Albion 4 Rotherham 3 – Verdict
Wednesday 26th August 2009, 10:00PM BST.
Simon Cox’s first competitive goal for Albion four minutes from the end of extra-time steered the Baggies through in the Carling Cup.
The summer signing chose a perfect time to strike, after the League Two minnows had gone ahead in added time through Tom Pope 98th minute goal only for Craig Beattie to equalise three minutes later.
Beattie’s first had opened the scoring in the 10th minute, but Michael Cummings’ header in the 28th minute brought the Millers back for the first time.
Graham Dorrans restored the lead six miutes after the break, only for Rotherham to equalise again through Pope’s first a minute later.
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Nice to go through even though we got lucky. A win’s a win eh lads ?
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barnett and meite should be shown the door.
glad coxy got his goal!!
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“League Two Minnows” isn’t especially respectful to Rotherham. It’s quite normal for clubs to raise their game when placed against higher opposition. Swindon were difficult for Wolves on Tuesday, and look what Blackpool have done to Wigan.
I expect WBA to comfortably stay in the Championship, and not drop down like Southampton, Leicester, Norwich, and Leeds.
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Oh well, positives, at least Cox is of the mark, and we didn’t need penalties like a team not a million miles away. Anyone else notice our aggregate score last season against Arsenal was 4-1 to the Gunners (1-0, 1-3) Big fish small pond Tony, big fish, small pond!!!!
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After that defensive and to some extent, midfield showing against a very good 4th Division side, Roberto must be very aware what our shortcomings were for the last 3 seasons. Defensively we were woeful. Midfield got overrun at times. Jonas Olsson must have permitted himself a gentle smile watching his ‘understudies’ trying to get his place off him. Beattie’s first was NOT a centre as some are reporting. We were in line and he banged at goal. Bednar, in an offside position, tried to connect but it was too fast for him and found the corner of the goal. Deano kept us in in the last 1/100 of a second with a fine save.
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Poor, poor game .. we won yes, but entertaining nope. If this is our back up squad then we need some help. Lots & lots of lump it fowards, high balls, stiff necks and fetch the helmets. I swear Beattie had 2 Nurofen during extra time cuz he’d headed the ball so many times.
Kiely – Stuck to his line like glue, how can he coach Carson how to dominate when he can’t himself.
Cummings – Ok, nothing special, does what he needs to do but no better than we have imo.
Bartnett/Meite – Absolute tripe, the pair – they should both be sold, BOGOF anyone ?!?!
Cech – See above (over 6 million for these 3, shocking signings).
Dorrans – Tried to play football, but with no one interested around him, found it hard going. Good finish for goal.
Valero – Taxi, go home son .. you just can’t hack it in this country. Out jumped, out muscled.
Reid – Awful first choice and no pace, often let the ball bounce first last night and then missed it. Why are buying lower league players of this quality – you would think he would try and impress in front of his old team, er not !
Beattie – So frustrating, the odd good touch, the odd good ball and a good goal. In between that, the touch and vision of a park footballer.
Cox – How did he score 31 goals ? the guy runs into crowed spaces & away from open space. He looks out of his depth at the moment and no short term improvement likely. Scored, perhaps that will improve his confidence.
Bednar – Lacking first team action, first touch poor and generally looked a yard off the pace all match. Will no doubt improve with match time.
Subs – Mattock, done better than Cech – doesn’t say much. Wood, held the ball up well and carried the game to them a little more, did well for Cox’s goal however, his he a goal machine ?? Mulumbu, actually used the ball and got stuck in a little more than before him, trid to get the ball wide as quickly/often as possible and these were our best periods of play.
Overall, poor performance but like I said, a win. It was the cup afterall so hardly a fair reflection. However, worrying that some of the fringe players either playing for a move or first team games played like park footballers.
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a couple of cracking goals from dorrans and beattie,a good run out for our king bedner,and nice to see coxy get on the score sheet.hopefully he will settle down now and relax and show us the player we know he is..shame young woods got injured at the end,i think this will push bedner onto the bench for saturday at sheffield utd..roberto done the right thing and rested our best players because the sheff utd game is a big one..villa,dingles,or blues at home next round please……………GOING UP THE DI MATTEO WAY,,IN STYLE OF COURSE,,OOOOOOOOOOOH YES..
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When the sponsors choose the man of the match, i almost always wonder if they have watched the same game as everyone else, indeed some of the choices have been bizarre in the extreme, which leads one to conclude that in reality, they actualy pick the MOTM from a hat.
However, last nights MOTM in young Dorrans was one of their better collective efforts, or they were lucky with the hat lottery !!
I have to say though i still disagreed, albeit marginaly. I will doubtless upset a few of our rank and file now when i say…….Craig Beattie.
