Thursday, October 15, 2009

No case for the Albion defence

IT was not quite the 49th birthday present Russell Slade was hoping for.
His old club, bereft of three young regulars due to international commitments, were there for the taking.
Victory on a similar scale to the 5-0 mauling of Yeovil at Withdean last season was not out of the question before half-time, when Albion were 2-0 up and very much in charge.
But goals do not only change games, they also change the mentality of players, particularly players yearning to end a four-match winless streak.
Once Yeovil halved their deficit in first-half stoppage time, Slade’s Jekyll and Hyde side dropped deeper and deeper and eventually paid the price.
The hosts, for all their second-half domination of possession, had to rely yet again on a gift from Albion’s ever-benevolent back four.
Jake Wright was the offender this time, conceding a free-kick in a dangerous position and from it a penalty.
It continued an established pattern. You always sense there is an individual mistake lurking somewhere in the defence, leading either to a goal or a red card.
The visit of Gillingham tomorrow night suddenly assumes greater significance after returning from Somerset not so much with a point gained as two dropped.
It is not an exaggeration to say the result could define the season, at least in terms of either encouraging the hope of an eventual challenge at the right end of the table or exacerbating the expectation of a mid to lower half finish.
If Albion win their game in hand they could rise five places and have some forward momentum to face a Tranmere team who may no longer be managerless come Saturday.
Perish the thought but a fifth defeat out of six at Withdean could signal a long, hard winter, especially with such a tough-looking November programme.
Tranmere and Wycombe, the two clubs who were immediately below Albion, dispensed with the services of John Barnes and Peter Taylor respectively on Friday.
It would be both alarmist and absurd to think that Slade’s job is already on the line, when you consider his brief is to take the club into the Championship by the end of next season.
The goalposts should only shift if there is a genuine belief that Albion could be relegated.
I certainly do not believe that. There is more than enough quality in the squad to stop treading water at some stage and start swimming vigorously towards more serene seas.
The gulf in class between Albion and Yeovil looked ocean-wide at times in the first half after the boost of a sixth-minute advantage.
Elliott Bennett’s cross looped, via a slight deflection off former Seagull George O’Callaghan, towards the near post. Nicky Forster challenged and the ball broke back for Andrew Crofts to volley in from 15 yards.
There was controversy attached to the build-up to Albion’s second goal four minutes before the break. Tommy Elphick chopped down Sam Williams inside his own half but, instead of being booked, referee Oliver Langford bemused everyone by cautioning the Yeovil striker instead.
Albion went straight up the other end from the resulting free-kick and, although Forster was prevented by two defenders from getting in a shot from Crofts’s header into the box, Liam Dickinson rifled in a right-foot drive to end his six-game famine.
The turning point came in time added on at the end of the first half.
Albion were sucked towards the ball by a strong run from Andy Welsh and Williams fed Scott Murray with space to fire past Michel Kuipers.
Yeovil huffed and puffed throughout the second half in search of an equaliser which did not look like materialising until Wright’s double abberation nine minutes from time.
He tugged Murray to concede a free-kick, which Welsh delivered towards Terrell Forbes at the far post. The centre-half did not connect but was impeded by Wright in their aerial duel and Murray scored from the spot to emulate his two goals against Albion for Cheltenham last season. Slade, given a standing ovation by the Yeovil faithful before the game, said: “We were well on top and there looked a little bit of a gulf between the teams.
“However, we didn’t live up to that in the second period. Yeovil battled back and deservedly got the equaliser. They got the ball in the box far too frequently and caused us a problem in the end, which resulted in the penalty.
“There was contact and the referee was well placed, so I have no complaints. In the second period there were lots of little things that were not right and that we need to put right, individually and collectively, because those little things add up to a big problem.
“We were getting very deep. The distances between our back four and the front boys was enormous and we were giving the ball away too easily.
“I wanted the three points massively and we got off to the perfect start but it wasn’t to be. We desperately need a win now – I think that would lift everybody.”
Do not be surprised if excluded skipper Adam Virgo and Jim McNulty both start against Gillingham tomorrow night in the quest for a rare clean sheet. Albion have now scored twice in four of the last eight league games but won only one of them, which is scandalously profligate.
Albion (4-4-2): Kuipers; Hoyte, Elphick, Tunnicliffe, Wright; Bennett, Dicker, Crofts, Davies (Cox 73); Forster, Dickinson (Murray 59). Subs not used: McNulty, Hart, Thornhill, G. Smith, Virgo.
Goals: Crofts (6), Dickinson (41).
Yellow cards: Forster (55) unsporting behaviour, Wright (80) foul, Murray (90) foul.
Yeovil (4-2-3-1): McCarthy; Lindegaard, Alcock, Forbes, Jones; O'Callaghan, Kalala; S. Murray, Tomlin (Obika 59), Welsh; Williams. Subs: Murtagh, Martin, Hutchins, N. Smith, McCollin, Clowes.
Goals: S. Murray (45) and (81) penalty.
Yellow cards: Williams (41) unsporting behaviour, Kalala (67) foul, Obika (90) foul.
Source theargus.co.uk

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