West Brom 0, Crystal Palace 1: Chris Lepkowski's big match verdict
Sep 28 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail
He was the visitors’ most potent outlet and had the measure of Albion’s right-hand side.
Behind him was a defence which simply reacted to everything Albion threw at them. A few early darting runs from Jara, Joe Mattock and Zuiverloon threatened to initiate a cull but the Palace door remained bolted. It was clear from the outset that this was not going to go the way of a Middlesbrough performance.
And therein was Albion’s biggest problem – the creativity was absent.
Chris Brunt and Jerome Thomas – how costly did that red card at Arsenal seem by Saturday night? – were both elsewhere, while Filipe Teixeira was, somewhat surprisingly, given a watching brief alongside Albion’s subs.
He was perhaps the one player available to Di Matteo who had a bit of maverick within him to change a game, yet we never got to find out whether he would have made a difference.
It didn’t help that Graham Dorrans and Youssouf Mulumbu – who were outstanding beyond the realms of hyperbole at Boro – had shaky games. Mulumbu, try as he might, simply couldn’t get any kind of rhythm. And Dorrans fared no better.
Both offered effort but simply didn’t function. We mustn’t be too harsh – the duo have produced more good performances than bad this term.
It was unfortunate both chose the same game to endure a drop in their own standards.
Robert Koren gave Albion some energy but the Slovenian is finding it as hard to convince Di Matteo of his midfield prowess as he did former boss Tony Mowbray. Koren is still generally the first to find himself moved across into a wide position.
On Saturday he could have perhaps offered a little more from the centre of midfield, but, for too long, found himself playing a more supporting role on the wings. His game always suffers as a result.
Up front Luke Moore and Roman Bednar were too often denied the kind of service that could have made a difference. Moore did get one opportunity when Zuiverloon sent in a low cross. The striker brought it under control but slammed his close-range shot at Julian Speroni.
Substitutes Simon Cox and Reuben Reid were brought on. Reid was largely ineffective. The ex-Rotherham man has yet to settle at The Hawthorns and this game again passed him by. Cox, though, is starting to show signs of progress. He brought others into the game, which encouraged more movement and optimism from his team-mates, even if it didn’t lead to anything.
Perhaps the bigger test for Albion is how they react to this defeat. Tomorrow’s game at Barnsley takes on extra significance – not least as the Tykes were demolished 5-2 at QPR.
Still, it wasn’t all bad news for Albion fans. A female supporter, called Claire, was propositioned by her boyfriend Stuart on the pitch at half-time.
She said ‘yes’.
Not even Neil Warnock could find a way of ruining her afternoon.
