Hull City 1, Albion 0
When stand-in skipper Inigo Calderon was substituted early in the second half, he threw the armband to Rohan Ince to pass on to Lewis Dunk.
It was an obvious call for a makeshift Albion to be led for the rest of their exit from the FA Cup by Dunk.
He is a future captain of the club in the making, assuming he has not made it to the Premier League by then.
For either of these to happen the highly regarded central defender must eradicate the mistakes which are costing Albion dear - and ought really to cost him his place at Rotherham tomorrow night.
Not because of the bizarre manner in which he conceded the first half penalty which deservedly sent Albion out of the competition but because he has made three game-swaying mistakes in the last six matches.
At QPR a reckless challenge when he was already on a yellow card enabled them to grab a late equaliser against ten men. Against Ipswich at the Amex he let the ball go under his foot for Daryl Murphy to rifle the only goal of the game.
The decisive moment of a third round tie much more one-sided than the score suggests was the worst of the lot. Dunk inexplicably tried to head the ball away from Harry Maguire when on the floor.
He succeeded only in hauling down the Hull defender and Robert Snodgrass converted from the spot to book Hull's place in tonight's fourth round draw.
Dunk was extremely fortunate not to be sent-off again, referee Geoff Eltringham neglecting to show him the second yellow card manager Chris Hughton admitted he feared.
"I think perhaps because of the nature of what he tried to do, the ref probably felt he intentionally went for the ball," Hughton said.
Talented, left-footed, young English centre-halves are a rare breed, so Dunk could have a considerable future ahead of him but he has to learn and learn fast.
He is not a pup now. He is 24 and has well over 100 appearances for Albion behind him. He has to cut out the lapses in concentration and suspect decision-making.
Deep into the second half, he went to ground close to the touchline in a position of no real danger to make a tackle. He won the ball cleanly but it was an unnecessary risk.
Hughton said: "All he can do is learn by his mistakes. There's no doubt Dunky is a good player but defending and making good decisions is very much part and parcel of the game. He will be better for it and he will learn."
The question is whether he should learn the hard way by losing his spot. Connor Goldson also contributed to the pattern of centre-half blunders by scoring a decisive own goal against Wolves but the otherwise encouraging start to his Albion career continued.
It would be hard on Goldson if he was denied a potential link-up at Rotherham with Gordon Greer, who will play if he has fully shrugged off hamstring trouble. Hughton said: "You always want to bring back experience and your captain."
Hughton has problems to deal with at both ends of the pitch. Albion have kept only one clean sheet in the last 11 matches and the goal drought has now stretched to eight hours and five minutes.
With such grim figures it is hardly surprising they have lost four of the last five games, while the winless run has extended to seven.
This one can, to some extent, be packaged away because of the seven changes Hughton made. He was right to prioritise the promotion challenge by resting David Stockdale, Bruno, Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal and Jamie Murphy, all of whom have been relentlessly on the go, and Manchester United did not allow James Wilson to play.
The disappointment was in the likes of Rohan Ince, Danny Holla and Elvis Manu not doing nearly enough to show they warrant anything other than remaining on the fringes.
The recruitment has been excellent since the summer, with the exception of Manu. Foreign players can take time to settle and he may yet come good but the Dutch striker has shown little so far, other than a propensity to run offside.
The main pluses for Hughton were Niki Maenpaa re-enforcing the impression he is dependable back-up for No.1 keeper David Stockdale and getting 90 minutes into Richie Towell, who made his debut together with the on-loan Liam Ridgewell.
Hughton said: "I thought Nikki did well and Richie coped in the end with 90 minutes very well when you consider his last 90-minute game was at the beginning of November and that was the Irish Cup final. He trains very well, he's a fit lad. I sincerely hope he can push on.
"Liam is what I expected, a competitive and good player. It's another game for Connor and he will be better for all these experiences."
They were, in truth, crumbs of comfort. Even with Sam Baldock and Kazenga LuaLua making welcome returns from their long-term injuries as second half substitutes the casualty list remains extensive but the domination and comfortable passage for Hull, who also made seven changes, still highlighted how much deeper in quality their squad is.
And how well Hughton has done to have his squad only a place and three points behind Steve Bruce's relegated side in the Championship.
Hughton said: "When you look at some of the changes they made, Snodgrass and Ryan Taylor, they have played for them in the Premier League, so they have got quality and we have got a few players that haven't been involved at all, Incey, Danny Holla, Chicksen, so on balance they certainly had more experience.
"In periods of the game we were very much in it. The disappointment is we didn't threaten them enough."
That is an understatement. When Baldock flashed a shot narrowly wide from 20 yards with eight minutes left, it was Albion's first shot on or off target.
They almost stole an equaliser in stoppage time, Andrew Crofts clipping the crossbar from LuaLua's low cross to the near post.
It would have been robbery and a pain for groundsman Steve Winterburn, trying to get the Amex pitch back into shape for Huddersfield's visit on January 23. Instead Albion are set to head for warmer climes on the last weekend in January for a mini-winter break.
Maenpaa could be on holiday for the rest of the season, due to Stockdale's impressive form in the League.
Hughton had five recognised defenders starting - five attackers on the bench with under-21s full-back Rob Hunt - but Hull's passage would have been much more convincing without Maenpaa.
The Finn made several smart saves, the best of them to foil Taylor from close range in the second half when he also raced well out of his area at one stage to clear.
Hughton said. "If he didn't get that it's an awful decision but he did get it." Dunk, take note.
There will be changes galore at Rotherham, including Anthony Knockaert's debut and more goals in the side - there were none for Albion this season in Hughton's starting line-up at Hull. Improvement is needed in both boxes to get back on track.
