Ten-man West Bromwich Albion crushed by Manchester United
Jan 28 2009 by Robert Tanner, Birmingham Post
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Injury-ravaged West Bromwich Albion were left to lick their gaping wounds after they suffered a demoralising defeat at the hands of league leaders Manchester United.
Taking on the official English, European and World champions is hardly ideal when you have nine first team players on the sidelines, but despite the scoreline Tony Mowbray’s men produced a spirited performance under difficult circumstances.
United had a similarly injury-ravaged squad but when you can call on the likes of Carlos Tevez as a replacement for Wayne Rooney, and still field a side that includes the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov, and leave Paul Scholes on the bench, then it is hardly comparable.
With such a star-studded side, United hardly needed the assistance of referee Rob Styles, but that is exactly what they got when he controversially sent of Albion captain Paul Robinson five minutes before half-time, all but ending the game as a contest.
It wasn’t his only puzzling decision of the night. In fact, Styles had a stinker.
The Albion left back went in for a 50-50 challenge with Ji-Sung Park and both players reached the ball at the same time with sliding challenges but Park remained down and Styles raced over to brandish a straight red card.
It was a case of his reputation going before Robinson but there was no doubt it was a woeful decision by a referee who really should not be officiating at this level.
The writing was on the wall for Albion before Styles’ defining intervention, despite a bright start by the hosts. Borja Valero had a shot cleared off the line by Carrick and Jay Simpson had a shot deflected inches wide.
After that United took control and took the lead through Berbatov who slipped the ball beneath Scott Carson in the 22nd minute after a simple one-two with Carrick.
The champions could have added to their tally through Tevez and Ronaldo and just before half-time did grab a second but it was a gift as Carson dropped a Giggs free kick from the touchline and Tevez stabbed the home from close range.
Carson argued long and hard with Styles that he was fouled in the process but the Albion keeper could have no complaints. It was another woeful gaff as he appeared to collide with Pele and was not fouled as he claimed.
Amazingly, Albion almost pulled a goal back when centre-back Ryan Donk, surging into the box, hammered a shot against the post after a lovely pass from Simpson, but within two minutes United made it 3-0 when Nemanja Vidic headed home a Giggs corner to kill off any lingering hopes of an Albion comeback.
Ronaldo then got in on the act with the fourth after Vidic played in Giggs who squared the ball for a simple tap-in.
Ronaldo added his second when Berbatov broke clear and pulled the ball back for his team-mate to enjoy an easy finish but again Albion were incensed as the Bulgarian seemed offside. Carson and Ryan Donk were both booked for dissent as a result, and James Morrison followed suit as Albion’s frustration with the officials boiled over.
Scorers: Berbatov (22) 0-1; Tevez (44) 0-2; Vidic (60) 0-3; Ronaldo (65) 0-4; Ronaldo (73) 0-5.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-4-2): Carson, Hoefkens, Donk, Pele, Robinson, Zuiverloon (Morrison 64), Valero, Koren, Brunt, Simpson (Bednar 64), Fortune (Brunt 45). Subs: Kiely, Kim, Dorrans, Teixeira.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): Van der Sar, Neville (Eckersley 70), Ferdinand (Brown 70), Vidic, O’Shea, Ronaldo, Park, Carrick, Giggs, Tevez, Berbatov (Tosic 77). Subs: Kuszczak, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson.
Referee: Rob Styles (Hampshire)
Bookings: Albion - Koren (44), Donk (73), Carson (73), Morrison (90) all dissent; Bednar (72), kicking the ball away. United - Park (62), Carrick (90) fouls.
Sendings Off: Albion - Robinson (40) serious foul play.
Attendance: 26,105
Albion Starman: Borja Valero.
