04
At the Hawthorns
Attendance 24,624
As the players walked out on to the pitch photographers lined up outside the tunnel to snap West Brom’s returning hero Bryan Robson.
It was 23 years since Robson last represented this historic club. But it wasn’t a happy comeback!
The first real chance of the game came when Downing, future England prospect, skinned two West Brom defenders and neatly pulled the ball back to Mark Viduka on the end of the six yard box, who sliced it just wide of the right hand post.
West Brom’s best effort came when Ricky Scimeca rocketed a left footed drive from 30 yards which bent and dipped towards the top left hand corner, only to be tipped over brilliantly by Schwarzer.
The first goal came after 28 minutes when Hasselbaink was found unmarked on the left. He hammered it across where it took a wicked deflection off a helpless Purse.
Within 10 minutes West Brom had equalised after a clever run and snappy cross from Romanian international Contra, which found Earnshaw who had a simple tap in.
Shortly after half time Middlesbrough were back in front. Predictably it was Downing’s cross from the left, which found Zenden’s head who then finished brilliantly.
The game deteriorated until the last ten minutes when West Brom started piling on the pressure.
In the second minute of stoppage time former Arsenal star, Kanu, somehow shot over the bar from one yard out. West Brom were robbed of an important draw.
Man of the match: Stuart Downing
Star rating * * * *