Yeovil 2 West Brom 4 - match analysis
All's well that ends well. And Albion's fans ended their night out in Somerset singing in the rain.
All's well that ends well. And Albion's fans ended their night out in Somerset singing in the rain.
But the Baggies' sopping wet supporters feared their hopes of a cup run would be washed away before two late goals from a second-string line-up eventually saw off the challenge of Yeovil at Huish Park.
An Albion side featuring 10 changes from the weekend draw at Tottenham were pushed all the way by an in-form Glovers outfit inspired by two-goal Hawthorns old-boy Reuben Reid.
But a Shane Long brace, a Chris Brunt rocket and a Craig Dawson strike eventually took Steve Clarke's men into round three of the Capital One Cup.
A constant downpour left the majority of Baggies supporters soaked through as they watched from an uncovered terrace while their team toiled against the League One leaders.
And for long spells of a breathless match it appeared they would be made to endure another 30 minutes of misery, even after a stunning 35-yard effort from Brunt had set in motion a belated Baggies fightback from Reid's 15th-minute opener.
Ultimately an instinctive touch from Dawson and a crisp volley from Long for his second goal after Reid's headed equaliser saw Albion home.
It was the Glovers who looked more dangerous early on and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 15 minutes courtesy of a Reid header.
Albion were denied by the woodwork when Brunt's right-footed shot took a deflection and looped onto Marek Stech's left-hand post.
James Hayter headed just over for Yeovil but the Baggies' extra quality reared its head as they turned the game around with two goals in the final five minutes of the first half.
The first was Brunt's thunderbolt, the Baggies skipper letting fly from 35 yards with a left-footed effort that flew into the top corner.
And the second, on the stroke of half-time, was predator's strike as Long pounced on a fumble by Stech from a Brunt corner to make it 2-1.
But it was all square again just three minutes after half-time when Reid nodded home.
Dawson made it 3-2 to Albion with 17 minutes when he deflected a shot by Yassine El Ghanassy past Stech. And Long completed the scoring on 81 minutes to end any doubt amid the continued deluge.
Yeovil (4-4-2): Stech; Ayling, Hinds, Webster, McAllister; Marsh-Brown, Blizzard (Ince, 75), Upson, Foley; Hayter (Ugwa, 75), Reid (Young, 75). Subs not used: Nkumu, Ralph, Stewart (gk).
Albion (4-2-3-1): Myhill 6/10; Jara Reyes 6, Dawson 6, Tamas 6, Jones 5; Thorne 6, Brunt 8; Rosenberg 7 (Fortune, 76), Gera 6 (Mulumbu, 73), El Ghanassy 7; Long 7 (Berahino, 83). Subs not used: Yacob, McAuley, Hurst, Foster (gk).
Referee: Darren Sheldrake (Surrey)
Attendance: 6,228 (1,242 away)
By Steve Madeley