Original article
When stand-in skipper Inigo Calderon was substituted early in the second half, he threw the armband to Rohan Ince to pass on to Lewis Dunk.
It was an obvious call for a makeshift Albion to be led for the rest of their exit from the FA Cup by Dunk.
He is a future captain of the club in the making, assuming he has not made it to the Premier League by then.
For either of these to happen the highly regarded central defender must eradicate the mistakes which are costing Albion dear - and ought really to cost him his place at Rotherham tomorrow night.
Not because of the bizarre manner in which he conceded the first half penalty which deservedly sent Albion out of the competition but because he has made three game-swaying mistakes in the last six matches.
At QPR a reckless challenge when he was already on a yellow card enabled them to grab a late equaliser against ten men. Against Ipswich at the Amex he let the ball go under his foot for Daryl Murphy to rifle the only goal of the game.
The decisive moment of a third round tie much more one-sided than the score suggests was the worst of the lot. Dunk inexplicably tried to head the ball away from Harry Maguire when on the floor.
He succeeded only in hauling down the Hull defender and Robert Snodgrass converted from the spot to book Hull's place in tonight's fourth round draw.
Dunk was extremely fortunate not to be sent-off again, referee Geoff Eltringham neglecting to show him the second yellow card manager Chris Hughton admitted he feared.
"I think perhaps because of the nature of what he tried to do, the ref probably felt he intentionally went for the ball," Hughton said.
Talented, left-footed, young English centre-halves are a rare breed, so Dunk could have a considerable future ahead of him but he has to learn and learn fast.
He is not a pup now. He is 24 and has well over 100 appearances for Albion behind him. He has to cut out the lapses in concentration and suspect decision-making.
Deep into the second half, he went to ground close to the touchline in a position of no real danger to make a tackle. He won the ball cleanly but it was an unnecessary risk.
Hughton said: "All he can do is learn by his mistakes. There's no doubt Dunky is a good player but defending and making good decisions is very much part and parcel of the game. He will be better for it and he will learn."
The question is whether he should learn the hard way by losing his spot. Connor Goldson also contributed to the pattern of centre-half blunders by scoring a decisive own goal against Wolves but the otherwise encouraging start to his Albion career continued.
It would be hard on Goldson if he was denied a potential link-up at Rotherham with Gordon Greer, who will play if he has fully shrugged off hamstring trouble. Hughton said: "You always want to bring back experience and your captain."
Hughton has problems to deal with at both ends of the pitch. Albion have kept only one clean sheet in the last 11 matches and the goal drought has now stretched to eight hours and five minutes.
With such grim figures it is hardly surprising they have lost four of the last five games, while the winless run has extended to seven.
This one can, to some extent, be packaged away because of the seven changes Hughton made. He was right to prioritise the promotion challenge by resting David Stockdale, Bruno, Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal and Jamie Murphy, all of whom have been relentlessly on the go, and Manchester United did not allow James Wilson to play.
The disappointment was in the likes of Rohan Ince, Danny Holla and Elvis Manu not doing nearly enough to show they warrant anything other than remaining on the fringes.
The recruitment has been excellent since the summer, with the exception of Manu. Foreign players can take time to settle and he may yet come good but the Dutch striker has shown little so far, other than a propensity to run offside.
The main pluses for Hughton were Niki Maenpaa re-enforcing the impression he is dependable back-up for No.1 keeper David Stockdale and getting 90 minutes into Richie Towell, who made his debut together with the on-loan Liam Ridgewell.
Hughton said: "I thought Nikki did well and Richie coped in the end with 90 minutes very well when you consider his last 90-minute game was at the beginning of November and that was the Irish Cup final. He trains very well, he's a fit lad. I sincerely hope he can push on.
"Liam is what I expected, a competitive and good player. It's another game for Connor and he will be better for all these experiences."
They were, in truth, crumbs of comfort. Even with Sam Baldock and Kazenga LuaLua making welcome returns from their long-term injuries as second half substitutes the casualty list remains extensive but the domination and comfortable passage for Hull, who also made seven changes, still highlighted how much deeper in quality their squad is.
And how well Hughton has done to have his squad only a place and three points behind Steve Bruce's relegated side in the Championship.
Hughton said: "When you look at some of the changes they made, Snodgrass and Ryan Taylor, they have played for them in the Premier League, so they have got quality and we have got a few players that haven't been involved at all, Incey, Danny Holla, Chicksen, so on balance they certainly had more experience.
"In periods of the game we were very much in it. The disappointment is we didn't threaten them enough."
That is an understatement. When Baldock flashed a shot narrowly wide from 20 yards with eight minutes left, it was Albion's first shot on or off target.
They almost stole an equaliser in stoppage time, Andrew Crofts clipping the crossbar from LuaLua's low cross to the near post.
It would have been robbery and a pain for groundsman Steve Winterburn, trying to get the Amex pitch back into shape for Huddersfield's visit on January 23. Instead Albion are set to head for warmer climes on the last weekend in January for a mini-winter break.
Maenpaa could be on holiday for the rest of the season, due to Stockdale's impressive form in the League.
Hughton had five recognised defenders starting - five attackers on the bench with under-21s full-back Rob Hunt - but Hull's passage would have been much more convincing without Maenpaa.
The Finn made several smart saves, the best of them to foil Taylor from close range in the second half when he also raced well out of his area at one stage to clear.
Hughton said. "If he didn't get that it's an awful decision but he did get it." Dunk, take note.
There will be changes galore at Rotherham, including Anthony Knockaert's debut and more goals in the side - there were none for Albion this season in Hughton's starting line-up at Hull. Improvement is needed in both boxes to get back on track.
Original article