Albion blogger Jarrod Hill is hoping for another strong showing against Ipswich after finally seeing off Newcastle at the third time of asking.

Saturday’s latest instalment in the Baggies versus the Geordies trilogy turned out to be the most entertaining and incident strewn one of the lot.

Since the game referee James Linnington has come in for some stick from the disgruntled Newcastle staff, but the truth is the first two major decisions were made by the referee’s assistant and I thought the man in the middle had a wonderful game, titter.

Video replays are inconclusive regarding whether Jonas Olsson’s header had crossed the line, but the linesman certainly didn’t hesitate in giving his decision.

Newcastle’s only gripe that stands up is the fact they should have had one penalty, but if the referee had watched Monday’s game at St James Park he may well have observed a team of players who go down quicker than a cold pint on a hot summers day, and that may have had an effect on his decision making.

Either way, the truth is we were the better team and deserved to go through to the next round, although I have mixed feelings about us drawing Reading in the next round. I appreciate it represents an opportunity to progress into the quarter finals of the FA Cup, but I have always preferred us to draw a team who are not within our league.

Tonight sees us return to league action against Ipswich and for the next two months the games will come thick and fast. If the lads can perform to the same standard as they did on Saturday week in, week out we wouldn’t lose another game all season.

The 4-5-1 formation looks set to stay with us for the foreseeable future and it could be the only positive by product of the home defeat against Nottingham Forest. Billy Davies team displayed to our head coach Roberto Di Matteo the benefits of playing five in midfield and it is no coincidence that we have suddenly taken a similar approach to games.

Not that I am complaining, the formation has seen the re-introduction of Robert Koren who was superb on Saturday while Graham Dorrans is just getting better and better. The young Scot looked by far the best player on the pitch on Saturday and that is no small compliment when there were Argentinean internationals on display.

The truth is Dorrans has not only been our best player this season but he has also been our most consistent and, to boot, our top goal scorer with 10 goals already.

He has easily become our most influential player and I can already see our away game fancy dress theme when we visit Crystal Palace being Kilts to honour his displays this season, plus I cant wait to see the likes of Hilltop Baggie, Sir Terry and Wbaforever in skirts, for some reason a Monty Python sketch comes to mind!

Tonight’s game will be no walk over, Ipswich may be at the wrong end of the table but you get the impression that it is only a matter of time before manager Roy Keane turns them round. But if the lads play as well as they did on Saturday, there is only one winner.

My only concern is the energy levels of some of the lads who have not had consistent runs in the team. Roman Bednar, Marek Cech and Gabriel Tamas may well struggle to play Tuesday, Saturday, every week, but they may not be on their own.

We have a number of players whose game is based on high energy levels and we may need to rotate the squad or use our substitute’s bench earlier in games.

I expect Di Matteo to stick with the team that started on Saturday as every single player did well, Gonzalo Jara’s passing was poor but apart from that everyone looked good. Chris Brunt played better than he has been lately and, with Roman Bednar playing the lone role supported by attack minded players like ‘Dozza,’ Koren and Jerome Thomas we look like we have lots and lots of goals in us.

Mention must also go to how well Cech and Koren have played since coming in from the cold. It does highlight the strength we have in depth and, as the games continue to come thick and fast, it could be that strength of squad that proves to be vital in the push for promotion.