West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur match report Saturday 31st January 2015

Harry Kane netted twice to end Tony Pulis' unbeaten start as West Bromwich Albion manager and see his team to a comfortable 3-0 win. 

The 21 year old smashed home from 20 yards in the first half then converted a penalty in the second after Christian Eriksen had opened the scoring with a free kick in the sixth minute. 

The gulf in class and financial clout was obvious from the first whistle as the Spurs' midfield dominated with Moussa Dembele and the excellent Christian Eriksen running the show. After six minutes Mauricio Pocchetino's men took the lead. A needless challenge by Claudio Yacob on Dembele on the left of the box presented the in-form Eriksen with a free kick 25 yards out which the Danish international beautifully dipped over the West Brom wall and into the corner of the net, despite a flailing hand from ‘keeper Ben Foster. 

The game was all but over on 15 minutes when Dembele strode through the centre of the pitch and laid the ball to Kane who, under no pressure from the Baggies defence cut inside Andre Wisdom from the left hand side of the penalty area and powered home from the edge of the box.

The West  Brom players finally woke up on 27 minutes when James Morrison forced a fantastic fingertip save from Spurs 'keeper Hugo Lloris with a curling left foot shot that looked bound for the top corner but the Frenchman tipped it over. Two minutes later a training ground free kick from the Baggies found Saido Berahino at the far post and the England striker pulled the ball back into the penalty area where it was met by Yacob whose effort looked bound for the corner of the net until Lloris reacted quickly and saved.

The West Brom rally almost produced a goal with 37 minutes gone when a free kick from the right hand side by Morrison was met by Craig Dawson but his header hit the crossbar.

In the second half Spurs killed off any chances off a comeback on 64 minutes when full back Kyle Walker flew down the right hand side to fire in a cross which hit the arm of stand-in left back Joleon Lescott and referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot. Up stepped Harry Kane to confidently fire the ball to the goalkeeper's right sending Ben Foster the wrong way. 

After the match, all the talk was about Kane and his almost certain call-up to Roy Hodgson's next England squad. Spurs boss Mauricio Pocchetino preferred to talk about his team's overall performance. "Harry Kane played well but I am very happy with my whole team today. We knew it was important to start well and we did that. It was a great performance," he said. 

Despite the 3-0 defeat, Baggies' boss Tony Pulis preferred to focus on the positive and his team's 10 minute spell in the first half. "We had good opportunities and if we could have got a goal it would have lifted us but their goalkeeper (Lloris) was fantastic. His save from Morrison was top drawer," he said. "The breaks went for them and not for us. It was their day and good luck to them." 

Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool match report Saturday 17th January 2015

 

Aston Villa drew a blank for the sixth league game on the bounce to increase the pressure on manager Paul Lambert. 

The defeat by Liverpool means the Villans haven't scored a goal in the Premier League in almost nine hours. 

One good piece of news for beleaguered Lambert was that an online protest which called for fans to boycott their seats before the game,  only drew support from a few hundred. 

 

Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert grabbed the goals which continued the Reds eight game winning streak and helped Brendan Rogers' side up to seventh in the table. 

Italian Borini netted with 24 minutes on the clock after he poked in a Jordan Henderson right wing cross from close range. Raheem Sterling, fresh from his Caribbean break, should have doubled their lead when he was played through one on one with Villa ‘keeper Brad Guzan but his attempt at a clever chip over the American provided mere catching practice. Alberto Moreno had a goal ruled out for offside.

Villa’s new signing Carles Gil came on in the second half to replace Tom Cleverly which was greeted with sarcastic applause and noisy boos by the home fans. The little Spaniard offered Villa something new and linked up well to create an opportunity with Andreas Weimann but couldn’t convert the return pass on the right hand side of the penalty area.

In a 10 minute second half spell, Villa finally threatened an equaliser. Christian Benteke smashed a half volley towards the near post from the right hand side of the penalty spot but it was beaten away well by his fellow countryman Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal. Nathan Baker headed over from a corner and then completely miscued from five yards out.

Any hopes of a home point disappeared with 79 minutes on the clock. Substitute Rickie Lambert controlled a through pass from Sterling on the edge of the penalty area and fired home in the far corner to put the game beyond doubt.

After the match Paul Lambert was upbeat about his team’s performance despite going down 2-0. “I thought the second half we were excellent. Their goalkeeper (Mignolet) had a great second half. Another day we could have had one or two goals."

When asked for his views on the lack of goals, Lambert added: "I would be more worried if we weren't creating chances. They will come. We just have to stick together ."

Reds boss Brendan Rogers said he was delighted with the way his young and developing team had played. "We defended very well and should have had a few more goals," he said. " We are playing some wonderful football which is pleasing but we have to keep on improving."

 

West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Hull City match report Saturday 10th January 2015

 

 

Saido Berahino scored his sixth goal in 10 games to make sure new West Brom manager Tony Pulis got off to a winning start in the Premiership.

 A week on from scoring four against Gateshead, the England striker powered a free kick through a wall of Hull players to grab the spoils in a game of few chances which looked for long periods as if it would end in stalemate.

