I initially saw Donny’s request for a match report on my phone when I was leaving work on Friday. I made a mental note to check in the morning if there were any takers and, if not, to put my name forward for a crack.
I was meeting up with a couple of mates later that evening for a few quiet drinks in Birmingham which evolved into something longer and altogether more messy. While one friend was at the bar and the other was in the loo, I took the chance to check the phone and, after seeing no takers, I stepped into the breach. What I hadn’t realised was that my decision to stay out until the early hours of Saturday morning would be met with ire from my beloved and that she would still expect me to provide paternal duties of taking my son to football practice early on Saturday morning.
As I settled down to watch him, still slightly half-cut and with the distant thunder of a head-ache setting in, I snapped the cap of my water bottle off and prepared myself for an hour of R&R. At that moment the coach walked in and announced that, as it was the last session of the season, we would have a ‘Parents Vs Kids’ match. Great. Cue half an hour of getting my ankles kicked by 5-7 year olds.
All this put me in a bit of a bad mood which had worn off (as had the hangover) by 12.30pm as my son and I settled down into our seats in the Upper East. The players were warming up and my son pointed out Paul Scharner’s new hair colouring. Hmm, I thought I had had a few last night, I mused.
Team news
There were four changes from the side that lost to Wolves. Tamas replaced the hapless Meite, Brunt and Reid returned from injury, and Scharner from suspension. Jara, Tchoyi and Morrison dropped to the bench. For Everton, Coleman came in for Rodwell, who dropped to the bench
First half
What a difference a week makes, in some ways but not others. Watching the gold and black of Everton emerge from the tunnel took my mind back to my unhappy visit to Molineux last Sunday. If you squinted hard enough, it was not Leighton Baines, but Stephen Hunt, our main tormentor-in-chief last Sunday, taking the field. However, the players had clearly been put through their paces in midweek; we settled into a good tempo immediately, the shape was excellent, as was our discipline. Scharner and Mulumbu crackled in midfield with Brunt providing the inspiration, while Thomas buzzed about like an angry bee, irritating and confusing the Everton defence. Upfront, Odemwingie was hanging on the last defender like a prized greyhound awaiting release from the traps, bristling with nervous energy and sinew. At the back, Carson was calm and confident, Olsson imposing and marshalling the back four like an angry head teacher.
Odemwingie had already gone close before Mulumbu's 10th-minute strike. Having hit the side-netting from Mulumbu's clever ball over the top moments earlier, Odemwingie reaped advantage from Distin's misreading of Brunt's lobbed pass. Squeezing in ahead of the Everton defender, the Nigerian international raced into the box, cleverly wrong-footing the pursuing Jagielka, before crossing to set up Mulumbu's seventh league goal of the campaign.
For Everton, Anichebe curled an effort too close to the prone Carson, and was denied by the keeper's outstretched foot. Heitinga somehow contrived to head wide from Seamus Coleman's far-post cross. An Osman header was saved by the sprawling Carson. At the other end, Howard acrobatically palmed over a Brunt free-kick and somehow managed to get a hand to a close-range header from Odemwingie. Hibbert also did his bit, clearing off the line after Thomas's weaving run wreaked havoc in the home defence.
Second half
Perhaps inevitably, after an entertainingly open first half, the second period was a more attritional affair. Bilyaletdinov's dismissal, a straight red card for a meaty but by no means reckless challenge on Morrison, provided tangible evidence of the unwelcome change of key, as did the four second-half bookings that accompanied it. My son and I hung around pitch-side for the lap of honour, my son ‘boinging’ on my shoulders as the players and fans showed their mutual appreciation. I felt so proud of the club, to have not just survived but to have survived comfortably. The football they have played this season at times has been outstanding, and I am so happy that my son has witnessed this. As much as it has been a watershed for the club to escape relegation this time, it is also a watershed for him. He had his first season ticket this season, and most of the games he saw have been memorable, and mainly in a good way. I think I may have fought off the advances of his Manchester United-supporting cousin for now.
Verdict
Writing a report on the last home game of the season gives me the chance to comment on the campaign as a whole. It is not often that we go into the last three games of the season with nothing riding on it, at least not in recent years. I’d like to give a lot of credit to RDM who gained us a lot of points at the start of the season and provided notable highlights, Arsenal, Man Utd and Everton away being probable the most memorable. However, he proved that he didn’t have a Plan B when the ‘proverbial’ hit the fan and, as much as I disagreed at the time, relieving him of his duties was the right decision.
Step forward Mr Hodgson. I cannot praise the man enough. He has been inspirational, and deserves all the plaudits going. He organised the players, got their confidence back and lifted the fans. He deserves the Freedom of Sandwell if we get a top-10 finish. Player of the Season is a toss-up between Odemwingie and Mulumbu, but I will go for Odemwingie. He has scored goals, made assists and gained penalties for us – most notably against Liverpool. If he hadn’t been stripped of penalty duties, and had a bit more luck, he could quite conceivably scored 20 league goals this season.
Next season
So, will Mr Peace grasp the nettle in summer and back our team so we can consolidate our good position? I would hope so. The first part of the mission is to keep the spine of the team at the club: Reid, Olsson, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt, Thomas and Odemwingie must not be allowed to leave. We need to sign to sign a Goalkeeper, Centre-Half, Left-Back, Attacking Midfielder and possibly two strikers. Hopefully Dorrans will come back and fill the Attacking Midfielder slot. I would allow Carson or Myhill, Zuiverloon, Ibanez or Meite, Cech, Miller, & Fortune to leave. I would hope Roy will assert himself on transfer matters after a well-earned holiday.
Have your say on Albion's victory here at Baggies Banter.