[h=3]Kuszczak ready for test of character[/h]12:00pm Saturday 17th August 2013 in Albion By Brian Owen
Tomasz Kuszczak looks unimpressed at Birmingham last season
Tomasz Kuszczak has experienced the highs and lows at St Andrews.
But it will be his worst moment in Albion colours for which he will try to atone today.
The big Polish goalkeeper won Manchester United’s save of the season prize in 2007-08 for a superb stop from Gary McSheffrey. So much for the highs.
It was in that same goalmouth last season, right in front of the home end, that he let a Nikola Zigic header slip through his fingers in January to gift Birmingham a 2-2 draw.
The reflex save from a McSheffrey drive which deflected off Rio Ferdinand is there for all to see and enjoy on Youtube.
And so is footage from fans in that stand last season as they mocked Kuszczak for his error with a particularly tuneless chorus of: “It’s all your fault!”
So this will be a test of character for the keeper. It is one he fully expects to pass – in the same way as he passed last season.
“To be honest I see things maybe a little bit differently to some of you guys,” he said when asked if today’s clash was a chance to erase a bad memory.
“Of course I made a mistake last season at Birmingham.
“But, from the beginning, it was a good game for me. I made good saves, I played well with my feet. Mistakes in football happen, especially for a goalkeeper.
“It was a good lesson for me again. I have had a few lessons like that in my career where the mistake came unexpectedly – from nowhere really.
“But this is part of the game. It makes you even stronger.
“Last season I had a few really good games and maybe I needed that to improve myself.
“It is really harsh. You don’t want to make mistakes because they hurt me and the team too.
“But, after some disappointment, you improve quickly. That is what happened to me last season.”
Kuszczak bounced back last term with an outstanding performance at Blackburn just four days later soon followed by a man-of-the-match display at home to Hull.
It was all part of helping make Albion statistically the best defensive team in last season’s Championship He feels they have lost that knack of being hard to break down this term.
But, he insists, they have not been far away from making a decent start to the season.
He said: “You have got to say we have got plenty of injuries in the team.
“We have important players from the defensive side injured. But I think we would be talking differently if we had had a little more luck.
“Everyone would be saying ‘Great start, you won the game against Leeds’.
“We had chances at Leeds where we should score and it would be a different scenario for us.
“Now they say everything is wrong. But it’s just luck.
“I say luck because if you have got a big chance on 90 minutes and you don’t score, then they score on 94 in the last seconds of the game – and there is a handball involved – what can you talk about?
“I wouldn’t say we have had a disastrous start.”
Albion will look to put all that right against a Blues side whose only goal in two league games to date was gifted to them by clumsy Yeovil defending at a set-piece.
Birmingham will send big defender Dan Burn forward at corners and free-kicks and he has been a threat so far.
Kuszczak said: “We have practised against the tactics they have used in their last two games.
“We know they are a strong team. They always have been, especially at their ground. We expect them to try to attack us straight away and hurt us.
“All away games are similar and no doubt this is one of the most difficult.”
Original article
Tomasz Kuszczak has experienced the highs and lows at St Andrews.
But it will be his worst moment in Albion colours for which he will try to atone today.
The big Polish goalkeeper won Manchester United’s save of the season prize in 2007-08 for a superb stop from Gary McSheffrey. So much for the highs.
It was in that same goalmouth last season, right in front of the home end, that he let a Nikola Zigic header slip through his fingers in January to gift Birmingham a 2-2 draw.
The reflex save from a McSheffrey drive which deflected off Rio Ferdinand is there for all to see and enjoy on Youtube.
And so is footage from fans in that stand last season as they mocked Kuszczak for his error with a particularly tuneless chorus of: “It’s all your fault!”
So this will be a test of character for the keeper. It is one he fully expects to pass – in the same way as he passed last season.
“To be honest I see things maybe a little bit differently to some of you guys,” he said when asked if today’s clash was a chance to erase a bad memory.
“Of course I made a mistake last season at Birmingham.
“But, from the beginning, it was a good game for me. I made good saves, I played well with my feet. Mistakes in football happen, especially for a goalkeeper.
“It was a good lesson for me again. I have had a few lessons like that in my career where the mistake came unexpectedly – from nowhere really.
“But this is part of the game. It makes you even stronger.
“Last season I had a few really good games and maybe I needed that to improve myself.
“It is really harsh. You don’t want to make mistakes because they hurt me and the team too.
“But, after some disappointment, you improve quickly. That is what happened to me last season.”
Kuszczak bounced back last term with an outstanding performance at Blackburn just four days later soon followed by a man-of-the-match display at home to Hull.
It was all part of helping make Albion statistically the best defensive team in last season’s Championship He feels they have lost that knack of being hard to break down this term.
But, he insists, they have not been far away from making a decent start to the season.
He said: “You have got to say we have got plenty of injuries in the team.
“We have important players from the defensive side injured. But I think we would be talking differently if we had had a little more luck.
“Everyone would be saying ‘Great start, you won the game against Leeds’.
“We had chances at Leeds where we should score and it would be a different scenario for us.
“Now they say everything is wrong. But it’s just luck.
“I say luck because if you have got a big chance on 90 minutes and you don’t score, then they score on 94 in the last seconds of the game – and there is a handball involved – what can you talk about?
“I wouldn’t say we have had a disastrous start.”
Albion will look to put all that right against a Blues side whose only goal in two league games to date was gifted to them by clumsy Yeovil defending at a set-piece.
Birmingham will send big defender Dan Burn forward at corners and free-kicks and he has been a threat so far.
Kuszczak said: “We have practised against the tactics they have used in their last two games.
“We know they are a strong team. They always have been, especially at their ground. We expect them to try to attack us straight away and hurt us.
“All away games are similar and no doubt this is one of the most difficult.”
Original article