 After what was far from a convincing performance from the Baggies, Pulis acknowledged that despite the three points, a tough task lay ahead.

 “People need to realise how tough this is. We are in a real dog fight to the end of the season and everyone at this club needs to pull together. Take a look at the Championship. It’s full of loads of former Premier league teams who got complacent."

The cameras were focused closely on Pulis as he stood in his technical area ready to wave what the home fans hoped would be a magic wand to transform their stuttering fortunes. But after a bright start the Albion players slipped back into their old slow-build ways and chances were few and far between; the best one falling to £10 million striker Brown Ideye who fired wide from 12 yards out on 41 minutes when one-on-one with Hull keeper Alan McGregor.

The second half began at a frantic pace with both teams pushing for the win but gradually the early promise faded. The loss of strikers Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez did not help the Tigers’ cause but substitute Tom Ince looked lively and should have done better with a good cross from the left which he could only head against Baggies defender Gareth McAuley. The rebound fell to Ahmed Elmohamadi but his shot was blocked.

In the 77^th minute defender Elmohamadi chased a Craig Gardner pass towards his own goal and under pressure he touched the ball back into the hands of his advancing keeper Alan McGregor and referee Neil Swarbrick immediately gave an indirect free kick 12 yards out. Substitute Victor Anichebe touched the ball to his right and despite eight Hull defenders in the wall, Berahino managed to find a gap and hit the back of the net. This time his celebration was much more jubilant than in the previous game. Speculation still surrounds the striker’s future with rumours of a possible move to Liverpool despite West Brom receiving no official bids.

After the match, Hull manager Steve Bruce said he was disappointed to have taken nothing from the game. “It was frustrating to lose the game with a misunderstanding like we have. It was cruel on us but you make mistakes at this level which we made today which was one of those comical ones. It’s the split second when there is a lack of communication and we have been punished for it. Before they scored the game had 0 - 0 written all over it.”

When questioned about his prospects of bringing in new players in the transfer market Baggies boss Pulis said he would like to secure some new signings but realised he only had a short time in which to do it before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

“I would like to bring in players of the right calibre but my biggest worry is that I haven’t got time to get those players in.”

 

Aston Villa 1-0 Blackpool FC match report Sunday 4th January 2015

Christian Benteke’s 88^th minute strike ended Aston Villa’s goal drought and fired the Clarets and Blues into the fourth round of the FA Cup.

After failing to find the net since December 20th, Villa’s home fans were finally rewarded with their patience when two minutes from time the Belgian chested down a Carlos Sanchez cross on the left hand side of the box and smashed home from 18 yards.

The goal ended their 434 minute goal drought and was a sigh of relief for the home fans who have had to endure so much frustration over the Christmas period.

Blackpool, who currently reside bottom of the Championship, were stern opposition for the Villans and set out with a defensive strategy which frustrated the home side for long periods. Chances for both teams were few and far between.

Former West Bromwich Albion Ishmael Miller had a good chance to steal the match in the second half for the Seasiders when he thundered a left-foot shot from the right hand side of the box but Shay Given stretched out his right hand to tip it over.

With the game heading for a replay and muted strains of 'Lambert Out' echoing around the half empty Villa Park stadium, Benteke pounced to make sure his team were in the hat for the fourth round draw.

After the game Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert said: “We deserved to win the game.  With so much of the ball it was testament to us. We’ve created chances in the game. Even if you look at the games of late we have had chances to score.”

Blackpool and former Birmingham manager Lee Clarke was full of praise for his team. “We played terrifically well and were a threat on the counter. I can only praise my team, they were excellent,” he said.

Aston Villa 0-0 Crystal Palace match report Thursday 1st January 2015

Alan Pardew saw his new Crystal Palace team earn a 0-0 draw against a Villa side struggling to find the net.

The former Newcastle United manager, shocked the football world by leaving the high flying Magpies to try and rescue struggling Palace from the relegation zone, was watching from the stands as his team earned a strong point in their fight to survive the drop.

The point still sees the Eagles’ reside in the bottom four but there were some shows of promise. It was the away team who had the better chances on the afternoon. Yannick Bolassie picked up a loose ball in the centre circle and used his blistering pace to leave the Villa defence eating his dust but his effort one on one with ‘keeper Brad Guzan rattled the crossbar.

Caretaker manager, Keith Millen said after the game: “Alan (Pardew) was watching  and after the game he came down and shook hands with all the lads.” The Palace caretaker boss revealed Pardew was due to sign on the dotted line as soon as Friday.

Villa had chances to win the match but couldn’t convert. Christian Benteke and Alan Hutton both forced saves out of Palace ‘keeper Julian Speroni. The result now means that Villa haven’t scored at all over the Christmas period dating back to their 1-1 draw against Manchester United, four matches ago. The final result was greeted with hostile boos from the Villa Park fans.

Manager Paul Lambert said: “Goals will come... we are creating the chances but just need someone on the end of them.” On the subject of the crowd’s reaction to the game he said: “I understand the fans frustrations. I’m sure if we would have scored no one would have batted an eyelid."