West Brom 2, Tottenham 0: Chris Lepowski's big match verdict
“WE’VE done it before, we’ll do it again,” sang the Albion fans.
And, frankly, who could blame them?
From the clutches of despair comes fresh hope. It’s not great – but, my goodness, it’s better than it was.
There is a belief, a confidence and a growing sense that the Baggies can claw their way back above the dotted line between 18th and 17th place.
Roman Bednar, who was so ill he probably shouldn’t have played, scored the opener against Tottenham Hotspur, before Craig Beattie grabbed his first Albion goal of the season deep into injury time.
Spurs’ cause wasn’t helped by the dismissal of Benoit Assou-Ekotto following his lunge at Gianni Zuiverloon.
Baggies boss Tony Mowbray, who had already made five changes to the side beaten by Chelsea, was forced into another pre-match alteration when Robert Koren was withdrawn due to illness, handing Chris Brunt a first-team chance.
Marek Cech showed the first spot of ingenuity when he poked the ball past Didier Zokora’s left shoulder and darted round his right-hand side. The Slovakian, making his first start since the opening day of the season, played in James Morrison, who only succeeded in driving the ball wide of Heurelho Gomes’ right-hand post.
Albion were given another sight of goal after 14 minutes when Luke Moore was brought down on the edge of the area by Michael Dawson. The Spurs man was booked for his challenge. Borja Valero went close to scoring his first goal for Albion when he curled his low free-kick around the wall only to be denied by Gomes’ save.
Spurs dithered in the cold early on, with Jonathan Woodgate and Dawson looking hesitant and ill at ease whenever the ball came near them.
At the other end Luka Modric released Darren Bent after 22 minutes. The England striker sprinted past Leon Barnett but his angled shot failed to trouble Scott Carson.
Moore looked lively again while Cech’s first thought, when on the ball, was to start an attack. He coped well against Aaron Lennon, showing a confidence in his own defensive qualities but driving the team on. He read the game well.
Tottenham were fortunate to escape a booking when Bent tumbled about two seconds before Jonas Olsson’s challenge.
Spurs got a throw instead and within moments were down to 10 men.
Assou-Ekotto, who looks like a squirrel poking his head out of a giant haystack, was shown a straight red card for his 35th-minute over-the-top challenge on Zuiverloon, as opposed to any crimes against hairstyles. The foul was directly in front of referee Steve Tanner.
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