I thought it was his best Albion performance by some distance, aside from a couple of lapses in concentration, his touch and passing were sublime. His effort was unquestionable, and he never shirked his defensive duties.
If Chris Brunt is unfit for Saturday, i for one will not be dissapointed to see Craig fill that role again.
Roman Bednar`s leave/dummy was pure genius for the first goal, but it does bring up the ludicrous interfering/not interfering offside argument.
Obviously i was pleased we scored, but this rule HAS to be changed back.
Roman was a least 5 yards offside, had he touched the ball the goal would have been wiped off, but how can he not be interfering when he effectively sold the keeper a dummy ?
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GOOD NEWS ,, BRUNTY HAS JUST SIGNED A NEW 3YR CONTRACT WITH ANOTHER YR IN THE CLUBS FAVOUR….GOOD NEWS THIS…boingboing
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well that wuz close,i rather enjoyed it in the end,aye boing boing in the hat
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chris brunt signed new 3 year contract,aye boing boing great news
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6 stiff neck,219432,thats the number for samaritons aye boing boing dont jump
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3,i dont expect wolves to comfortably stay in the premiership,you will drop down aye boing boing down before christmas cards
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Any lingering doubts RDM may have had about getting rid of Meite, Barnett and Valero must surely now have vanished. Never been a Beatie fan but just can’t argue that he was one of the better players. Great second goal and put a lot of effort in, along with usual very poor touch. Might just of earned himself a stay. Cox looked ok on the ball but positionally poor. Dorrans good again, excellent goal, Mulumdo different class. plays like makele but with more ability. Once he cuts out a couple of errors he’ll be excellent. Good goals, good rest for the main players, and confirmation that others are as bad as we thought, against div 4 team. How did we expect to survive in the prem with them.Oh, and well done Mowbray.
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6.
Apart from possibly Dorrans and Bednar if he was match fit, none of these players would be in our first eleven. Most have played very little competitive football recently and they have been thrown together into a makeshift team, which is never easy, central defenders, midfielders, strikers all need time to build up fitness and an understanding. What do you think pre season games are for? A lot of PL teams wouldn’t be able to field a total second string and win the game. By all means criticise but at least try to make it fair.
I notice our left back failed to make a challenge for their first goal. Where are all the posters that would have been on here if this was a certain Mr Robinson?
So glad to see Cox get his first goal. It’s a monkey off his back but more important it was a KP/poachers goal. He isn’t Kevin Phillips yet but it was a loose ball that he picked up and put away in probably the only spot available without thinking about it.
3 Isle of Butt Wolf.
Thanks for your concern. As we’re joint top I don’t think we need worry about falling straight down through the leagues. I do however bow to your greater experience in this field. You were one relegation away from being the old joke. A man fainted in a shopping centre. ‘Where am I?’ he asked when he came round. ‘You’re in the Nationwide.’ ‘What happened to division 2,3 and4?’
Back to the Scottish Boat Race for TM , hope he doesn’t sink without trace. Who’s the next game against Tone Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Queen of the South?
8 Forever.
Agree about the offside. Remember the days when we laughed at women for not understanding the offside law. Now none of us do, including referees and linesmen.
I’d like to say well done Villa on beating Liverpool. Despite our local differences, I’m right behind any Midlands team that sticks it to the Scouses, Mancs and Cockneys, whether it’s Villa, Wolves or Blues.
Up the Baggies and up the Midlands.
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referee attwell who gave the goal that never was at watford and has never refed since,is the ref for the wolves match on saturday,well hes got to start somwhere aint he,aye boing boing goalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
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Cyril Randle! your wrong mate, Rotherham are not a very good side, in fact they are a poor side, however, they did raise their game somewhat and caught you Braggies on an off night, which made them look a lot better than they are.
I feel sure, as Albion progress further in the competition, win or lose, they will play better than that.
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Cyril
I to was right behind the first goal and in my opinion it was a cross to Bednar. Have to agree with wbaforever, it should have been ruled out for off side. Beatties general play was poor, but he does have the knack of scoring great goals. I thought the main problem last night was that we played two strikers as wingers and their positional sense especially when defending was all over the place.
Dorrans was far and away the best player on the pitch and the team played better once Mulumbu was introduced. Barnett and Meite are like vampires, they do not like crosses!!!
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8. I agree with the offside My mate is a football league/championship referee and I often go to games with him . Its good to watch a game when you could not care less who wins as you do see the refereeing in a different light(and to be honest they do tend to get most things right(obviously I never tell him that lol)).
It must be so difficult with this nonsence “not interfering with play” stuff. Brian Clough had it right if your not interfering with play you should not be on the pitch!!!.
Ok so we gained from that decision last night in what is in reality a meaningless cup!! but I am sure we would all be going crazy if it had gone against us in a league game that counts.
offside is offside in my opinion
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I wonder about people who always post negative stuff – especially after a win.
