By Stuart Kidson
April 20 2004

THE ALBION NEED JUST FOUR POINTS FROM FOUR GAMES TO BE SURE OF AUTOMATIC PROMOTION BACK TO THE TOP FLIGHT IF SUNDERLAND WIN AGAINST CRYSTAL PALACE, BUT SHOULD THEY LOSE THEN JUST 1 POINT IS NEEDED. COULD IT BE PARTYTIME AT THE HAWTHORNS ON SATURDAY ? Sunderland (0) v West Bromwich Albion (1)
The Stadium of Light, Sunday 18th April 2004
Nationwide League Division One

The Baggies moved towards automatic promotion back to the Promised Land on Wearside with another extremely late goal in the dying seconds of the game. Sunderland fans were left stunned and shocked as they witnessed a quick break by Lloyd Dyer down the left before cutting inside to feed Jason Koumas who calmly slotted home to steal all three points from The Black Cats and consign them to their first defeat at the Stadium of Light since September. The party celebrations kicked off in the packed Metro FM South Stand as the thousands of Baggies who had made the long trek North celebrated long after the Sunderland fans had left the arena shocked at the result.

Albion extended their run to 9 games unbeaten and notched up their 20th clean sheet of the season in their attempt to return to top flight football at the first time of asking but the win put more daylight between themselves and the hosts of the match. The Baggies now require 4 points to assure themselves of automatic promotion from 4 games, but this could be as little as 1 point if Sunderland lose to Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.

The Baggies got off to a lively start and forced the home side into an early team change when Andy Johnson and George McCartney went for a 50/50 ball inside the Sunderland half. The Black Cats skipper was left holding his knee from the challenge and later reports confirmed he required 6 stitches in the injury. Manager Mick McCarthy was forced into a substitution and sent on Joachim Bjorkland as his replacement. With McCartney out of the game the home side made a few positional changes with Bjorkland moving into the centre back place and former Liverpool player Phil Babb moving to left back.

It was obvious that Gary Megson had come with a set game play firmly in his mind as the Stars in Stripes (blue and white of course) defended deep inside their own half, with Geoff Horsfield and Scott Dobie dropping back to help out when required. Babb sent a cross over in the 20th minute for Tommy Smith, who had found himself space 10-yards from goal, but Baggies Captain Sean Gregan made a timely interception to clear the danger.

The home side looked to have had a valid penalty decision turned down when it appeared that defender Darren Moore had handled the ball inside the area after Gary Breen had worked his way round to the bye line before cutting the ball back inside. The referee Mr. T. Leake indicated that the ball struck Big Dave on the chest before going out for a corner, much to the dismay of the home fans.

Big Dave was at the centre of a second incident in the 30th minute when he pulled up sharply clutching the back of his thigh. The big defender looked to have tweaked his hamstring and Physio Nick Worth indicated to the bench that the huge centre back would need treatment. With Moore gone Gary Megson sent on Jason Koumas into midfield, with Gregan dropping back into defence as cover for Moore and Neil Clement moving into the left back role.

Albion had soaked up wave after wave of Black Cats attack and stopped the home side from getting a real shot in on goal. Megson’s plan of sacrificing possession and allowing Sunderland to be drawn further and further down the pitch on the off chance that the Baggies could hit them on the break looked as if it was working. Thomas Gaardsoe sent a high ball down field for Dobie to race onto and in a moment of uncertainty the home defence hesitated, waiting for the lines mans flag to be raised. The realisation that it was not coming allowed Dobie that extra yard and he was in behind them . Bjorkland raced back towards his own goal and did enough to put the striker off his stride and sent him out wider. Dobie struck the ball but his shot was off target and sailed high over the corner of the goals and into the crowd. Moments later Bjorkland was put under pressure by Dobie and the defender had to put the ball out for a corner.

Koumas sent over a curling ball from the corner flag and almost got between keeper and post with the effort but the Latvian international keeper managed to beat the ball away thanks to his wonderful reactions.

With the game inside the last 5 minutes of the half John Oster, an end of season target for several Premiership clubs, got in behind the Baggies defence and found Julio Arca. Gaardsoe managed to clear before the Sunderland fans favourite could fire off an effort at goal. The half time break came and both sides trudged off with the home side having far more of the overall possession and run of the game.

The Black Cats came close to taking a deserved lead two minutes into the second half when Babb crossed for Oster to head home, but the dangerous midfielder was under pressure from Russell Hoult and it was the keeper who connected first with his fists. However, the punched clearance fell straight to Carl Robinson, on loan from Portsmouth, but the ball took a unfortunate bounce and the loaner player could only use his knee to direct the ball just over the crossbar.

Geoff Horsfield looked to be struggling and Megson made his second change of the game when he sent Rob Hulse into the fray. Mick McCarthy also made a switch and Oster made way for Scottish international Kevin Kyle as they home side switched to a 4-3-3 formation in the hope of at least one of their numerous attacks finding a way through the rugged defending of the Albion.

Robinson tried a shot from 30-yards which was on target and dipped enough but Hoult was able to see the ball early and collected with some ease. Kyle and Arca combined as the match reached the hour mark when the tall striker got on the end of the Argentineans corner at the far post but his effort went agonisingly wide of the post.

The same two again created a chance for the Wearside club when Arca picked Kyle out at the back post with a wonderfully weighted cross. The striker chested the ball and flashed a foot out to volley the ball over from just 10-yards out. The Albion were under severe pressure from the home side as the Black Cats continually pounded the Baggies defence looking for that all important goal that would see them pull back some of the points required to get a foothold in the automatic promotion places.

The Baggies had weathered a storm during the second half and were comfortable doing so, but a switch to a 4-5-1 formation took a little of the pressure off the defenders who had battled hard and denied any real efforts on goal by the home side.

The game went into injury time and it looked as if the plan to stop the Wearsider’s from getting anything from the game had worked but enter Super Sub Lloyd Dyer. Mark Kinsella headed the ball clear from the Baggies area and the Birmingham born midfielder was off and running. Dyer took a few touches to get the ball right up field before cutting across the face of goal and skipping past a lunging challenge from a Black Cats defender before a quick one-two with Hulse. Koumas had run unnoticed up the right and was free and unmarked well inside the 18-yard box when Dyer found him with a neat pass. The Welsh Wizard took a touch before sliding the ball past Poom for a dramtic late late winner. Albion fans behind Hoult’s goal went into raptures as Hoult, Gregan and Robinson ran towards them in celebration and the realisation that Premiership football is a very real possibility at The Hawthorns became very apparent. It did not matter that there were a few more seconds of the game to play, the Albion could not lose now.

T the final whistle the Sunderland team walked from the field shattered and feeling as if they had just been mugged, whilst the Baggies team, led by unused substitute Lee Hughes thanked their fans by applauding their efforts to travel up for the game.

The baggiesworld.co.uk Man of the Match was selected by Daniel Green, aged 12 of Walsall. Daniel is a season ticket holder in the East Stand and his chosen player was Andy Johnson.

Teams
SUNDERLAND Poom, McCartney, Breen, Babb, Arca, Williams, Whitley, C. Robinson, Oster, Byfield, Smith
Subs Myhre, Stewart, Thornton, Kyle, Bjorkland

WEST BROM Hoult, Gaardsoe, Moore, Gregan, J. Chambers, Johnson, Kinsella, Clement,
P. Robinson, Horsfield, Dobie
Subs Murphy, Hughes, Hulse, Koumas, Dyer