So, Saturday morning breaks and the pre-match rituals have all of a sudden become much more important! I leave my house to walk to get a newspaper at exactly 9.11am…..My father has two cups of coffee from the same mug…..and I don the exact same clothes I’ve worn to every match so far this season. Why? Because let’s be honest here, the start we have had is blooming amazing! With this in mind, I intend on doing everything I can for this to continue! A bit like the 2 Point 4 Children episode if anybody remembers it?
The first half
The teams line up, with the opposition wearing one of the ugliest kits I have seen in a while. The whistle is blown, and the first comment made by a chap I sit with was “Let’s keep it tight for the first ten minutes”. Sound advice and something I’m sure quite a few people said. What happens? Not really a ‘bad’ start but the Baggies seemed a little slow, Mulumbu gives the ball away, Zoltan Gera drills a shot which Carson pushed on to the post, then hitting Carson again and in. Niine minutes in, 0-1 down, not the best of starts to the afternoon but the character in the Baggies has been seen before, let’s see how the team bounce back.
A further error from Gonzalo Jara saw a square ball fall in to the path of Diomansy Kamara who thankfully failed with his attempt. At this point it could’ve gone one of two ways, we capitulate, which I think we would have done a couple of seasons ago, or we come back playing our footballing game and get a result. The latter was thankfully the case.
Scoring first is recommended, but I have faith in the team now that they can bounce back in any situation! We went 3-0 up at The Emirates, so we know we CAN do it if we want to – just wanted to remind everybody about that game!
Brunt seems to be playing some of his best football at the moment, as could be said for a few players. Olsson has been on song since the start of the season, alongside a superb Tamas. Shorey looks comfortable and makes the correct decisions in situations and Jara, on the whole, certainly has a touch of class. Our defence looks solid and capable of handling the demands of the Prem.
Brunt’s pass was weighted perfectly for the reply in the 18th minute. Fortune and Mulumbu were both in great positions for Brunt’s pass which saw Mulumbu slot it past Schwarzer. A hint of offside – ok he looked offside to me! – but the points tally won’t show that.
I felt we really missed Thomas with his outlet down the wing last week. His speed and ball control amounts to being quite a handful for any defence. For the second goal, he held the ball at the byline and waited for a split second to pick out the pass to Fortune, who directed the ball into the net with Brunt jumping out of the way.
Going in to half time, the Baggies looked in complete control and on top, with the fans clapping them off. From a supporter’s point of view, it was brilliant to see the camaraderie between the players as they came off the pitch.
After the break
The second half started brightly for the Baggies, with Morrison having a poke from about 30-yards. A couple of changes on 55 minutes, Olsson off for Pablo Ibanez and Roman Bednar on for Fortune, both had suffered knocks. Since he hasn’t seen much action in the Prem so far, Bednar finished superbly after some great control as the hour turned, but unfortunately the flag was up so no goal!
Scharner, being set up by Bednar, had a great shot which saw Schwarzer pull off a finger-tip save. To me, the Baggies were on top and deserved a third!
All round, a great game for the Baggies getting three VERY valuable points – I seem to be repeating this statement weekly. The whole team played well, with full commitment levels. Tchoyi came on with three minutes to go. I love that guy! He’s big, strong, good ball control, fast, and scored at Old Trafford. He replaced Thomas who got a standing ovation from many of the Baggies fans.
Scharner had a good game, although at times I felt there was a gap in the middle of the park. For me, Morrison had a good game when got the ball, but at times I wasn’t really sure of what his position was. I am a strong supporter of Morrison and hope he gets into games more.
RDM certainly knows his players and has bought a football team in to the Prem. We aren’t winning games on a fluke 1-0 win, we’re out passing and out playing our opposition. The commitments levels from our lads is 100% with the whole team encouraging each other all over the pitch.
Familiar faces
I wanted to bring this up, our three ex-Baggies that were present during Saturday’s game. We had Jonathon Greening, ex-skipper. An honest player, quite a good footballer, but he displayed his usual hopelessness with set pieces – he just can’t cross a ball. I thought he had a solid game, showing the calm and composing nature which you need from a midfielder.
Diomansy Kamara is a player I couldn’t really make my mind up on. When his form was good, he could stick the ball in the back of the net for fun – scoring against the Dingles being my favourite memories – but within 15 minutes, he had the Baggies fans booing him whilst he tried to claim Olsson had led with his elbow, when it was Kamara that led with HIS elbow on Olsson. If this is the sort of player he has now become, then I feel we are better off without him.
Zoltan Gera was a favourite of the Baggies fans for a long time. I always liked him, showed full commitment and was a great player. His goals were also gold-dust in our Great Escape. I didn’t however like the way we paid his wages through injury, then to see a transfer request handed in. Unfortunately it is a factor of the common game we just have to live with – anybody heard of Rooney? Gera did however celebrate his goal with maximum respect to the Baggies fans, so thumbs up there!
On reflection
But to summarise, let’s keep concentration on the Baggies. Never mind the league position, it is the points on the board as early as possible which are going to decide our season. Really, I think I’ve said enough.
BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING, BOING BOING.
David Allden.