West Bromwich Albion 2 Burnley 2 - Post match analysis
Jan 26 2009 by Robert Tanner, Birmingham Post
FA Cup 4th Round: West Bromwich Albion 2 Burnley 2
Fans attending games at The Hawthorns are rapidly coming to realise you don’t leave early.
There has been a glut of late goals in games involving West Bromwich Albion this season but unfortunately, they tend to go against the Baggies.
Except for the late winner over Manchester City, late goals usually mean disaster for Albion fans. Blackburn Rovers snatched a point with a late equaliser, while Peterborough United forced a replay in the third round of the FA Cup with a last-gasp goal.
Tony Mowbray’s side were forced to come through a nervy replay on that occasion and they will have to do the same again if they are to reach the last 16 of the FA Cup for the third consecutive season.
Burnley’s Martin Paterson popped up to stab home Wade Elliott’s cross to the far post in the last minute and Albion now face a trek to Lancashire, a fixture they could have done without considering their injury problems which became a crisis when captain Jonathan Greening and defender Ryan Donk limped out of the action to extend the list to 11 first team players absent.
After Robert Koren and Kim over turned a disputed Graham Alexander penalty for Burnley to give Albion a half -time lead, the hosts should have been able to close out this entertaining cup tie, especially when Roman Bednar rounded keeper Brian Jensen but then hit the post in the 57th minute, but Paterson struck in the last minute to give the Clarets a replay they certainly deserved, much to Mowbray’s annoyance.
“It happened in the last round in an almost identical way,” he said. “It was deja vu with a ball from our left-back area across the six-yard box and goal. It was hugely frustrating last time and it is again.
“I was disappointed with our performance in the first half but you have to give credit to Burnley. They are a good team and play the game in a manner I appreciate. To get back in a winning position before half-time we should have gone on to finish them off and we had the chances at the start of the second half. At 3-1 it would have been a long way back for them after their disappointment of earlier in the week.
