West Brom: Baggies freeze at Ipswich

Dec 2 2010 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

ALBION fans battled through the snow and the cold – only to find it was their team who were bitten by the big freeze.

The Baggies were just 90 minutes away from their first League Cup semi-final since 1982.

But instead they chose to reproduce one of their most lacklustre, dire and ineffective displays of the season.

It was a Grant Leadbitter penalty for Ipswich which proved the decisive moment in the game.

But anything other than a victory would have been harsh on the home side, who were dominant from first whistle to last.

There was no invention, no energy from the visiting side.

Coach Roberto Di Matteo made one substitution during the game – Ishmael Miller coming on for Marc-Antoine Fortuné – where perhaps more tinkering might have done the trick.

But such was the lack of drive from his side that it’s doubtful it would have made any difference on the night.

It was hard to distinguish between the side which had won 4-1 and lost by the same scoreline on the previous weekend.

Di Matteo made nine changes to the side who beat Everton. And it showed.