May blossoms at The Hawthorns
West Bromwich Albion 4 Burnley 1
Report by Pauline Pratley
First
of all, what a stupid kick-off time 5.35 is. Stuck
right between afternoon and evening, it's a nothing
time. It might be OK for the armchair viewers,
but for those people who actually go to games it
is a complete pain, especially when considered
alongside our pathetic public transport "system".
Several of our regular travellers had to miss the
game, as they wouldn't have been able to get home.
Not that football's powers-that-be could care less
about the ordinary supporter.
On the upside, we had plenty of time to get there. The train from Marylebone to Birmingham seemed to take an age, but at least we all had seats. The fare was a very reasonable £13 return, too.
On arrival at Snow Hill, we made for the Metro and headed off to the pub for lunch. The afternoon dragged somewhat - at 3 o'clock, we were all fed, watered and ready for kick-off! We managed to fill in the extra two and a half hours somehow, and made it to The Hawthorns in good time. (En route to the ground via the tram, something bizarre happened. Some friendly police officers engaged us in conversation! Well, there's a first time for everything, and it makes a change from the usual down-the-nose glares.)
After being sent the long way round to the away end by a "helpful" steward - we were later to find that several other Burnley supporters had been similarly advised, ho ho - the next problem was to get through the turnstiles. No, I haven't put on that much weight - someone at West Brom (someone with far too much spare time on his / her hands, I'd wager) has decided that tickets will be checked electronically! The procedure goes something like this:
- Approach the gate as normal.
- Wonder why the turnstile operator is hovering furtively next to you rather than sitting behind the window.
- Wonder why the turnstile operator is mumbling at you and pointing at a little box thing halfway up the wall.
- Eventually realise that you're supposed to put your match ticket into said box thing.
- Do so several times, to no avail.
- Watch the turnstile operator do so several times, to no avail.
- Wait whilst the turnstile operator swears under his / her breath, clicks a little switch and eventually lets you through.
The whole process takes around half a minute -
a long time when there's a queue - as opposed to
the
five seconds it used to take without
the "time-saving
automation". What a joke! Still, it gave us
all a good laugh.
Once in the ground, we found that our allocated seats were (as usual) right up in the top corner. Happily, the stewards were at pains to advise people to sit anywhere. The away attendance was disappointingly low, presumably due to the kick-off time, so we were easily able to find good seats.
As I'd missed the home game against Palace, this was my first opportunity to get a good look at the new signings, including our brand new centre half. Amazingly, as the teams ran out, some so-called Clarets behind us booed David May. What morons. He's a Claret now, and that should be all that matters.
On a kind of related note, we'd joked beforehand that there was bound to be a minute's silence, and we weren't disappointed. This time it was at least connected to football (in honour of Albion's former goalkeeper Jim Sanders and former manager Ray Harford), and, pleasingly, it was properly observed.
The game kicked off and Burnley started well, getting forward and showing some nice passing. Indeed, we had the best of the early chances, both Blake and Grant getting into good positions but failing to convert half-chances into goals. Camara looked pretty good, and Chadwick and Roche were moving well down the right. Our new goalkeeper (who'd received warm applause from his ex-supporters) looked better than I'd imagined from hearing others' comments - big, confident, and possessing an excellent long, accurate kick. May looked comfortable alongside Branch, especially given that it was his first game.
Just before the half-hour mark, Burnley's pressure was rewarded with a goal. We got a free kick on the left, at least thirty yards from the Albion goal. Robbie Blake had a crack at it, and, after what seemed like an age, it was in the net! I'm still not sure how it got there, as it was a long way out and seemed to be at a good height for Baggies keeper Russell Hoult. As it was at the opposite end of the ground from us it was hard to see what happened, but presumably it swerved at the last minute or something. Either that, or Hoult wasn't paying attention.
Our lead didn't last long, but for once it wasn't because of poor defending. Earlier on, Albion's Macedonian midfielder Artim Sakiri had tripped over the ball on the touchline to our right and given away a soft throw-in. We'd had a good laugh at his lack of skill. In the 31st minute, and seemingly out of nowhere, the object of our earlier derision fired a stunning long-distance shot past The Beast and into the Burnley net. Hmm. Some people around me were shouting at our defence and keeper, but personally I think it was just a super goal, and there was nothing that Jensen could have done about it.
The
half-expected capitulation didn't happen, and we
continued to press forward for the rest of the
half. There was an ooh-aah moment as the ball pinged
around the West Brom box, but somehow it stayed
out of the net. If only... The warning signs were
perhaps there, though - West Brom had steadily
gained possession, and as the half time whistle
went, a fellow Claret and I agreed that we would
be very happy to leave with a draw.
During the break, presumably Gary Megson brandished a few red-hot pokers in the dressing room, because it was a different West Brom that came out for the second half. OK, personnel-wise they were the same, but they seemed to have a renewed energy and sense of purpose about them.
The crucial goal came after 59 minutes. The Baggies had a corner; ex-Tranmere man Jason Koumas put in an excellent curling ball, and ex-Crewe forward Rob Hulse rose unmarked to head the ball home from a few yards. Although it was up the other end, we had an excellent view of it thanks to the replays on the big screen that West Brom have acquired since their last stint in Division One. Not a Claret - oops, grey - shirt to be seen.
To give Burnley credit, we continued to push forward, and ultimately that was to be our final undoing. It was nearly full time when Lee Hughes (who'd replaced Scott Dobie a little after half time) turned Branchy just outside the area, scooped up the ball and then lashed it past Jensen to make it 3-1. A minute later, it was almost a replay as Hughes again got the better of Branch to score his second - less spectacular this time, but greeted with the same hysteria from the Albion fans behind the goal.
At that point, the away end started to empty rapidly. I was once again nonplussed by the apparent stupidity of some Burnley supporters - some were booing the keeper, yet I don't see that he stood any chance on any of the goals. 4-1 flattered West Brom, sure, but those last two goals were because we were pushing forward. Other than that, we were simply beaten by a team who were too good for us. They have just come down from the Premiership, have a lot more money than we do, and hence can select better players from a stronger squad.
Burnley might have lost, but I couldn't fault our players for effort today. They tried their best - yes, Stan, even your current whipping boy, Alan Moore, gave it a good go. Clearly we need to strengthen our squad, but let's not get carried away with gloomy talk. The new boys (particularly May, for the first hour at least until lack of fitness told) looked good, and once Ian Moore and Gareth Taylor return we'll hopefully bounce back. I can take losing 4-1 to West Brom. All I want is three teams below us come the end of the season.
Team: Jensen, Roche (West, 78), Branch, May, Camara, Chadwick, Grant, Weller, Alan Moore (Chaplow, 62), Blake, Little.
Subs not used: Gnohere, O'Neill, Scott.
Scorers: (West Brom) Sakiri 31, Hulse 59, Hughes 88, 89 / (Burnley) Blake 28.
Referee: M Clattenburg (Northumberland). 6/10 - started off OK, but seemed to favour the home side more as the game went on and the home support grew louder. Could - and probably should - have given us a penalty in the second half when Little was tripped in the area, but that would have meant upsetting too many people.
Attendance: 22,489. (Only a few hundred in the away end - disappointing, though understandable given the ridiculous kick-off time.)
Pauline's man of the match: Glen Little.
As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the match reports section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club.