Yes we played a team from a lower league – but people who are moaning obviously don’t remember all the times we have lost these type of games – was it Woking who knocked us out one year ??
Also people who moan about players – apparently Beattie was useless apart from some good touches and 2 (not 1) good goals… blimey, you would have hated Jimmy Greaves.
These blogs are getting stupid lately and generally aint worth reading.
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p.s – to Stiff Neck – if you can’t find a 4-3 AET entertaining, maybe you should stay in and watch a dvd or something.
Ok – it wasn’t Champions league quality – but it was 2 teams giving it a go, making mistakes and scoring some great goals.
Some people have become sanitised by Man Utd style dominant type footy and have forgotten what the game is about.
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I`d say Simon Cox was more like a poor mans
Rob Earnshaw.
Just look at the players we have to bring in
Carson,Zuiverloon,Martis,Olsson,Mattock,
Thomas,Koren,Mulumbu,Brunt,Wood,Moore,Jara,
Morrison,Miller,Clement.
“BRING ON THE DOG HEADS IN THE NEXT ROUND”!
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20, 21 Happy.
Very astute. Especially the last paragraph of 21. Couldn’t have put it better.
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Happy……Hello mate.
The problem is Beattie never has and never will be a fans favourite, and in all honesty i fall into that catagory too.
However,unlike many i do try to judge on merit on any given day, and try no to be prejudice on personel opinion, and in my opinion Beattie played very well.
I did quantify that he had a couple of lapses in concentration, but other than that his touch and passing were exceptional.
I think a lot of fans, because of their dislike of Beattie ignore the good stuff but recall with unerring efficiency the couple of lapses in concentration.
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Happy, WBAforever, I’ve had a re read, can’t actually see anyone knocking Beatie from last night. Theres a couple giving accurate views , and several praising him for his great goal and efforts. Might be worth another look boys.
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wbaforever – I too have despaired of beattie… but some people can’t even acknowledge when he scores !!!!
He aint a fans favorite – but surely a goal or two, especially if he gets one in the league should get him a few brownie points ???
He aint silky, he aint smooth and he aint a “fox in the box” – but he never gives up, knows where the goals are and given a run and some confidence will do a good job for us – at least in the CCC.
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I cant see why people dont like Beattie. OK he is not the most gifted footballer in the world.
But what he offers in other areas in my opinion is of great value. He never gives up, he will fight to the end he actualy cares when a pass goes astray. he cares about the results and just how much is in his pay packet this month.
I agree he can be frustrating at times to watch but you know what your getting with Beattie he has never pretended to being a world class footballer at CCC level he is a good asset to have.
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baggietastic
I have taken your advice and scrutinized the posts, and you in the main are right, any comments are certainly not openly hostile toward Beattie.
A couple i have picked up on, one from stiff neck, praise followed by the touch and vision of a parks player.
That is stiff neck`s opinion and i respect it,
but that isn`t the way i saw Beatties performance.
I dont wish to turn this debate into a saga, and the most damning critisizms came not on this blog but last night during the game.
Beattie in quick succession gave away the ball cheaply and let the ball run over his foot and out of play. The audible hoots of derision were unpleasant, and he didn`t derserve that because it beared no resemblance to what he had done before and after.
I just cant help thinking that had it been one of the more popular players, mistakes would be more readily forgiven.
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That should of course say….”bore no resemblance”
Please forgive my appaling grammar and diabolical misuse of our mother tongue.
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Heaven forbid if thats the reserves we have to come in and cover.What a terrible display of defending,back to last season.We need some quality in reserve,and we have not got it.
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Defence in reserve? none apparently.We are going to struggle in the CCC if we get injuries.We need quality reserves.The ones we have got, didn’t cut it last night.C/halves.
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My comments about Beattie were mainly in response to the recent critisism of him even being picked for the game – before a ball had been kicked, and also its a theme that seems to stick to him no matter what he does, although stiff neck seems unhappy with him even when he scores 2.
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17 Oldburyite. I said, ‘Rotherham are a very good 4th Division team’ mate. That’s a qualified compliment. I was there on Wednesday evening and you may take it from me, Rotherham played well, very well. They obviously have a good coach in Robins and although they began last season with a 19 point deficit, they finished just 6 points short of the play-offs!
All cup games have an element of game raising, but most inferior teams do it with kick, rush and pressure. Rotherham didn’t. They played football with a bit of amateur dramatics thrown in on the feigned injury front. To the other posters who were at the match…is that a fair assessment?
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Cyril
Perfect description, if fact i would go so far as to say that after the first equaliser, and up to half time, most of the football actualy come from Rotherham.
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34. Sir, you are a scholar and a gentleman!
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