I was looking forward to the Villa game all week. In hindsight the result was probably on the cards after they had lost four on the trot and we had won the last two. In all honesty, Villa are not bad enough two lose five times in a row in the division, and neither are we good enough to win three on the bounce.
The day started with breakfast and a pint in The Scotts at 10.30am. For anybody who doesn’t know, Great Barr is a bit of strange animal. There a very few Blues fans and even less Dingles, so it’s pretty much split between Albion and those with a persuasion for fish. There was lots of banter flying around The Scotts, but all in good nature as the pub grew busier and busier.
After a few pints we headed down to The Malt to meet the rest of the guys to catch a taxi to Villa Park. We arrived at the ground at around 2.45pm to hear the Albion fans in full voice. There’s nothing which stirs emotions of pride more than hearing your fans at a rival ground.
After finding my seat the teams made their way out of the tunnel. The discussion before the match was whether the dependable Youssouf Mulumbu would be recalled following his suspension and if Odemwingie would play. The majority of us thought both would. In the end RDM chose to stick with the same XI which had comfortably beaten Newcastle a week before – apart from the injured Odemwingie.
Captain Carson in goal; Jara, Scharner, Tamas and Cech across the back; Tchyoi on the right, Thomas on the left, Morrison, Brunt and Dorrans in the middle; and Fortune up front.
First half
After the run of form both teams were in it was no surprise to see Albion take the initiative in the early stages. Albion registered the first shot on target in the third minute when the ball fell to Marc-Antonie Fortune from Brunt’s corner, but his shot lacked power and trickled into the arms of Brad Friedel.
Albion again pushed forward with the visiting fans in full voice and the rest of the ground in an eerie silence – although the thousands of empty seats didn’t help! It was Brunt who was to test Friedel next after he ran on to Dorrans’ pass but, in trying to find the far corner, pulled the ball inches wide as Villa breathed a sigh of relief.
It was all Albion at this stage and there looked only one team who were going to open the scoring. Gonzalo Jara found Somen Tchyoi down the right who left Warnock on his backside before turning Collins inside as well. The tricky winger shaped to curl towards goal but his lofted effort agonisingly cannoned back off the crossbar. A week earlier he’d found the back of the net. Games are won and lost by such margins. To make matters worse, the rebound fell to Jerome Thomas whose goalbound effort was somehow headed away from an open net by Fortune – unfortunately for him and us, his afternoon was not going to get any better!
Albion again pushed forward with Fortune this time pulling his effort wide after turning Collins on the edge of the area. The Baggies would rue their slice of misfortune and missed chances. A minute later, we were behind.
Cech threw the ball to Dorrans who initially beat one man but then lost the ball needlessly 25-yards from goal. The ball fell to Albrighton who crossed for Young. The front-man missed his header but the ball continued across the box with Downing converting the chance at full stretch at the back post. It had taken 25 minutes for the Baggies fans to hear anything off the home fans.
Of course the goal raised confidence levels in the hosts with Bannan and Heskey having efforts as the end drew to a close. After all the early possession and hitting the woodwork, Albion were somehow behind.
After the break
I went to find Northy at half time who, as you would expect, wasn’t best pleased by the scoreline. The swift passing which had created chances in the first half had gone as Albion, for some reason, decided on aiming long balls towards Fortune – it was food and drink for Collins and Monkey Head.
Villa started to impose themselves on the game and looked more likely to get the next goal. Albrighton almost scored the second when he got on the end of Downing’s cross in front of Cech but headed wide.
Morrison went close for Albion, but in truth we lacked any real threat in the final third with Fortune going missing for large periods as Albion struggled to keep the ball.
Something miraculous happened in the 56th minute! The famous Holte End sang for the first time. That’s right, local derby, team one-up and fighting for survival, and it took them nearly an hour to get behind their team. Pride of the Midlands my arse!
Tchyoi, who struggled to get the ball in the second half, came to life in the 75th minute when he again tricked Warnock, although this time his shot lacked any real malice and it was deflected wide for a corner.
Villa were catching Albion on the counter attack as the Baggies pushed forward in search for an equaliser and were punished with ten minutes to go. Albion failed to clear the ball properly as Albrighton and Downing worked the ball well down the left. Albrighton whipped the ball in again – from where I was standing it looked as though the ball had gone straight in, however, the rebound showed the most fortuitous of goals. The ball hit Heskey, who for some reason was ducking, in the face and arrowed towards the bottom corner of the net. Carson left with no chance; Albion’s attempt to get back into the game gone; Villa fans again found their voice.
Simon Cox and Ishmael Miller were brought on for the ineffective Fortune and Morrison. Although in truth it was too late for either to have an effect. Miller and Cox looked more threatening in the minutes they were on the pitch than Fortune and the advancing Morrison had all afternoon.
The Baggies pulled one back in the 89th minute when Paul Scharner rose highest to head home a corner to give Albion a lifeline. Villa were desperate to hear the final whistle and played all of the time delaying tactics allowed within the laws of the game.
In the last minute Jerome Thomas, who had had a decent game, had the chance to make himself a hero and grab Albion a dramatic point but lifted his chip over Brad Friedal, but also the crossbar.
At the final whistle Villa fans danced with joy as if they had won the league. Regardless of what they had to say, they were desperate to beat us.
On reflection
Despite Albion’s bright opening it was an error on our part which lead to Villa’s first goal. Dorrans played well against Newcastle, but Youssouf Mulumbu has been our most consistent performer this season and should’ve played. The injured Peter Odemwingie was a massive loss for us up front. Marc-Antonie Fortune simply can not play the lone striker as effectively as Odemwingie. I don’t think we were as poor as other people have said, although we didn’t reach the heights we did against Newcastle and Everton previously. Let’s hope that Odemwingie makes a speedy recovery in time for next Sunday – he’s the only Premier League striker we have at the club.
On a final note, The Holte End sand twice.
Bring on the Dingles.