So – back to the Amex for a fourth straight Saturday, for a fifth round FA Cup clash with Championship Derby County. Team news is in, amid talk of illness and knocks in the camp. Glenn Murray is the one indispensable right now, given the lack of suitable back up, so he gets to rest a tight calf. Dunk too gets to rest an apparent niggle.
The starting XI still looks pretty strong, though there is very little strength on the bench, particular in attacking positions – Florin Andone’s stupid red card coming home to roost. Davy Pröpper is down to start, but sent home ill – replaced in the squad by young Jay Molumby. Previously regarded as the single best prospect in the Albion’s youth ranks, the Irish midfielder’s career has been halted for 15 months, by two serious knee injuries. Finally returning to U23 action on Friday night (playing 45 minutes in a terrific away win at Manchester City) his last minute promotion here will have been a fantastic bonus. All the best of luck to the boy.
Derby for their part, went much stronger than West Brom in the previous tie – a line-up very close to their full strength league side. The manager might have made his commitment to the cup clear, through the selection, but his players failed to share it. A remarkably flat start from the visitors saw the Albion’s midfield trio take complete control of proceedings – Stephens keeping it simple, while Kayal charged about to good effect, and Yves Bissouma provided both energy and drive. The back four of Bruno, Duffy, Burn and Bernardo had little to do defensively – the full backs playing as second wingers most of the time.
Jürgen Locadia got a chance in the middle of the front line, with Knockaert and Alireza Janahbaksh either side. Most of the threat in the early exchanges provided by Bissouma running through the Rams’ midfield, or Knockaert cutting in from the flanks. Both the aforementioned, drew modest saves from Kelle Roos from direct free kicks, to unconvincing oooohs in the crowd. Both decent efforts, but either would have needed a keeping howler to bear fruit.
The first of those set pieces was conceded by former Albion loanee, Fikayo Tomori – yellow carded for clattering through the back of Locadia with zero possibility of reaching the ball. Just one in a succession of mistakes from the young defender – in a torrid first half especially, he put me in mind of the emergent Lewis Dunk – all the attributes are there for sure, but his lapses are not so much ‘in him’ as ‘out there for all to see’.
Another Derby yellow for Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson - catching Kayal in the midriff with a full set of studs. Painful for the King, but little intent in my view – one shared by the VAR officials after a brief check for a possible straight red.
Half an hour in, and the Albion’s dominance is rewarded. Great goal, too – all about Bissouma’s eagerness to drive forward. The Malian youngster collected the ball in front of the benches, and rather than knocking it safely back into the middle, put his head down and charged off down the line. Reaching the final third, he played a one-two with Jahanbaksh, before delivering a perfect low centre, swept first time into the bottom corner by Knockaert. Lovely stuff, and well deserved.
Here’s another bonus thing about FA Cup matches: when you’re writing a report on one, you don’t have to trawl twitter for shaky phone footage of a goal – the official @emiratesfacup lads lay it on a plate for you. Handy.
No let up from the good guys. Jahanbaskh given acres of space down the left, and looking occasionally threatening, without producing too much. One bit of skill to cut inside sees him flattened by the lunging Tomori – extremely fortunate not to see a second card. Can’t work the Prince of Persia out at all. He’s a perfectly TIDY footballer (in every sense of the word) but we’re yet to see what is ‘special’. Tricks? Pace? Shooting? Come on lad – give your 50 billion-strong fan club a bit more, aye?
Bruno and Knockaert having fun down the right. Our fanbase are split on whether these two are quite ‘Premier League. But there’s no doubting that Le Petit Magicien and (as a national newspaper dubbed him) the ‘Catalan Peter Pan’ provide terrific entertainment.
As the clock ticks into four (four? really?) minutes of added time the Rams mustered their first attempt at goal – Waghorn (funny looking little fat bloke, but the way) half-hitting a volley, easily gathered by David Button.
With those added minutes just about up, the lead is doubled. Bissouma again at the centre of things – collecting the ball on 20 yards, nut-megging the lumbering Huddlestone, and curling a left foot shot past Roos and seemingly bound for the top corner. The ball comes back off the inside of the post, and Locadia strolls past the dozy Tomori to tap it home into a gaping net, to make the score-line a fairer reflection of proceedings.
Nice relaxed interval for the Amex crowd. Less so apparently in the away dressing room – words spoken about a perceived lack of fight – and a couple of changes – on come a new goal-threat in Jack Marriot, and 38-year-old, seven time FA Cup winner, Ashley Cole. The response in the stadium was a good-natured “whoooooooo?”. A different story for the media, for whom the story was now all about one man. “It’s incredible isn’t it?” “Great story” “He’s THIRTY EIGHT you know?” “THIRTY EIGHT!” Just look at him, getting about players half his… oh.
With the Rams only marginally less passive, and the Albion with no necessity to commit forward, the game drifted along for a bit – Shane Duffy’s 40 yard dribble a stand-out moment. A nice reverse pass from Locadia released Knockaert to drive at the Derby box – ignoring Alireza’s run, to curl the ball toward the bottom corner – denied by the outstretched glove of the plunging Roos.
Left back Bernardo next to go close – his acrobatic scissor volley from six yards kept out by the astonishing reflexes of Kelle Roos. Incredible stop – the Brazilian desperately unlucky not to register his first Albion goal.
Next, a sour note – Yves Bissouma commits an innocuous foul on half-way, then fails to retreat from the ball, picks up the softest of cautions for ‘delaying the restart’ – and with that earns himself a ban for the next round. Sake, Yves.
Derby inevitably mount a late flurry – and grab a goal back via the THIRTY EIGHT YEAR OLD HEAD of Ashley Cole. Rubbish goal from an Albion point of view – Bernardo lost his runner, then bundled into him for what would have been a penalty – Button came, then didn’t – Burn hooked the ball (not very far) away, straight onto ‘Mr FA Cup’s forehead. Rubbish.
A game that was all but done and dusted, sparked back into a final frantic act. Button excited the Rams’ fans, by dropping the simplest of crosses, then scooping it straight to a Derby player – but with that chance gone begging, the game was up.
A fitting home win to mark Chris Hughton’s ton-up of Amex matches, and a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for only the fourth time in the club’s 118 year history. That this fails to generate rabid excitement in a swathe of Albion fans, emphasises just what good times we are living through.
Fingers crossed for a kind QF final draw, and with a fair wind, we can all look forward to a big day out. Or even two…
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